'I stepped over the line': London YouTuber apologises after eating chicken in Iskcon restaurant; backlash persists

Time of India

5 days ago

British-African YouTuber 'Cenzo', who sparked widespread outrage after filming himself eating KFC chicken inside Govinda's, a vegetarian restaurant run by the Iskcon temple in London, has issued a public apology days after the incident.
The content creator, who has around 6,000 subscribers, admitted that he had been targeting vegan restaurants in the area as part of a prank series. In the now-viral clip, he is seen entering Govinda's while eating fried chicken, offering it to staff members, and taunting them with meat, despite being informed that the restaurant does not serve non-vegetarian food. At one point, he dangles chicken from his mouth and shouts, 'Free the chicken!' before being asked to leave the premises.
Cenzo later released a video expressing regret, stating that he was unaware the restaurant was connected to a temple. He shared footage showing a man warning him that he was about to enter a temple and that the restaurant was next door. Despite the warning, Cenzo proceeded with the prank.
'If I had known that the restaurant was with the temple, I would have never filmed that prank and left,' he said. He also confirmed he had contacted the restaurant and planned to visit in person to apologise.
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The shopkeeper, attempting to clarify further in the original video, said, 'It's a temple,' referring to the restaurant's affiliation with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), which follows strict vegetarian dietary practices based on religious beliefs.
Cenzo acknowledged that his actions were 'ill-timed and irresponsible.' After the backlash, he said he "researched" the Hindu community and realised the prank had deeply offended their values.
"They believe in no violence and peaceful behaviours towards animals and people. My actions came off as offensive to the community, and I would like to offer heartfelt, sincere apologies," he said.
'God knows what they must be going through, seeing themselves all over social media over something that I would call a joke but in reality, it was not a joke,' he added.
His apology video drew mixed reactions online. One user commented, 'He was there to mock, it was purely intentional and done with a motive.' Another added, 'They should have sued him for being unruly and mocking the religion."