Yadav was born on 14 September 1997 as Siddharth Yadav to Ram Avtar Yadav and Sushma Yadav in a Hindu family from Haryana.[7] Yadav went to Amity International School, Gurgaon and later joined Hansraj College, Delhi, to complete his Bachelor of Commerce degree.[8]
Career
After being inspired by Ashish Chanchlani and Amit Bhadana, Yadav began his YouTube career on 29 April 2016, and as of February 2024, he has a following of 15.5 million subscribers and 1.5 billion views on his primary YouTube channel.[9][10][11] He initially named his channel The Social Factory but later rebranded it to Elvish yadav. His content primarily revolves around flash fiction and conceptual short films.[12]
He launched a new YouTube channel, titled Elvish Yadav Vlogs on 23 November 2019. Yadav's channel had 15.5 million subscribers and 134 million views as of February 2024. He made daily vlogs and criticised movies with his friends and family on this channel.[13] He also started a new gaming channel Elvish Yadav Gaming in May 2023.[14][15]
In 2023, he participated as a wildcard-entrant, on the captive reality show Bigg Boss OTT (Hindi season 2) and emerged as the winner.[16]
Additionally, he owns a clothing brand 'systumm_clothing'[17] and an NGO, 'Elvish Yadav Foundation', which helps underprivileged children.[11]
He participated in the Entertainers Cricket League (ECL) 2024. It concluded its league stage and playoffs, with the final match played between Haryanvi Hunters, led by Elvish Yadav, and Lucknow Lions. Haryanvi Hunters emerged as the winner, defeating Lucknow Lions by four wickets in the final league match of the ECL T10.[18]
Controversies
Yadav utilized his YouTube platform to engage in a practice commonly referred to as "roasting," specifically targeting TikTok videos. In his content, he drew comparisons between the youthful individuals featured in TikTok videos and individuals engaged in the scavenging of discarded items, colloquially known as "ragpickers".[19] He encountered significant backlash for his critical commentary directed towards Kusha Kapila, a female comedian and actor. His comments were widely regarded as an instance of online abuse, and they ignited substantial controversy and disapproval from the online community.[20]
In September 2023, Yadav generated additional controversy when he misgendered Arjun Bijlani as "a woman". This particular statement, deemed offensive and inappropriate, attracted extensive criticism and condemnation from various quarters.[21][22]
On 3 November 2023, Noida Police filed an FIR against Elvish and five others after nine venomous snakes, including cobras, were found in their possession. These snakes and snake venom were used at alleged illegal raves.[23] The case was initiated based on a complaint from BJP MP Maneka Gandhi's NGO, who accused Elvish of shooting videos with snakes and hosting unauthorized parties with snake venom and drugs. An undercover operation led to the arrest of five individuals who named Elvish Yadav as the mastermind.[24] Later, on 17 March 2024, Yadav, along with five others, was arrested under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and Section 120A (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code for arranging snake venom at rave parties.[25] Subsequently, they were sent to judicial custody for 14 days,[26][25] where Yadav confessed to arranging snake venom.[27] On 20 March 2024, the probe against Yadav spread to additional cases in Goa and Punjab.[28] On 22 March 2024, Yadav was granted bail by the Gautam Buddha Nagar district court.[29]
On 8 March 2024, footage of Yadav, along with multiple companions, assaulting, physically abusing and giving death threats to fellow content creator, Sagar Thakur (known online as MaxTern) at a garment shop in Gurgaon, went viral online. According to India Today, an FIR has been registered against him. The altercation supposedly happened after a social media clash, in which Thakur criticized Yadav for cosying up to comedian Munawar Faruqui.[6][30] However, Yadav told The Indian Express that Thakur threatened to kill his family, and the incident took place in the heat of the moment, and alleged that Thakur had set up cameras at the site of the altercation, so that the incident would be caught on camera.[31][32]
On 4 May 2024, ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report against Elvish Yadav, under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, based on the FIR lodged by Noida Police.[33]