Video of The Great Khali lifting world’s shortest woman up by one hand sparks heated debate

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Louise Thomas

Editor

A video of wrestler The Great Khali picking up the world's shortest woman has triggered a backlash on social media for his "misconduct".

Khali, whose real name is Dalip Singh Rana, is a retired professional wrestler and wrestling promoter better known by his ring name The Great Khali. He was the first Indian professional wrestler on WWE, at one stage challenging John Cena for the World Championship title.

In a video uploaded on his Instagram page, Rana can be seen lifting 30-year-old Jyoti Amge with just one hand and swinging her back and forth before making her sit on his lap.

The video was uploaded over the weekend and has garnered over 134 million views.

In another video, Ms Amge could be seen saying she "is feeling nice" before the wrestler lifts her up and swings her again.

She giggles and laughs as Khali asks her "are you feeling scared", to which she replies: "Yes."

A number of people responding to the Instagram video have questioned whether it is an appropriate way to interact with a 30-year-old woman.

"She is a grown woman, is it okay to hold her like that?" asked one Instagram user.

"This looks very uncomfortable and highly objectionable. It seems as if she is just a toy to him...," user Shruti Giri said in a comment.

"Why is he picking her up? Isn't this woman an adult? Don't think this should make anyone laugh," wrote another person.

Ms Amge was named the shortest woman in the world by the Guinness World Records in 2011, with her diminutive stature being down to a growth disorder called achondroplasia.

Born in 1993 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Ms Amge stands at 2 feet 0.6 inches tall. She has been a contestant in the popular Indian reality TV series “Big Boss” and featured in season 4 of the American Horror Story.

The WWE website lists Rana as being 7 foot 1 inch tall (2.16m). In 2022 he announced he was joining India’s ruling BJP party and has been campaigning for Narendra Modi to win a rare third term at the ongoing general elections.

The Independent has approached Rana for comment.