Shila Iqbal has opened up about being fired from Emmerdale after some of her old tweets resurfaced in which she used racist and homophobic language, and revealed that she questioned their decision to end her contract. Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning about being fired from her role, she said: "I felt like I was dreaming – those words – I do not condone the use of those words… I knew it was completely wrong of me to do so. There was no malicious intent behind the tweets… It was heavily influenced by the hip hop and rap music I was listening to – it was the language we did use."
Shila opened up about her past tweets
Answering Phillip's question on whether she thought ITV bosses were right to end her contract, she said: "It's a tricky one. I think ITV have a moral obligation to do what's right for the public and I respect their decision… but I do question, 'Is it fair that I've been judged on something I did as a teenager?' If you look at the context, I wasn't hurling abuse at anyone. It's not who I am… To be honest, I think if the person has changed and shown remorse and their attitude has changed then no. They should be judged on who they are today."
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Speaking about how she has changed since posting the tweets six years ago when she was 18, she continued: "I don't think I understood the true meanings behind it, or the implications… It has a huge impact on other people and you need to take a moral responsibility. I think it's all just been so surreal – I just didn't realise what I was doing… I've grown, I've matured, I've become educated and I'm a professional actor and I wasn't at that time, and I know young people will look up to me." Speaking about the future of her career, she said: "I think only time will tell… I was at such a high point in my life and it all went crashing down. I'm hoping to remain positive and that's all I can do."
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