19 Jun 2018

Shashi Naidoo: I copied and pasted a response in an attempt to appear smart

Cape Town - Local TV personality and model Shashi Naidoo has taken to social media to "explain what happened" regarding her recent pro-Israeli comments on social media.

The 37-year-old came under fire for coming across as being"extremely uninformed" after expressing her views on Israel and Palestine on Saturday.

The model released several public apologies following the incident, saying: "I am extremely sorry for the statements I have made, unfortunately my comments came from very little knowledge of the political standing as I am not a political figure or even follow political."

In her latest apology, Shashi explains what sparked her comments. She says that she received comments on an Instagram photo she posted of DJ Black Coffee, regarding a previous performance in Israel, and wanted to post a response in his defense.

"I reached out to a friend to help articulate a response and offer a secondary point of view, as to be honest, I didn't know much about the situation (although it sure must have looked otherwise)."

She adds: "I stupidly copied and pasted the response verbatim in a feeble attempt to appear smart on social media without reading it comprehensibly (I know), thereby entering an issue of world importance, I had no real fundamental understanding of - my biggest mistake."

"Words will never be enough to express how truly sorry I am. It will be in my actions going forward that I do better," she ends off.

READ THE FULL RESPONSE HERE:

It is with great humility that I step forward and not only accept, but again, sincerely and deeply apologise to all that I offended and hurt for my post in regard to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and my lack of understanding in my initial apology to the Muslim community. This should of been to the Palestinian people in the first instance, and broader society as a whole. I apologise unconditionally, but I would also like to this opportunity to explain what happened with regard to my recent Instagram posts. I posted a picture with a DJ recently in Ibiza and the post attracted commentary from another Instagram user because he had played in Israel. In what I believed was defense of him, I reached out to a friend to help articulate a response and offer a secondary point of view, as to be honest, I didn’t know much about the situation (although it sure must have looked otherwise). I stupidly copied and pasted the response verbatim in a feeble attempt to appear smart on social media without reading it comprehensibly (I know), thereby entering an issue of world importance, I had no real fundamental understanding of - my biggest mistake. There is no spin. This is the truth. I expressed his worldview as my own, and for that I will forever live with the consequences. I agree with the commentary that it not only highlighted my ignorance on the issue and the way it was handled, but also made me seem uncaring and indifferent to the suffering of any human on this planet. I in no way wish to make excuses or expect people to forgive me at this time. I messed up. I know that, and I take full accountability. All that I hope to achieve is to convey that I am sincerely sorry, and in a way thank every one who called me out, as I have learnt from this. No matter what ones beliefs are, there is always room for empathy and compassion. The last couple of days have shown me that there is a larger education that I need to undertake on issues facing humanity. I have read the commentary and will further not only educate, but re-educate myself . Words will never be enough to express how truly sorry I am. It will be in my actions going forward that I do better.
A post shared by Shashi Naidoo (@shashinaidoo) on Jun 18, 2018 at 11:08pm PDT

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