American YouTuber Marvin Achi and Indian content creator Shivani Kumari are in the middle of a bit of an online row following some miscommunication during Achi’s recent trip to India. The two YouTubers collaborated nearly two weeks ago, but things have soured between them over a festive custom of Tesu-Jhenjhi.

They’d previously drawn some attention for their videos made together in Ariyari village, Auraiya, UP. The friendly vibe between the two has apparently soured somewhat in recent days. A row over a traditional village custom has apparently arisen and that’s put the kibosh on any further collaboration between the two.

Why Did Marvin Achi Get Upset With Shivani Kumari?

In his vlog, Marvin Achi revealed that he had come to India for content collaboration solely on the trust of Shivani Kumari.

As per a Navbharat Times report of 30th October 2026, the rift began during a Tesu-Jhenjhi celebration in Shivani’s village. Part of the ritual involved Shivani making a moustache image on Marvin’s face. In the video, Marvin appeared to be comfortable doing it; however, his perception changed later on.

Some netizens commented on Marvin’s YouTube that making an image on Marvin’s face appears far from a normal tradition, indicating that Shivani may have done the act to humiliate Marvin in some capacity in the quest of giving shock value to the audience.

Upon coming to know about the public perception of making a mustache and an image on his face, Marvin was not happy with this and questioned Shivani and her team whether she made a joke of him intentionally!

It clearly upset him, and in the wake of that, he did share some videos of himself criticising Shivani. The report doesn’t actually establish that this was the only reason for the rift.

Marvin shared screenshots of chats with few people with whom he had asked for their perception. They replied to Marvin that the act by Shivani did not looked good on Marvin.

Marvin had reportedly said he was going to India to go and learn about the traditions. He wasn’t happy with what transpired at the party. As per his account (via his friend), painting his face like that wasn’t an Indian custom at all and was just him being made the laughing stock. He thought Shivani was wrong to do it, particularly as he had gone to India to learn about Indian culture.

Interestingly, they were still appearing together in videos right up until the controversy. Shivani’s channel had videos listed with Marvin on both 26th and 27th October 2026. So their collaboration had clearly been going on right up until the point of the reported fallout.

I was misled: Marvin Achi

Marvin gave his own perspective in his recent video regarding the miscommunication, where he felt that he was misled by Shivani Kumari for making a drawing on Marvin’s face under the guise of Tesu-Jhenjhi.

Marvin opined that he doesn’t have a problem with the customs and festivals of India; however, the act of painting on his face made him that he was mocked and humiliated.

“She tried to publicly make me look foolish. Is that her intention?” Marvin Achi said on Shivani Kumari in his recent video.

Shivani Kumari And Abhishek Agarwal Respond

In her recent video, Shivani broke down over Marvin’s videos and questioned Marvin’s intent in spotlighting Shivani for the fallout between the two creators.

“What do you gain by making videos against me?” Shivani said in the video with tears rolling down her cheeks.

She was also clearly upset at being publicly called out by someone she’d invited into her home. As per Shivani, she invited Marvin to her home and did everything to make him feel comfortable.

Shivani’s teammate Abhishek Agarwal also opined that his team tried to contact Marvin about the miscommunication related to the act of mustache drawing on Marvin’s face but did not get any reply from the Nigerian YouTuber.

During their earlier association in July 2025, Shivani had referred to Marvin as a brother and explained that she treated him as family.

Shivani reportedly said that Marvin could have just spoken to her privately and explained his discomfort. She was also clearly disappointed that someone she’d invited into her home would go public with the issue.

For the moment, the reported rift over the Tesu-Jhenjhi ritual is the immediate catalyst. Whether Marvin and Shivani will sort it out and get back to working together is very much an open question.