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Shetty: British bullies too scared to face me
2007-02-06
The women who tormented Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on a British television show have been too ashamed to face her since their behaviour sparked international fury, Shetty has said in an interview. Shetty, 31, also insisted she was not even invited to the wrap party for the "Celebrity Big Brother" reality programme, where famous faces get locked in a studio house for nearly four weeks. The Indian actress was singled out by three British housemates in such an unpleasant fashion that furious demonstrators in India torched effigies, Indian ministers vowed "appropriate action" and Britain's prime minister Tony Blair and finance minister Gordon Brown were forced to speak out. More than 40,000 complaints were received from viewers citing racist bullying. "I haven't heard from any of the girls since leaving the house," Shetty told Reveal magazine on Tuesday. "They haven't tried to contact me. I think at the moment, they are probably too ashamed to face me after everything that has gone on. And also very, very scared. I don't want them to be scared." She blasted rumours that she would meet up for reconciliation with her chief tormentor Jade Goody, a former "Big Brother" contestant whose public profile has taken a huge dent. "I am no Samaritan -- I'm just human," Shetty said. "If anybody thinks I can resurrect somebody's career or character, they're wrong, it's just not possible for me to do. If I need to speak to Jade, I don't need to do it as a publicity stunt -- I'll do it in private, between ourselves." Shetty has been invited to watch the prime minister's questions session in the British parliament's lower House of Commons on Wednesday, her spokesman told AFP. She will be a guest of Keith Vaz, an MP of Indian ethnic origin.
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