TikToker Nadeem Mubarak, known online as Nadeem Nani Wala, sparked a fresh debate on social media after questioning why public figures reserve their outrage for select controversies, in response to the backlash YouTuber Rajab Butt faced over an insensitive joke about abused children.

Rajab issued a public apology on Instagram yesterday after the joke, made during a live broadcast with fellow content creator Zaid Ali, went viral and drew widespread condemnation.

During the broadcast, Rajab compared Zaid’s flat facial expression to the face of a child who has been molested without being paid by the molester.

The clip spread quickly online, prompting several celebrities to publicly criticise the remark.

Nadeem responded to the fallout with his own Instagram story.

He wrote, “@rajab.butt94 made a wrong joke about child abuse. He realised his mistake and apologised. Now influencers, TV drama actors and actresses and politicians are all criticising him. My question is simple, where is this same energy for the real victims? So many children are abused. So many women are raped. Where are your voices then?”

He then turned to politics, referencing former prime minister Imran Khan’s imprisonment. “My leader Imran Khan has been in jail for years, in my opinion on false cases. Where are your voices? Why are you all silent?” he wrote.

Nadeem also directly addressed politician Hina Pervaiz Butt, who had criticised Rajab over the joke. “Hina Parvez Butt, you always criticise him. But what about your own credibility? You are coming from Form 47,” he wrote.

He closed his post with a call for consistent standards. “Please don’t pick and choose. If something is wrong, speak up every time. Same standard for everyone. If your voice only appears for selected people, people will question your silence everywhere else.”

Nadeem’s remarks come at a time when several Pakistani celebrities have spoken out on other cases in recent months.

Actors including Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir, Ayesha Omar and Kinza Hashmi condemned the alleged rape of a college student in Lahore, while Mahira Khan and veteran actor Bushra Ansari also spoke out following the death of Mir Raza Ali in Karachi. Mahira Khan, Hania Aamir and others also voiced support for Hina Javed’s family after her death in Rawalpindi last month.

Nadeem has over 13 million TikTok followers and more than a million on Instagram.