In an interview that aired on Thursday on her program, A Little Late with Lilly Singh, the comedienne compared children drying their hair with twisted towels to her “Punjabi friends”. On Twitter Lilly singh apologised for the “painful” and “stupid joke”.

LOS ANGLES – Unlike disgraced Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan, Comedian Lilly Singh, who made the leap from YouTube to late night TV just last week, has apologised for an on-air joke that compared turbans to bath towels.

Some members of the Sikh religion, who wear turbans for spiritual reasons, were angered by her remarks on NBC, reported BBC News.

On Twitter she apologised for the “painful” and “stupid joke”.

The 30-year-old Indo-Canadian/Sikh has used her platform to often call out public figures who she says deserve to be “cancelled” for their offenses.

“In hindsight I recognise that was a disrespectful and problematic joke… And I’m very sorry,” she wrote. “A very important and heartfelt apology. I’m sorry. And thank you for helping me grow ”

In an interview that aired on Thursday on her program, A Little Late with Lilly Singh, she compared children drying their hair with twisted towels to her “Punjabi friends”.

“This was the first episode of the show I ever taped and I was very nervous, doing improv that wasn’t well thought out,” she wrote in her apology.

“I don’t wear a turban and I haven’t lived that experience and so I really value people giving perspective,” she added.

The overwhelming majority of Twitter users praised her apology but some were less positive.

Along with her text apology, she also shared a video from comedy website Funny or Die, about a turban-wearing Sikh man.