Russell Peters opens up about sexual misconduct
TORONTO: As a growing number of accusations of sexual impropriety threaten the careers of major personalities in Hollywood, that state of matters is also having an impact on the entertainment industry.
In an interview, Indo-canadian standup comedian Russell Peters said, “It’s a very weird time for us.” Peters, who lives some of the year in Los Angeles, also said this impacted regular interactions: “It’s very difficult time. My fans say, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ And I go, ‘I don’t know’.”
The comments of Peters, whose new TV show The Indian Detective will be released worldwide, including in India on December 19, came in the context of his reference to co-star, Sout African actress Mishquah Parthiephal as “easy on the eye.”
“She’s beautiful, it’s tough to say. It’s a fine line between I complimented her and I made her feel uncomfortable. That’s the world we’re living in.”
Parthiephal plays a human rights lawyer, Priya Sehgal, who joins forces with Peters’ character, a Toronto cop suspended from his job for a botched investigation. Peters isn’t a stranger to being criticised for sexually inappropriate comments.
Earlier this year, while hosting the June Awards in Ottawa, he referred to Canada’s minister of Canadian heritage Mélanie Joly as “hot”, leading to a blowback.
Canadian media also attacked him for his joke about a group of young women at the venue. Peters had said, “That's a lot of young girls here. This is a felony waiting to happen.”
“I was referring to drugs and alcohol and everybody flipped it into their purpose and said I was making a rape joke. I’m the father of a girl; the last thing I’m thinking about is a rape joke,” he told Hindustan Times.