Vegan comedian Romesh Ranganathan didn’t know what he was letting himself in for when he posted a video to sum up why people hate vegans.

In a two-minute selfie video, he says meat eaters are irritated with vegans because ‘they know it’s the right choice’ and that vegans act as a ‘reflective surface showing you your own inadequacies and you can’t handle it’.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, vegans absolutely loved the video while it led to an onslaught of abuse from dedicated meat eaters.

Ranganathan has since revealed he was subjected to a ‘vitriol’ of hatred. “There is no such understanding when @Carnivore12 pops up on your timeline, saying: ‘Look at what this grass-munching twat is saying’,” he wrote in The Guardian.

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The comedian’s explained the reaction to the video ‘did, bizarrely, give me a slight admiration for Piers Morgan and Katie Hopkins, two professional trolls who deliberately antagonise and upset people in order to maintain relevance’.

“They must be inundated with abuse all day, every day, but I imagine they feed off it like hatred vampires, using the fire of the abuse to forge another made-up opinion for the masses,” he added.

The viral video has been viewed more than one million times in the buildup to his new BBC show Ranganation.

“So the lesson has been learned. I am never going to trust the internet again,” he continued.

“You will see me express provocative views only on comedy shows, on stage and in this column. And probably another video, who am I kidding? Vegans are the future, and if you eat dairy and meat you don’t care about the planet. Goodbye!”

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What do you think of Romesh Ranganathan’s video? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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