Won’t be okay to be called racist because I’m not: Esha Gupta

TIL Desk Bollywood/ Having faced a backlash on the social media for making racist remarks against Nigerian footballer Alexander Iwobi, Bollywood actress Esha Gupta acknowledged her mistake in not understanding the undertone of racism. She says it will not be okay to be called a racist ever again because she is not.

Asked if she feels wrongfully targeted, Esha told in a interview: “Wrongfully accused, I was saying since the beginning. In a group chat, you are discussing 20 other things but regarding the game. Of course we are discussing the game. We are all Arsenal fans. People were like ‘Oh, she is laughing’, but they don’t even know what I am laughing about.

“I clearly mentioned in the chat that ‘Oh! he should be benched’… People don’t understand words like ‘gorilla’ and ‘monkey’ in India. We don’t even know that it means anything racist… I know so many parents who call their children ‘bandar lag raha hai yaar’ (looking like a monkey). It does not mean that they are saying in a racist undertone.” On January 28, social media was abuzz over a snapshot of a WhatsApp conversation that Esha shared on her Instagram stories. The conversation criticised Iwobi for his performance.