Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' actor Munmun Dutta, who is being panned for using the word 'bhangi' in a viral video, has issued an apology.
On Monday, after '#arrestMunmunDutta' trended on Twitter, the actor took to the microblogging site to share a statement.
It read: "This is in reference to a video that I posted yesterday where in one word used by me has been misinterpreted. It was never said with the intent of insult, intimidate, humiliate or hurt anyone's feelings."
"Because of my language barrier, I was genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word. Once I was made aware of its meaning I immediately took the part down. I have utmost respect for every single person from every caste, creed or gender and acknowledge their immense contribution to our Society or nation," the actor wrote.
"I sincerely would like to apologize to every single person who have been unintentionally hurt by the usage of the word and I sincerely regret for the same," she added.
Earlier on Monday, netizens slammed Dutta for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Scheduled Caste community.
In a viral clip, Munmun was seen using the 'catiest slur' to describe how she would look on camera without make up.
While some had demanded an apology for the same, a section of netizens even tagged Mumbai Police and asked them to take a strict action against Munmun.
Earlier, Bollywood actors Shilpa Shetty and Salman Khan have also received flak for using the word 'bhangi'.
In 2017, an FIR was lodged against Salman and Shilpa for hurting the sentiments of the SC community by Navin Ramchandra Lade, General Secretary of the Rojgar Aghari Republican Party of India.
