Ankush Bahuguna, beauty influencer and content creator, shared a video of himself dressed in a pink suit as a group of men hooted at him and hurled homophobic abuse on the streets of London. In his video, Ankush said people made fun of his appearance and made comments like "Welcome to the Parade".
Ankush Bahugana and cisgender have been among the most searched Google keywords in the past few hours after the video went viral online. Ankush Bahuguna is widely known for his work in fashion, makeup, and breaking gender stereotypes, and is dominating the headlines after he shared he had an uncomfortable experience while walking in London.
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Who is Ankush Bahuguna?
Born and brought up in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, Ankush Bahuguna has worked his way to become one of the biggest names in the Indian beauty and comedy content creation spaces with over a million followers on social media. According to reports, Ankush Bahuguna completed his schooling from Ahlcon Public School in New Delhi and pursued graduation in architecture from Sushant School of Art and Architecture and also trained as one.
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From battling self-doubt during his childhood to navigating uncertainty in his early career, Ankush Bahuguna’s journey has been nothing short of inspiring. While pursuing architecture, he gradually discovered comfort in expressing himself through writing, and within a year, realised his true passion lay in content creation. Reflecting on the turning point in his life, Ankush shared that walking away from a professional degree and a secure job demanded immense courage and self-belief.
From an actor's dream to content creation
He shifted to Mumbai a few years back and trained as an actor and spent a lot of time auditioning as acting was always his Plan A, he told Elle. He began experimenting with comedy content on Instagram around 2017, before steadily building a voice and audience through 2018.
"Acting was always Plan A and I'm finally at a place in life where I can give this dream my all. Along the way, I also realised how grateful I am to the audience I've built, and I'd never let that go. This is something I've built on my own, by my own rules. I'm hoping to become a mainstream actor but am also very happy and proud to be a creator," he was quoted as saying.
Ankush Bahuguna’s rise in the makeup and K-Beauty space
The pandemic was a turning point in his career. Around 2020, Ankush Bahuguna began taking beauty content more seriously and turned to makeup and self-expression through beauty content. As his popularity grew, major beauty brands also began taking notice and today, he collaborates with several leading international and Indian beauty labels, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, Dr. Jart+, The Ordinary and d'Alba, while also maintaining partnerships with Sephora and Rare Beauty.
His growing association with K-beauty also reflects the rising influence of Korean skincare and beauty trends among Indian audiences. One of the biggest moments in his journey came in 2025, when he attended a Rare Beauty launch event and met Selena Gomez — an experience he described as surreal. In February this year, he attended Estée Lauder’s global product launch in Los Angeles, becoming the only creator from India invited to represent the country.
Ankush Bahuguna on cisgender privilege
"I never started any of this to be the torchbearer of breaking gender norms and I'm aware of my cisgender privilege. I know that the thing I get so much support for, a lot of queer, trans, non-binary folks get abused and harassed for–and I wish that changes. Everybody, regardless of their gender or identity, should be accepted for the way they dress and express," he once told Elle magazine.
What happened to him in London?
Ankush Bahuguna spoke about an experience he had in London through a video. Ankush Bahuguna shared a video showing men making homophobic remarks at him in London while he wore an all-pink outfit. Speaking about the incident, Ankush expressed his disappointment and shock. He said, “It’s 2026 for f***’s sake, and this is what happens on the street if you just wear pink.” “You think this is London; it would be more progressive, more open-minded… clearly not," he added.
In his video, Ankush also spoke about a wider issue linked to such behaviour. He said, “If a guy just minding his own business… is making you feel uncomfortable, it’s not his masculinity that’s weak.”
