The show, directed by Lena Khan and written by Hasan Minhaj has come under fire for the ‘last plane out of Kabul’ joke
Netflix’s Best of the Best has sparked online criticism over a joke referencing the 2021 Kabul evacuation during the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.
The comedy, directed by Lena Khan and co-written by Hasan Minhaj and Prashanth Venkataramanujam, features a line delivered during a conversation involving Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s character, Maya.
She tells a friend, “Guys throw themselves at you like you’re the last plane out of Kabul.”
A film directed by Hasan Minhaj and Lena Khan to “celebrates south asian culture” is monetising the suffering of Afghans on @netflix. One must be truly sick to the core to find amusement in someone’s tragedy. You find the “last flight from Kabul” funny? a tragedy that affected… pic.twitter.com/qTzeDe7LOC
— Bashir Gharwal غروال (@bashir_gharwall) September 21, 2026
The dialogue has prompted objections from viewers who say it makes light of a traumatic episode in Afghanistan’s recent history.
Thousands of Afghans attempted to flee the country in August 2021, with chaotic scenes at Kabul airport drawing global attention.
One critic addressed Minhaj on X, writing, “You should be embarrassed, Hasan Minhaj. Explain the joke. Is the funny part the Afghans falling from planes? The terrified families at the airport? The people desperately trying to escape the Taliban? Because “the last flight out of Kabul” actually happened to real human beings. Our trauma isn’t your cheap punchline.”
Other social media users have called on Netflix and the filmmakers to acknowledge the backlash and apologise, arguing that the reference trivialises the suffering experienced by Afghans.
The evacuation saw crowds gather at Hamid Karzai International Airport as people sought to leave Afghanistan.
Images of people clinging to departing aircraft, alongside a deadly ISIS-K suicide bombing outside the airport, became defining moments of the crisis.
Best of the Best began streaming on Netflix on September 18.
The film follows childhood friends Maya and Anjali as they join UCLA’s competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team.
Netflix, Khan and Minhaj had not publicly addressed the criticism at the time of publication.
