The reality TV contestant whose on-screen bullying of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty led to international condemnation of British TV show Celebrity Big Brother has acknowledged that her behavior was racist.

Jade Goody, along with several other contestants on the show Celebrity Big Brother, triggered widespread anger throughout both Britain and India for their constant tirades against Shetty, during which they reduced the Bollywood actress to tears.

Protesters in India burned an effigy supposedly depicting the show's producers, while top British politicians felt compelled to speak out against racism, after Britain's TV regulator received 38,000 complaints about the show.

After being evicted from the show by a public vote on Friday, Goody said in an interview with the tabloid News of the World that she had crossed a line and was wrong.

Shetty "was a victim of bullying and racism, yes," 25-year-old Goody said in the interview. She reiterated, however, that she was not a racist person.

"I'm not going to justify my actions because they were wrong," she said. "I was shocked to see how I behaved. I was shocked and disgusted with myself."

Goody gained notoriety after appearing in an earlier series of the show, during which she herself was bullied.

source:China Daily/Agencies