"It was never in my head, it was about smoking!"
Narinder Kaur addressed the “ageing” comments she made about Princess Catherine.
The TV personality came under fire when she tweeted about the Princess of Wales’ appearance at a Remembrance Day memorial service.
In a now-deleted tweet, Narinder asked:
“Genuine question – why has Kate aged so much? Isn’t she only 42?
“Is she a smoker? It’s the only explanation.”
The tweet sparked outrage, with many accusing her of being insensitive and stating that she is undergoing cancer treatment.
It prompted Narinder to tweet:
“Ok. Seems people took this the wrong way. It was a genuine ask.
“My brother had chemo. He didn’t age. He died. Apologies if it was insensitive or just plain wrong. Hands up. I’m sorry.”
However, the backlash continued as some sent Narinder racist and misogynistic comments.
Narinder posted an initial apology on X but many remained unhappy.
She appeared on Jeremy Vine on 5 to address her comments and the subsequent abuse.
Speaking to the host, Narinder said:
“No matter how much I try and convince people, that was not my intention, they’re not going to believe it.”
Narinder insisted that she only asked if Catherine was a smoker and claimed that her tweet has escalated into something where people believe “she is the devil of Britain”.
Panel member Lin Mei said that while she sympathised with Narinder, she felt her initial apology video “lacked humility”.
Lin said: “So you were apologising with one hand but then saying ‘everybody asked this’, ‘I’m the only one getting attacked’.
“All these elements kind of took away from your admittance.”
Clarifying her comments, Narinder said:
“I blamed it on racism and misogyny and sexual humiliation. Thank you for saying that Lin, I feel like crying.
“I think that as someone who lost her brother to cancer, it wouldn’t make any sense to then pick on a woman for having chemotherapy.”
Becoming emotional, Narinder continued:
“Why would I bring that up? Why would I bring cancer into it?
“It was never in my head, it was about smoking!”
Jeremy Vine highlighted that Narinder tends to face more backlash than others and Narinder revealed that the abuse is so bad that it has gone to the Metropolitan Police.
“I let myself down.”
? @narindertweets says she should’ve seen the connection between her comments and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer treatment.
? @linmeitalks sympathises but says the initial apology lacked humility.@Nick_Hewer | @theJeremyVine | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/my4JdRhdCX
— Jeremy Vine & Storm Huntley on 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) November 12, 2024
She reinforced that the criticism is down to racism, adding:
“If I’m getting racial abuse and sexual abuse, what else am I to blame?”
“And then they say, ‘She’s making herself to be the victim’. Well actually, if I’m getting the threats that I am, then I am a victim of this.”
Nick Hewer interjected, calling Narinder Kaur’s tweet “clumsy” and that it had badly backfired.
After probing her for not making the link between ageing and cancer, Narinder replied:
“I apologise. From what I knew, she [Catherine] had treatment for pre-cancer, that’s what I’d read and this was months ago.
“In my head, and this is where I let myself down because I pride myself on women’s empowerment.”
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