Actor Siddharth apologises to Saina Nehwal for 'derogatory' remarks after widespread outrage

Actor Siddharth on Tuesday issued an apology for his comments against famed Badminton player Saina Nehwal after facing severe backlash.

Siddharth, who is known for speaking up on political matters on Twitter, had mocked Saina's take on PM Narendra Modi's reported security breach. Condemning the alleged security breach of PM Modi in Punjab, Saina had written, "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 reaction to her statement, Siddharth had re-tweeted with a comment stating, "Subtle cock champion of the world. Thank God we have protectors of India. Shame on you #Rihanna (sic)." While the tweet was met with widespread criticism, things took a turn for the worse when the actor defended his comments stating that the tweet was taken out of context."'COCK & BULL' That's the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading! Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period (sic)," he wrote.

Many celebrities like Chinmayi and Parupalli Kashyap, and the chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, criticised the actor for his comment. Now, Siddharth posted an apology letter addressing Saina on his Twitter handle. "Dear Saina, I want to apologise 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 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 wrote.

The actor added that the remarks weren't intended to attack Saina 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 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," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Siddharth's original tweets against Saina are now deleted from his Twitter account.