An Indian YouTuber, Jyoti Malhotra, is facing significant backlash after her travel vlog documenting a journey from Shanghai to Beijing went viral for all the wrong reasons. The video, posted on her YouTube channel, shows Malhotra flouting local regulations, making condescending remarks, and causing inconvenience to locals throughout her trip.
The vlog begins with Malhotra boarding a high-speed train, where she discovers she does not have a window seat. She then persuades a fellow passenger, whom she refers to as “Cheeni Bhai,” to swap seats with her, despite his apparent confusion. The passenger eventually obliges and moves to the middle seat.
As the vlog continues, Malhotra attempts to secure a ride across an intersection from a woman on a two-wheeler. Despite the woman’s explanation that she is headed in the opposite direction, Malhotra persists, eventually leading the woman to seek help from a police officer. Throughout this interaction, Malhotra continues to record and speak in Hindi, a language not understood by the local people.
The video also shows Malhotra boarding a bus without purchasing a ticket, ignoring the driver’s request. She takes a seat and later tries to disembark at a traffic signal, arguing with the driver about her destination. The driver explains that the bus only stops at designated locations, but Malhotra insists on her own terms.
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Throughout her journey, Malhotra makes several derogatory remarks about the local people, further exacerbating the situation by speaking in Hindi or English, languages not commonly understood by the individuals she interacts with.
Although the vlog was posted a month ago, it recently gained widespread attention after excerpts were shared on the social media platform X. The post, which included a caption highlighting Malhotra’s behavior, quickly went viral, amassing over 1.6 million views.
The caption read, “High caste YouTuber asks for a window seat in a commanding tone. Forcibly boards an old lady’s scooter without consent and asks her to travel in the opposite direction. Forcibly stops a moving bus, takes the bus without a ticket (twice), and asks the driver to stop at a non-designated location.”
The video sparked outrage across social media, with users condemning Malhotra’s actions and remarks. One user commented, “Disgusting behavior by an Indian woman!! This is the price people in China, Taiwan, US, UK, and Europe will pay for writing thousands of media articles about how Indian women are getting oppressed and raped by patriarchy. Does she look like an oppressed woman?” Another added, “Completely pathetic behaviour.”
Other comments included, “Boorish behaviour. Getting second-hand embarrassment watching this!” and, “This is so annoying! The arrogance. She’s not even respecting them. And is she talking in Hindi? So typical! She’s lucky that they are being courteous.”