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Shilpa Shetty denies she retracted her allegation of racism against Goody under pressure

Hasan Suroor

Acknowledges that her decision had "angered" millions of her supporters in India

LONDON: Shilpa Shetty has denied that she retracted her allegation of racism against Jade Goody on the Celebrity Big Brother show under pressure from Channel 4, though she acknowledged that her decision had "angered" millions of her supporters in India.

In her first media interview since winning the Big Brother contest last weekend, the Bollywood actor told Sky TV that "nobody ever forced" her to take back the allegation that Ms. Goody's behaviour towards her was racist.

Ms. Shetty said she retracted because she realised that she had been too harsh.

"I realised I had made a harsh judgement. It was judgemental which I am not," she said.

"Many people in India were angered that I retracted under pressure ... But no. Nobody ever forced me to do or say things that I did," she insisted.

Asked if she did not feel that she let down her supporters by not "standing up" to racism rather than withdrawing her allegation, Ms. Shetty said, "I stood my ground but I did it in my own way. You need to do it in a way that is dignified ... I've made my point and I think people have understood my point. People have said I handled it well and with dignity. I'm proud of it. I've had girls come up to me and say they'd handle it this way [if they faced racism]."

When the interviewer persisted with questions about Ms. Goody and her behaviour, Ms. Shetty nearly lost her temper.

"I'm so sick and tired talking about Jade. I'm really fatigued. I really want to stop," she said.

Pressed to describe Ms. Goody's conduct, Ms. Shetty said it was "aggressive, obnoxious at times, and mannerless."

She agreed that what she faced was "bullying" but insisted that it was not racist.

"The word racism doesn't exist in my dictionary," she said adding that she "did bury the hatchet the day she hugged me."

Ms. Shetty admitted there were moments when she considered quitting the show but said she had no regrets.

The programme was a "huge" platform to "showcase Indian culture" and she believed she came out of it with her dignity intact.

"I wasn't there as a Bollywood star but as a responsible Indian citizen and it was a huge responsibility," she said.

She said she had no plans to take part in more reality shows and wanted to do good cinema, whether in Hollywood, Britain or India.

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