Actor Siddharth apologized to Saina Nehwal on Tuesday night, after receiving heavy criticism for his “rude joke” on the badminton player on Twitter.
The actor had, in a Twitter post on January 6, retweeted a post by Nehwal in which she had expressed her concern over the security breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Punjab visit on January 5.
In his letter of apology posted on Twitter, Siddarth began, “Dear Saina, I want to apologize to you for the 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 the words. I know I have more grace in me than that.”
Further, he apologized for his joke.
Siddharth clarified that he had no “malicious” intent and that he is a “feminist ally”.
“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 in his statement.
He concluded with the hope that she will accept his letter. “I hope we can put this behind us and that you will accept my letter. You will always be my Champion. Honestly, Siddharth,” he signed off.