Influencer Orry doesn’t want gender-neutral bathrooms. He also doesn’t want trans women who haven’t had “the surgery” to enter women’s bathrooms either. And why are we even engaging with the views of a naam-ka Indian, but otherwise an American citizen and a Trump supporter? Well, that’s the influencer economy for you.
In a recent appearance on the KK Create podcast, hosted by Kavya Karnatac, Orhan Awatramani, aka Orry, repeated his old transphobia, with some tweaks. He previously said that he believes there are only two genders. Now, he’s begrudgingly expanded that list to three, accounting for intersex persons. But he repeatedly used the term “man” when discussing trans women, equated gender with biological sex, and reduced the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms to a binary “yes or no” question.
“Would you want a man in a washroom with your daughter?” he asked Karnatac.
And how did the host respond? Karnatac, who uses she/they pronouns, simply smiled serenely as Orry defended his use of a transphobic slur and regurgitated MAGA talking points about trans people “influencing” children.
I understand an influencer’s innate hunger for clicks, views and virality, but why not do it smartly? Karnatac should watch Ziwe’s interview with George Santos. Despite Santos being funny and charming, Ziwe never let the crooked former politician feel at ease.
In conceding to Orry’s casual transphobia, it is Karnatac who has emerged as the loser. In the scale of the world’s larger attack on the trans community, Orry’s ramblings are of little note. But the interview hurts Karnatac more. Comments by Right-wing youth still label her an “anti-national,” and now she’s lost a good chunk of her Left-leaning queer followers, too. I guess “spineless centrist” doesn’t make for much of a brand.
Meanwhile, Orry is winning hearts. He called influencer and activist Dhruv Rathee an “anti-national,” which is enough for the bhajan-clubbing, tradition-loving youth to fall in love with him.
“My whole perspective on Orry has changed now. He is a nationalist. He is not woke. He knows how to present the positive side of India. He is kind,” read one comment on the YouTube video.
Perhaps Karnatac should’ve asked Orry about the Cockroach Janata Party instead. Cockroaches seem to be the only thing that gets a real reaction out of “straight” Gen Z anymore.
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Is it time to feel sorry for Orry?
Orry enjoys being consumed for views and clicks. He welcomes other influencers to use his photos and videos. He even offers his audience a raw, “360 view” of his life.
Part of his appeal is his frequent “hot takes.” Like any influencer worth his mettle, Orry, too, likes saying outrageous things. In this regard, he’s a little like Rakhi Sawant, a Gen Z icon I happen to adore. But the difference is where power lies. While Rakhi is keenly aware of her lack of it, Orry does his best to ignore his own. His way of addressing his privilege is through benevolent charity—he claimed on the podcast that he “writes a cheque” to underprivileged influencers.
His defence for using a transphobic slur is that the very word has been used against him. Which gay man has been spared transphobia? For some, it opens the door to solidarity with trans folks, while others choose to distance themselves from trans people.
Orry is India’s Donald Trump. And I don’t say this lightly. He’s a flat-Earther and a salesman who can weasel his way out of any real conversation. And he despises facts just as much as his beloved Mr President.
Orry’s fashion is tired, his humour is insidious, and his opinions are a copy-paste of or trad-wife drivel. An industry plant, if I ever saw one.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)