United Kingdom, Feb. 23 -- Ali Abbasi is "truly sorry" for making an unnamed actor "uncomfortable" with his alleged inappropriate behaviour.

The 'Apprentice' director was reported to have "groped" a mystery A-Lister at a Golden Globes afterparty last month and while he has described the gesture as him being "over-familiar" with someone he knew by giving them a "playful slap on the rear", he insisted he had said sorry immediately when he realised the gesture had backfired.

He said in a statement: "I fully understand that my action made someone uncomfortable, regardless of my intent, and for that I am truly sorry.

"I had spent time with the person concerned on multiple occasions and had reason to think we had a friendly relationship.

"W...