Mumbai: Amid heavy criticism for his sexist Tweet, Rang De Basanti actor Siddharth apologised to Saina Nehwal on Tuesday night for his ‘rude joke’.
Saina Nehwal had tweeted, “No nation can claim itself to be safe if the security of its own PM gets compromised. I condemn, in the strongest words possible, the cowardly attack on PM Modi by anarchists.” Reacting to Nehwal’s tweet, the actor tweeted, “Subtle cock champion of the world… Thank god we have protectors of India (sic).”
After being criticized heavily, in his letter of apology, Siddarth wrote on Twitter, “Dear Saina, I want to apologise to you for my rude joke that I wrote as a response to a tweet of yours, a few days ago. I may disagree with you on many things but even my disappointment or anger when I read your tweet, cannot justify my tone and words. I know I have more grace in me than that.”
“As for the joke…If a joke needs to be explained, then it wasn’t a very good joke to begin with. Sorry about a joke that didn’t land,” he added.
Siddharth clarified that he had no “malicious” intent. “I, however must insist my wordplay and humor had none of the malicious intent that so many people from all quarters have attributed to it. I am a staunch feminist ally and I assure you there was no gender implied in my tweet and certainly no intent to attack you as a woman,” he added.
“I hope we can put this behind us and that you will accept my letter. You will always be my Champion. Honestly, Siddharth,” he concluded.
