The 50: Adnan Shaikh’s ‘Aurat hai toh aurat ki tarah reh’ remark to Sapna Choudhary sparks massive backlash; netizens ask, ‘How small is your mentality?’

New Delhi: The 50 is steadily gaining attention among audiences for its unique format and star-studded lineup of contestants. However, the latest promo of the show has sparked controversy after a tense argument broke out between Sapna Choudhary and influencer Adnan Shaikh. One particular remark made by Adnan has triggered massive backlash on social media.

Adnan Shaikh and Sapna Choudhary’s heated fight in The 50

In the promo, contestants are assigned a task to find 40 cards. During the challenge, participants were required to destroy objects and pick a card found inside to secure their safety. However, Arbaz Patel, Adnan Shaikh, and a few others attempted to take a shortcut.

Although the rules stated that each contestant could pick only one card, Arbaz reportedly picked up five and distributed them among others. Sapna Choudhary objected to this violation and accused them of cheating.

This led to a heated exchange between Sapna and Adnan. Sapna was seen hurling abuses at him, to which Adnan responded, "Tu mard logon ki tarah gaali kyun de rahi hai? Aurat hai aurat ki tarah reh"
(Why are you abusing like men do? You’re a woman, behave like a woman.)

Sapna hit back sharply, saying, "Tu mujhe yaad mat kara main aurat ya mard. Tu toh kuch bhi nahi hai. Roz dekhti hoon tumhare jaise mard main"
(Don’t remind me whether I’m a woman or a man. You’re nothing at all. I see men like you every day.)

The statement raised eyebrows and sparked widespread outrage online.

Netizens react

A Reddit user slammed the influencer, writing, "Adnan is absolutely disgusting and he isn’t a man at all. His behaviour is too childish to be called manly."

Another commented, "‘Aurat ho aurat ki tarah raho’ — what even? Saying this in 2026? I felt so enraged watching it. On top of that, the girls were calming down Adnan. Are you for real?"

A third user wrote, "I was triggered when I heard him say that. How small is your mentality, and how are you in real life, man? Absolutely disgusting behaviour. The level is way below."

One user added, "I hate people who claim they respect women but never treat them as equals. For them, a woman is only acceptable as long as she stays within limits. Faiz and Adnan both hold this disgusting mindset."

Another pointed out,
"This reminds me of the Prince Narula–Karan Kundrra brand of supposed feminism — acting holier-than-thou while still sticking to respectability politics and not seeing women as equals."

Yet another comment read, "It’s very disappointing how being a girl is used like a curse. Highly disappointed, especially with the other girls for tolerating this."

One viewer wrote, "I am done with this show. I thought it would be different, but alas!"

About The 50

The 50 is the Indian adaptation of the popular French reality series Les Cinquante. The show premiered on February 1 and streams on JioHotstar, with television telecast on Colors TV.

The contestant lineup includes Karan Patel, Monalisa, Vikrant Singh Rajpoot, Shiny Doshi, influencer Faisal Sheikh (Faisu), and reality star Divya Agarwal, among others. New episodes stream on JioHotstar at 9 pm, while the TV broadcast airs on Colors TV at 10:30 pm.