KOCHI: Actor turned politician Suresh Gopi, who allegedly touched a woman reporter inappropriately while speaking to the media, tendered an apology on Saturday.
The former BJP Rajya Sabha MP said he had never been disrespectful to anyone in his life on or off the stage and apologised to her if she had suffered any mental agony due to his behaviour.
"I have never misbehaved with anyone either in public space or privately. I had touched the reporter with fatherly affection. But if the person felt that I was behaving inappropriately, I respect her feelings. If my behaviour has hurt her, I apologise for it," he wrote on Facebook.
Suresh Gopi said he had no wrong intention and had seen the reporter as a daughter.
"If she has felt that I touched her inappropriately I apologise like a father. I was leaving the premises after speaking to the reporters, but the woman was blocking my way. I didn't have any wrong intention. I had tried to contact the reporter over the phone to apologise, but she didn't attend the call. Now if she is taking legal action against me, what can I do? I have three daughters and I had behaved like a father," he said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) issued a statement pointing out that Suresh Gopi's behaviour was inappropriate.
"We are planning to file a complaint with the Women's Commission," said KUWJ state president M V Vineetha and general secretary R Kiran Babu.
The row erupted after a video that surfaced online purportedly showing Gopi placing his hand on the shoulder of the journalist, who pushes it away twice, during a media interaction in northern Kozhikode on Friday.