Apple TV+ Rejects Mumbai Resident Complaint Over Alleged Blasphemous Series Scene
Apple TV+ has declined to take action on a complaint filed by a Mumbai resident alleging that a scene in its series 'Your Friends and Neighbours' is blasphemous to Christians. The streaming platform issued its decision in a response dated June 29, following a directive from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to address the grievance.
The complaint was originally filed on June 5 by Mumbai resident Dr. Vinod Roshan D'Souza. D'Souza objected to a scene in the sixth episode of the American dark comedy series. The scene in question depicts characters breaking into a church, stealing consecrated communion wafers from the tabernacle, and eating them with jam as a snack.
According to D'Souza, the scene misuses the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, in which bread, or the Host, is consecrated and distributed as Holy Communion.
Following the complaint, the MIB directed the producers of the show to examine the grievance and send their response directly to the complainant, with a copy to the ministry, within 15 days.
In its reply, Apple's Content Concerns team informed D'Souza that it had reviewed the complaint but found no grounds to alter or remove the scene. The company defended the scene as a tool for character development rather than an intentional offense to religious sentiments.
Apple explained that the scene features a character named "Coop," whose behaviour throughout the series is characterised as deeply flawed. The company stated that the series presents its principal characters, including "Coop" and "Mel," as morally compromised people whose actions are portrayed critically rather than approvingly.
According to Apple, when viewed in the full context of the series, the scene was intended to reinforce the flawed characterisation of the protagonists rather than to cause offence.
The streaming platform also noted that its review was limited to grievances falling within the scope of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, as they apply to Apple TV+.
The series previously attracted similar criticism in the United States in June 2025, when Catholic organisations called for the removal of the same scene.
