Chef Atul Kochhar Fired by Dubai JW Marriott After Anti-Muslim Remarks in Response to Priyanka Chopra's Quantico Controversy

Dubai, June 13: Atul Kochhar, Celebrity chef, has been fired by Dubai's JW Marriott Marquis Hotel after he posted communal and hateful comments against Muslims following an episode of the Priyanka Chopra starrer TV series Quantico. Kochhar courted controversy after his tweet on Islam generated widespread social media outrage.

Kochhar had replied to Priyanka Chopra's recent tweet in which she had apologised for a Quantico episode that showed Hindu nationals as terrorists. Following the incident, the hotel authorities had said that they do not share similar views or ideas on diversity.

Distancing themselves from Kochhar, Bill Keffer, General Manager, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai told Gulf News, "We are aware of the comments made by Chef Atul Kochhar. We would like to stress that we do not share the same views as stated in the remark, nor is it a representation of the culture of diversity and inclusion that we pride ourselves on at the hotel."

Kochhar had replied to Priyanka's tweet saying, "It is sad to see that you have not respected the sentiments of Hindus who have been terrorised by Islam over 2000 years. Shame on you."

Here's chef Atul Kochhar's reply to it:

Priyanka Chopra, Atul Kochhar TwitterFollowing the social media outrage, Kochhar apologised on social media. He wrote, "There is no justification for my tweet … I fully recognise my inaccuracies that Islam was founded round 1400 years ago and I sincerely apologise. I am not Islamophobic, I deeply regret my comments that have offended many."

Here's his tweet:

Kochhar also deleted his tweet that created the furore. After the anti-Islam tweet went viral Twitterati called for his firing. People had also said that they would boycott his restaurant. Popular commentator and Arab journalist Khaled Almaeena had tweeting saying, "You (Kochhar) have offended me. As a person who loves India its people no matter what their caste or creed. As a secular and liberal, it truly is a horror statement."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2018 02:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).