Priyanka Chopra apologises over 'Quantico' Hindu terror plot
Actor says she is 'extremely saddened and sorry that some sentiments have been hurt by a recent episode of Quantico'
June 10, 2018
Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra apologised Sunday after a furore over a US TV series that showed her uncovering a terror plot hatched by Indian Hindu nationalists.
The episode of spy thriller Quantico showed Priyanka's character, an FBI agent named Alex Parrish, thwarting the plan and noticing one of the terrorists wearing a Hindu rosary.
The terrorists had tried to frame Pakistanis for the planned attack.
The episode, aired on June 1, triggered outrage in India with many fans taking to social media to ‘shame’ the Indian-born actress and calling her a ‘traitor’.
Priyanka, a former Miss World, said she was "a proud Indian and that will never change".
"I'm extremely saddened and sorry that some sentiments have been hurt by a recent episode of Quantico," Priyanka, 35, wrote on Twitter.
"That was not and would never be my intention. I sincerely apologise."
ABC Studios, the producers of the crime drama, have also offered an apology while defending Priyanka who is the lead actor of the show.
"The episode has stirred a lot of emotion, much of which is unfairly aimed at Priyanka Chopra, who didn't create the show, nor does she write or direct it," US media quoted the studio as saying in a statement.
"The show has featured antagonists of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, but in this case we inadvertently and regrettably stepped into a complex political issue. It was certainly not our intention to offend anyone."
Priyanka has been trolled on Twitter since the telecast and a street protest was also held in New Delhi on Saturday.
The first Indian to headline a US network series, Priyanka is hugely popular among Indian fans and feted for having made it in the Western entertainment industry.
But recently she was criticised by Hindu hardliners for visiting Rohingya Muslims and ignoring persecuted Hindus during her visit to Bangladesh as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Priyanka, who is one of the highest-paid Indian actors, featured last year in Baywatch, based on the television series of the same name.
