Twinkle Khanna clarifies about her comments on Akshay Kumar- Mallika Dua controversy

November 3, 2017 - 7:24 PM IST

Akshay Kumar, who has always stayed away from controversy, found himself in hot water recently when comedian Mallika Dua and her father Vinod Dua called him out over his sexist statement on his comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.

Twinkle Khanna clarifies about her comments on Akshay Kumar- Mallika Dua controversy

As per the format of the show, the mentors and judge need to reach an elevated platform and ring a humongous bell situated there if a performance by a comedian is enjoyed by them. Impressed by one such performance, all four of them went on the platform. Just when Mallika Dua reached for the bell, Akshay Kumar jokingly said, “Mallika ji, aap bell bajao, main aapko bajata hoon.”

This had angered Mallika Dua's father Vinod Dua who publicly lashed out against Akshay Kumar. Even Mallika Dua had talked being uncomfortable in the workplace. Since the controversy erupted, Mallika had even dragged Akshay Kumar- Twinkle Khanna's daughter to prove her point.

Then, Twinkle Khanna came out in support of her husband Akshay Kumar's comment to Mallika saying, "Humour should be seen in the right context". She even cracked some jokes on Mallika Dua.

Now, Twinkle Khanna has clarified her stance on the whole controversy. In a lengthy post, Twinkle wrote,

"Unwise Wisecracks

As I reflect on my actions this past week, I realize that I got pulled into this debate not as a social commentator but as a wife and unlike my normal, slightly rational self, my reaction was purely emotional and without perspective, and I have been rather miserable about it ever since.

I would like to apologize to everyone who felt that I was trivializing the cause of feminism especially because I strongly believe in equality and have been a feminist from the time I was a young woman, much before I even knew the term.

I think this came at a point where I was already reeling from an onslaught of abuse against various members of my family, which started with vicious and personal comments about my mother and went on to a widely shared open letter where the writer as a comeback for my comments about Karva Chauth tried to fling muck at every single member of my family. So when in this latest episode regarding my husband, my five-year-old was also dragged in for something that she had absolutely nothing to do with, I reached breaking point. And with my protective instincts in overdrive, I reacted irrationally with the only tools I have that help me retain my sanity in this fishbowl existence -words and lame jokes -though they have got me into trouble often enough in the past as well.

Once while embroiled in an earlier controversy (the story of my life it seems), I had written that a wise woman keeps her hands firmly in her pockets and does not accidentally unzip anything including her mouth. I am not this woman clearly, but I am going to try to be a little wiser from now on."

Akshay Kumar is yet to respond to the whole controversy.