Daniel Fernandes’ show in Hyderabad tonight has been cancelled amid threats of violence and vandalism, the comedian announced in a video on Instagram. In a now-deleted reel, Fernandes had joked about the recent incident involving Jain men dressing up as Muslims and buying 124 goats on Eid Al-adha, sparking significant online backlash.

The detractors included a sitting MLA, who demanded that the show be cancelled. Fernandes has since taken down the reel and offered an apology. Explaining that the joke was an attempt at topical, headline-based humour, and that no malice was ever intended, he promised that the Jain community would not be mentioned in any of his future work.

“Forgiveness is one of the many beautiful traits your community espouses so I hope that we can put this behind us and move on in peace and enlightenment,” he said.