Siddharth Apologises to Saina Nehwal for Tweet
An Indian actor has apologised to badminton star Saina Nehwal after his "sexist" tweet to her kicked up a social media storm.
Saina Nehwal is a badminton player. Recently PM Modi had gotten stuck on a bridge in Punjab and there was a huge controversy about a security lapse and Modi being stuck on the bridge for 20 minutes which was very dangerous. Nehwal, who joined the BJP in 2020, posted a Tweet that said that Modi being stuck on the bridge for 20 mins was very wrong and he should be given the highest security. Siddharth is a famous south Indian actor and is known for his acting in the Bollywood movie Rang De Basanti. Siddharth has always spoken out against the BJP and PM Modi.
He responded to Nehwal’s team by saying, "Subtle cock champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India." The use of sexual innuendo (or his wordplay for shuttlecock used in the game of badminton) in his reply quickly kicked up a Twitter storm with netizens calling the actor out for his ‘sexist’ comment and accusing him of using ‘derogatory’ and ‘vulgar’ remarks. India's National Commission for Women (NCW) even wrote to Twitter, asking them to block Siddharth's account.
It also wrote to police in Maharashtra state, where the actor is based, asking them to take action against him.
Siddharth then responded by saying he was referring to the phrase ‘cock & bull’ and did not mean to insult the badminton player. He said he wanted to say Saina was unnecessarily making drama. He has now deleted the tweet. Now a woman named Prerna has filed a case with the Hyderabad Cyber Crime wing against actor Siddharth for his tweet against Saina.
