Elvish Yadav has become the centre of a social media debate after a heated exchange with Tejasswi Prakash in the latest episode of Playground season 5. A video from the episode has circulated online, with several viewers criticising Yadav for the language he used during his argument with Prakash. At the same time, some of his fans have defended him and said the situation needs to be viewed in its full context.
Playground season 5 features Elvish Yadav and Tejasswi Prakash as mentors. During the recent episode, Yadav appeared to lose his temper after Prakash interrupted him while he was speaking. He then told her, “Shut the f**k up”. Prakash responded by asking him “not to talk to me like that”. Yadav then told her not to interrupt while he was talking.
The exchange quickly became a talking point after clips from the episode appeared on social media. Several users expressed disappointment over Yadav’s choice of words and questioned whether such language was appropriate during a televised argument.
Some viewers felt that the remark was disrespectful, while others argued that the disagreement should not automatically be turned into a discussion about gender. The incident has therefore led to a wider conversation about how people speak to each other during heated situations, particularly when such exchanges take place on a public platform.
One social media user, who identified themselves as an Elvish Yadav fan, criticised his behaviour and wrote, “As an Elvish Yadav fan, I’m honestly embarrassed. I can support him, but I can’t defend this kind of language or behavior. This was completely unacceptable 😔”.
Another user questioned the idea that Yadav respects women, writing, “Is this really how he talks to a woman? & then people claim he “respects all women” Seriously? Telling a woman to “shut the fuck up” is simply disrespectful. If this is how he talks, then what exactly do you mean by “respecting women”? There’s no excuse for this,”
"Shut the f**k up" Elvish Yadav to Tejasswi Prakash.
— ONN18 News (@onn18news) September 4, 2026
What's your POV, please comment. #elvishyadav #TejasswiPrakash #PlaygroundSeason5 #Controversy pic.twitter.com/iPISV7vZqI
Elvish Yadav responds to the backlash
On Thursday night, Yadav appeared to address the controversy through a post on X. He objected to what he described as an attempt to create a “boy-girl” narrative around the incident and explained why he responded strongly.
“If someone tries to create a “boy-girl” narrative about me on national television, I’m not okay with it and honestly, no one should be. Dragging a gender angle into everything is not cool. I responded in the language that the situation deserved. Giving false interviews and speaking disrespectfully about my fans is unacceptable. And leaking videos from the set just to look cool or to make the other person seem wrong isn’t right either,” he wrote.
Tejasswi Prakash has not publicly responded to the controversy as of now.
