Shekher apologises; says post on media forwarded by mistake

With his shared Facebook post against the media and women scribes drawing the ire of journalists, actor-turned-BJP politician S Ve Shekher today tendered an apology, saying he had forwarded a friend's post "without reading" the content.

The message was forwarded "without reading the content, by mistake... was unintentional", he said.

"When it was pointed out by a friend that the content was abusive, it was removed immediately," he said in a statement.

Shekher courted a controversy when he shared the derogatory post against the media, especially women journalists, drawing criticism from various quarters.

The Facebook post was reportedly shared yesterday, but was found removed later. It makes insinuations against the media and women journalists in light of the "patgate" row involving Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

The 78-year-old governor had patted on the cheek of a woman journalist earlier this week during the conclusion of a press meet in Chennai, apparently to diplomatically avoid queries posed by her.

The incident had triggered a furore with political parties, including the opposition DMK, calling for his removal as Tamil Nadu governor.

Purohit later apologised to the woman scribe.

Shekher's shared post also had some caustic references to the woman scribe whose cheek the governor patted.

These drew instant condemnation, with a number of journalists lashing out at his post, which was found removed later.

In his statement, the actor-politician said he does not endorse the views expressed in the post he shared.

The Chennai Union of Journalists denounced Shekher over the post, with many journalists taking to Twitter and Facebook to express their anger.

"I come from a family that respects women and women journalists. If I had hurt anyone in the very few minutes of (sharing) that post... it was not on purpose and (I express) my heartfelt apologies," he said.

Shekher, however, said he was "surprised" to find some people circulated the screenshots of the post without finding them offensive.

Meanwhile, some persons have also filed a police complaint against Shekher.