Actor Sunny Leone opened up about her controversial interview from 2016, when a veteran journalist and television anchor had insensitively probed into her past as an adult performer. 

Recalling the incident, she expressed her disappointment and hurt at the people on the set for not standing up for her, despite her noticeable discomfort at the manner of questioning. 

In a conversation with Bollywood Bubble, the 40-year-old actor said, “This was on multi-levels of feeling hurt. The biggest question afterwards – there were rows of chairs and people sitting in that room. I turn I go, ‘Did I do something to you people? Did I hurt you in any way? Did you not think it was okay to come and stop this?’ You’ve worked with these people for several years and not one person thought it was not right and they needed to stop this. Not one.”

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She felt like she had been ‘bashed’ on television by someone who came into the interview (and left) with preconceived notions about her, she said.

Sunny added that she did consider walking off from the set, but decided against it to ‘observe respect’ to the anchor. “This was in the first 3-4 years of being here. I thought I should observe respect if he is someone higher on the totem pole. And one should always respect their elders. So, I sat there. I wanted it to end. I almost got out of it. I was so close but then he said, ‘No no no, sit down’ so I said ok.”

The MTV Splitsvilla host shared that she had been asked such questions before, but the manner in which the host inquired had been hurtful. 

After the interview, support poured in for her from fellow Bollywood actors, fans, and the general public, who criticised the anchor’s insensitive approach and admired Sunny for maintaining her calm and composure. 

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After her stint in the adult film industry, Sunny first came to India to participate in the reality TV show Bigg Boss in 2012. Over the years, the actor has starred in several movies including her Bollywood debut ‘Jism 2’, ‘Singh Is Bliing’, ‘Kuch Kuch Locha Hai’, ‘Ragini MMS 2’, among others. She has also been co-hosting the show MTV Splitsvilla since 2014.

The actor will next be seen in films like ‘Helen’ and ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon’. She will also be making her debut as the lead in the Tamil and Malayalam industries this year.