Days after a magazine cover shoot led to an outrage, Priyanka Chopra apologised for unkowingly hurt sentiments of people on Monday. The 34-year-old Quantico star featured on the cover of the October edition of Condé Nast Traveller India wearing a white t-shirt with the words, ‘REFUGEE’, ‘IMMIGRANT’ and ‘OUTSIDER’ crossed out in red — leaving only the word ‘TRAVELLER’.
Condé Nast Traveller had tweeted the cover photo on Oct. 7 :
The message on her t-shirt sparked a flurry of criticism on the micro-blogging site Twitter, with users accusing Chopra of belittling the plight of refugees who are forced to leave their homes.
Baywatch star Priyanka Chopra – who was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people and is an ambassador for the UN children’s agency UNICEF – said the message was aimed at addressing racism and had been misunderstood. “They (Condé Nast) especially got this (t-shirt) made and implored me to wear it. They said they were addressing xenophobia which is a big issue that is happening,” Chopra told NDTV in an interview. “So their idea was that. And I bought into it, I guess. And I am really, really apologetic about the fact that sentiments were hurt … The point the magazine wanted to make was actually something good.”
Priyanka Chopra was slammed on twitter for wearing the controversial T-shirt.
Condé Nast Traveller said in a statement that the message was aimed at challenging stereotypes and how the labelling of people as immigrants, refugees and outsiders is creating a culture of xenophobia. “At Condé Nast Traveller, we believe that the opening up of borders and the breaking down of walls can help us discover the world, and open up our minds and hearts,” said the magazine. “So, when we had actor Priyanka Chopra wear a t-shirt we created on the cover of the sixth anniversary issue, we had a point to make.”
Chopra is one of the Hindi film industry’s biggest stars and one of only a handful of Indian actors who have broken into mainstream Hollywood, starring in the TV series Quantico and in the upcoming film based on the Baywatch series.