Actor Siddharth apologises to Saina Nehwal in open letter

Actor Siddharth has issued an apology to badminton champion Saina Nehwal in an open letter shared on his social media handles. The actor had made objectionable comment on a tweet by Saina Nehwal in which she had expressed her concern over the security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Punjab visit on January 5.

Siddharth's letter on Twitter reads: "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.

I, however must insist my word play and humour 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.

I hope we can put this behind us and that you will accept my letter. You will always be my Champion. Honestly, Siddharth."

For the unversed, recently, Saina Nehwal tweeted about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach in Punjab, ‘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.’
In response to this, Siddharth had tweeted, ‘Subtle cock champion of the world. Thank God we have protectors of India.’

Clarifying his comment, the actor later wrote, '"COCK & BULL" That's the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading! Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period.'

The National Commission for Women (NCW) called Siddharth's comment misogynist and has asked Twitter India to immediately block his account.

Also Watch: ‘This was not nice’: Saina Nehwal reacts to actor Siddharth’s remark