Jade Goody tearfully admitted on Sunday that she had behaved as a racist bully, letting down many people and her country.
LONDON: The woman evicted from a British reality television show tearfully admitted on Sunday that she had behaved as a racist bully toward the Indian actress, letting down many people and her country.
In an anguished interview with the News of the World newspaper, Jade Goody, 25, said her behaviour towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty in the Celebrity Big Brother, had been the biggest mistake of her life.
"She (Shetty) was a victim of bullying and racism, yes. I can understand why she would have said that," said Goody, her face contorted and hands clasped to her head in accompanying photographs.
In the interview with Channel 4 following her eviction, Goody did not consider her remarks racist but was disgusted with her nasty behaviour.
Choosing between Goody and Shetty, Channel 4 viewers overwhelmingly voted on Friday to evict Goody from the show that pits celebrity contestants in a studio house to see which one can emerge the favourite of the audience.
Her behaviour sparked around 40,000 complaints from viewers and cast a shadow over Anglo-Indian relations, with Indian government officials urging their British counterparts to intervene and British lawmakers attacking the show.
In the newspaper interview, Goody added that she was now 'shocked and disgusted' by her own behaviour and she had not realised before how she could be so 'intimidating or bullying.'
Asked about her labelling the Bollywood actress 'Shilpa Poppadom,' she said she did not think 'poppadom' - a large circular piece of thin spiced bread - was a racist word.
She said that "things that I may not think are racist can actually be racist" but it was her own fault for being ignorant about other people's cultures.
"I hate myself right now," she said. "If that's the end of my career then I only have myself to blame."
Goody, a veteran of the Big Brother shows, said the withdrawal of her perfume from stores and the cancellation of her Living TV show meant 'nothing.'
Asked if she felt she let Britain down, she replied: "Yes. My actions have upset a lot of people. If it's resulted in people from other races having problems I'm so sorry and it's not acceptable."
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