Saina Nehwal’s father demands apology from actor Siddharth for ‘derogatory’ remarks

Actor Siddharth has received backlash over his recent remarks about badminton star Saina Nehwal.

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal (Source: Twitter)

Ace badminton player Saina Nehwal's father on Monday condemned the "derogatory" tweet by actor Siddharth against his daughter and demanded an apology from him.

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.

Speaking to ANI, Harvir Singh Nehwal said, "I have gone through all the details. Whatever he (Siddharth) said is not right. I got to know that he is a big actor in the South. He used very wrong words against Saina. It's very wrong for him to give such derogatory statements."

Harvir also demanded an apology from the actor.

"We condemn the statement given by him and he should apologise for his actions, whether it has been given intentionally or unintentionally. It is not good for a woman to be called by these words," he added.

Raising concerns over the Prime Minister's convoy being stopped for 15-20 minutes on a flyover in Punjab's Bathinda as the road was blocked by protesting farmers, the ace badminton player tweeted: "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."

Retweeting her post, Siddharth wrote, "Subtle cock champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India. Folded hands. Shame on you Rihanna."

Subtle cock champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India. 

Shame on you #Rihanna https://t.co/FpIJjl1Gxz

— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) January 6, 2022

Earlier, Nehwal's husband Parupalli Kashyap, who is himself a shuttler, slammed Siddharth for his statement and termed his Tweet ‘disgraceful’.

Kashyap took to Twitter to lash out at Siddharth and wrote - "This is upsetting for us … express ur opinion but choose better words man. I guess u thought it was cool to say it this way. #notcool #disgraceful." Kashyap and Saina had tied the knot in 2018.

This is upsetting for us … express ur opinion but choose better words man . I guess u thought it was cool to say it this way . #notcool #disgraceful

— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) January 10, 2022

Meanwhile, the actor also responded that he did not mean to disrespect anyone and his "subtle cock" tweet contained no kind of insinuation.

"Cock and bull. That's the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading. Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period," he tweeted.

"COCK & BULL"

That's the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading!

Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period. 

— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) January 10, 2022

However, the National Commission for Women (NCW) in a statement said that the comment by the actor was "misogynist and outrageous to the modesty of a woman amounting to disrespect and insult to the dignity of women on social media platforms."