Exclusive: I used to like him as an actor, but this was not nice: Nehwal on Siddharth's 'sexist' tweet

"I used to like him as an actor, but this was not nice," Saina Nehwal told Etv Bharat after actor Siddharth's derogatory reply to her tweet where she condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security lapse in Punjab.

Hyderabad: Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal on Monday said actor Siddharth could have "expressed himself with better words" after the latter came up with a derogatory reply to Nehwal's tweet where she condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security lapse in Punjab.

"I used to like him as an actor but this was not nice," Nehwal told Etv Bharat over the telephone.

In her tweet on January 5, the badminton player, who is also a member of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), had said, "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."

• 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 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  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

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  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

The tweet by the star player was made in reference to Modi's alleged breach of security where his convoy was stuck during his visit to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district.

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The Rang De Basanti actor had responded to Nehwal's tweet, which has been termed as 'sexist' and 'derogatory' by many on the social networking site. "Subtle cock champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India (sic)," he had said.

On being asked to comment on the Tamil actor's response, she told Etv Bharat, "I am not sure what he meant. He can express himself with better words but I guess it’s twitter and you remain noticed with such words and comments. If the security of the PM of India is an issue then I am not sure what is secure in the country."

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Siddharth has often been subjected to severe online trolling for his tweets but has continued to remain vocal on social media.