'Can't Justify My Tone, Words': Actor Apologises to Ace Shuttler Saina Nehwal for 'Rude Joke'

Earlier, Indian actor Siddharth, known for his performance in the movie 'Rang De Basanti', was brutally trolled for the usage of an alleged sexual innuendo in his reply to badminton star Saina Nehwal and referring to her as "Subtle c*ck champion of the world".

After facing backlash for his alleged sexist remark and calling former World No. 1 Badminton Champion Saina Nehwal a "Subtle C*ck Champion", actor Siddharth has apologised to her in an open letter shared on social media.

“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," Siddharth wrote in the open letter.

"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. 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,” Siddharth said.

Dear @NSaina pic.twitter.com/plkqxVKVxY

— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) January 11, 2022

The controversy sparked off a few days ago when Nehwal had earlier tweeted about the security threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Punjab state, wherein his convoy was stuck on a flyover for about 20 minutes due to a blockade by protesters.

The 42-year-old actor Siddharth replied to Nehwal's tweet, saying "Subtle c*ck champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India. Shame on you #Rihanna (sic)."

His remark didn't go down well with netizens, who took to social media, slamming the actor and demanding an apology.

However, Siddharth claimed that he didn't do anything disrespectful as he was allegedly referring to the 'Cock and Bull' idiom which means an unbelievable tale that is intended to deceive.

India's National Commission of Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma complained to the police and urged Twitter India to block the actor's account.

National Commission for Women chairperson writes to Twitter India "to immediately block actor Siddharth's tweet on shuttler Saina Nehwal, calls it "misogynist and outrageous."

The actor later said, "Nothing disrespectful was intended, reading otherwise is unfair." pic.twitter.com/ln6SCBs9fG

— ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2022

Siddharth has deleted the controversial tweet and told Saina Nehwal that she will always be his champion and certainly he had no intent to attack her as a woman.

“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,” he said.