Do we like Lilly Singh?
Our score: 8 out of 10. A clean harm record, a long run of visible LGBTQ+ advocacy, and one fumbled joke that she apologised for and pulled.
Lilly Singh is a Toronto-raised YouTube star who turned a bedroom channel into a mainstream career. She went on to host a US network late-night show, which was a big deal for a woman of Indian heritage. Her most recent honour is a doctor of laws from her old university, York, in October 2025.
Her main stumble was in September 2019. On her late-night show she joked that Jessica Alba's kids wearing towels on their heads looked like her Punjabi friends. Sikh community members criticised it on social media, saying it echoed a slur aimed at turban-wearing Sikhs. She apologised on Twitter within days, called it a disrespectful and problematic joke, shared a video on the turban's history, and the segment was cut. That's the right response, and a one-off rather than a pattern.
On the harm check, we found nothing against her. We found no campaigning against trans people or anyone else, no conspiracy rabbit holes, and no dodgy partners. To be fair, we also found no statement from her on trans issues either way, so that's an absence rather than a stand. In 2019 she told NBC News she wouldn't get into specific parties or candidates.
Nothing new on her lately that raises a flag. Her podcast Shame Less with Lilly Singh was reported in late 2025 to be filming its biggest season yet in India. It's described as powered by her nonprofit, Unicorn Island Fund, which focuses on girls and women. No court cases or credible allegations turned up in our searches.
Overall she's a solid yes: visible and open about her sexuality, quick to own a mistake, and building things for women and girls. The record is thinner on recent politics than on her early work, so call it a strong pass, not a gold star.