At the Love Is Blind season 2 reunion, Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee undoubtedly got the villain edit, but audiences might be too quick to shun him due to his honesty. He formed an emotional connection with Deepti Vempati in the pods. However, Shake from Love Is Blind damaged his reputation by asking his dates about their weight and appearance. Deepti was aware of Shake's less-than-popular behavior, but she saw him on a deeper level.
Then, for Shake, that initial attraction seemed to fade overnight. He developed a deep friendship with Deepti but repeatedly referenced his lack of "animalistic attraction to her" on the show. Deepti and Shake both acknowledged that dating outside of their race may have triggered some internalized discomfort within themselves. Those Love Is Blind revelations initially drew them together, but Shake couldn't seem to shake his preferences, and his commentary led to his current bad reputation. Now, Shake's taking his cues from Billie Eilish and having fun being the bad guy.
After watching the show, the Love Is Blind cast didn't like Shake's comments about his lack of sexual chemistry with Deepti. All people have aesthetic preferences, but it's often inappropriate to voice those preferences, especially in light of mens' history of objectifying women. Shake comparing getting married with making a purchase didn't help. He defended himself on the show, saying, "If I were to marry someone and you know there was a big weight discrepancy, it would be very hard for me to get past that," and, "I was ready to get deep. I wanted to know if we are going to do this. I want to make make sure I'm doing everything in my power to ask my questions."
Host Vanessa Lachey suggested that Shake picked the wrong reality dating show. He agreed, saying he was a better fit for "Love is Blurry." Shake launched a meme campaign on Instagram to defend himself against a barrage of hateful commentary. The affinity with Kanye West shows a love of free speech that never reads the room.
Maybe Too Hot To Handle would be a better fit for Shake, but he might not get cast on that show. What gets lost in villainizing Shake is that looks played into romance for everyone, but only he was blunt about it. When Shake told Jarrette Jones that he felt like he was with his aunt, he scolded Jarrette for laughing. He wasn't trying to speak badly about Deepti, but he was tactlessly honest. Shake had mixed emotions about Deepti. It may be unfair to assume that he never cared about her or respected her on any level. His communication style could use a drastic overhaul but he's not a liar or manipulator. During the reunion, Shake also suggested that Shaina Hurley accepted Kyle Abrams' proposal to stay on the show, a fair judgment call that was dismissed too quickly.
At the end of the Love Is Blind season 2 reunion, Shake said that every woman on the stage was beautiful, but he wasn't attracted to all of them, except Vanessa, to her dismay. He argued that people couldn't control these animal instincts. Nick Lachey shot back that Shake treats animals as a veterinarian, but they are human beings, and both men have a point. Attraction is instinctual, but emotional intelligence comes in handy for humans. Shake may not realize his words' impact, but he was real. That's a rare trait these days which just needs some fine-tuning.