Indian star wins reality show
Shilpa Shetty wins television show in which she was subjected to racial taunts.
But Shetty was quick to play down allegations that she had been the victim of racial abuse on the show.
“Things happen and people make mistakes and we are all human beings and we are all fallible,” said Shetty after emerging victorious from the specially designed Big Brother House.
“I know one thing for sure, Jade really didn’t mean to be racist,” she said in an interview on Channel 4, referring to shamed television star Jade Goody who was a central figure in the furore.
“I really don’t want to leave England putting anyone in trouble.”
Condemnation
Among the comments that kicked up a diplomatic storm, Shetty was told to “go back to the slums” and asked whether she lives in a shack, prompting protesters in India to burn effigies of the show’s producers.
British ministers lined up to condemn the programme when the row was at its height, while Indian officials urged their British counterparts to intervene.
The incident overshadowed a visit to India by Gordon Brown, Britain‘s finance minister.
Show producers sought out Shetty and reportedly paid her around $686,000 to “bring some Bollywood glamour to proceedings and attract viewers with South Asian roots”.