Following her comments on Gaza over the weekend, Shashi Naidoo has penned another apology, this time to the Palestinian people and broader society as a whole.
Shashi published a lengthy post on Instagram explaining the events that preceded her calling Gaza "a sh*thole country" during an exchange on Saturday.
Her account:
"I apologise unconditionally, but I would also like to [use] this opportunity to explain what happened with regard to my recent Instagram posts. I posted a picture with a DJ [Black Coffee] recently in Ibiza, and the post attracted commentary from another Instagram user, because he [Black Coffee] had played in Israel.
"In what I believed was a defence [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."
She said her intention was not only to take responsibility for her posts, but also sincerely to apologise.
"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 [with] 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 [have] been to the Palestinian people in the first instance, and broader society as a whole," she wrote on Instagram.
She said she concedes that her initial apology was insensitive.
"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 convey that I am sincerely sorry, and in a way thank everyone who called me out, as I have learnt from this. No matter what one's beliefs are, there is always room for empathy and compassion.
"The [past] 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," her post read.