Who is Ajey Nagar aka CarryMinati? Meet the Indian YouTuber, streamer & rapper known for his roasting videos and skits
YOUTUBER CarryMinati is one of India’s most famous social media stars.
Here’s all you need to know about the streamer whose video caused a viral storm in 2020.
Who is Ajey Nagar aka CarryMinati?
Ajey Nagar was born on June 12, 1999, and is a YouTuber, streamer and rapper from Faridabad, India.
He is best known as CarryMinati, and is famous for his online videos where he roasts famous names and topics and performs comedy skits.
Ajey is one of India’s most popular YouTube stars, with over 43million subscribers.
In 2021, Nagar was featured in the top 50 list of India Today’s High & Mighty powerful personalities in India.
How did CarryMinati get famous?
Ajey Nagar started using YouTube when he was ten years old, where he’d upload videos of football tutorials.
The streamer then began posting videos where he’d react as he was gaming.
He started mimicking Indian actor Sunny Deol while playing action game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and his viewing figures continued to grow.
Fans continued to tune in to live streams of him playing games, and he began to host live events that raised money for charities and disasters.
This included raising over £10,000 for victims of a train crash in east India in 2023.
As his popularity grew, he began making more and more Hindi-language roast and skit videos, where he’d mock famous personalities and different topics.
Which video of CarryMinati was removed from YouTube?
CarryMinati posted a video called “YouTube vs TikTok: The End” in 2020.
It had been hugely well received by his fans, also known as the “Carry Army”.
They liked and shared it so much that it reportedly received over 80million views – sending it well on the way to becoming India’s most-watched non-music YouTube video.
But the video was taken down from the platform within a matter of days.
YouTube said the video was in breach of its terms of use, specifically around harassment and bullying.
The video was a response to TikTok user Amir Siddiqui, who had talked about the differences between the TikTok community and YouTubers in a video he’d posted.
He accused YouTube stars of plagiarising TikTok content.
CarryMinati’s video took apart the one posted by Amir, responding to the points and even criticising his grammar and use of hashtags.
He also quipped that TikTok attracts more brand deals than YouTube, despite the content being “cringe”.
But one of the comments he made was a particular source of controversy.
He said, “Mithai ke dukaan par le kar jaunga Rs 200 mein bik jayega” (I will take you to the sweet shop and sell you for Rs 200).
This was called out as transphobic and homophobic by gay rights group Yes We Exist, and they say their complaint led to the video being taken down.
CarryMinati denied the claim and said his comments were taken out of context.
Fans reacted furiously, with the hashtag #JusticeForCarry trending in response.
They even then attempted to “review bomb” TikTok on the Google Play store, where they posted negative reviews of the app and managed to reduce its score down from 4.5 stars to 1.2 within six days.
What is the controversy with CarryMinati on TikTok?
CarryMinati claimed TikTok stars had it easy compared to YouTubers, who had worked hard to build up their audience.
He said the platform allowed people to become famous overnight if they posted content that was “cringe” enough to get noticed.
But in June 2020, the app was banned in India over privacy and security concerns.
This came after a conflict between Indian and Chinese troops at a disputed border in the Himalayas.
Several countries have raised concerns about the app – including the UK.
TikTok: Brief guide to the world's most downloaded app
- TikTok lets users create and share short videos with music and camera effects
- The hit app is best known for short dance videos, lip-syncing clips, comedy sketches, and talent footage
- It is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, founded by the entrepreneur Zhang Yiming
- The $200billion conglomerate acquired the Musical.ly app in 2017 and merged it with TikTok, bringing millions of new users
- By February 2019, TikTok and Douyin had been downloaded more than a billion times
- It was the most-downloaded app on the App Store in 2018 and 2019
- Cyber experts have expressed concern over ByteDance’s alleged links to the Chinese government
- The Department of Defense has urged its employees to avoid using the app over national security concerns
- TikTok says it does not and would not share user data with the Chinese government