Singer Sinitta has claimed that the heated confrontation during the I’m A Celebrity… South Africa final made fellow contestants Jimmy Bullard and David Haye appear as “bullies”.
The dramatic live final on Friday saw Adam Thomas crowned winner of the ITV reality show, despite being accused of being “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” by Bullard and Haye.
Sinitta, 62, along with reality star Gemma Collins, walked off the set as the programme descended into chaos when former footballer Bullard revisited his explosive row with Thomas from the all-star series.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the singer and actress explained her departure, stating she felt Bullard and Haye “blew” their opportunity to articulate their side of the argument.
Sinitta elaborated: “It’s like, you had a point. Yes, Jimmy didn’t deserve to be treated that way. Yes, there was banter, but it actually felt like bullying to me. So, it’s like, now what? You’ve lost, we’ve all lost, why we are here now.
“Because you’re all shouting and you’re trying to get your things in, and now it does look like you’re bullies, because you’re kind of goading and you’re saying stuff.”
Bullard had alleged that Thomas “dropped c-bombs” during their on-screen dispute, which were not broadcast, and accused him of acting in an “abusive, aggressive and intimidating” manner. He also called upon other contestants to share their views.
When Bullard asked hosts Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for their input, McPartlin disagreed with the assessment of aggression, stating: “No it wasn’t, I was there.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Offering her own perspective, Sinitta acknowledged: “Yes, it was over the top. Adam was angry and aggressive. They couldn’t show the whole thing.
“I’m quite a sensitive person. If someone is shouting and swearing in an angry way, I find that disturbing because it feels like it’s going to turn into a fight.
“Lots of people pepper their language with swearing. It just to illustrate things. I can handle that. I don’t do that either, though.
“But when you’re angry and you’re using what I call the really bad swear words, aggressively and angrily, to me, that feels like there’s going to be a fight.”
The artist, known for hits such as “So Macho”, “Toy Boy” and “GTO”, clarified that there was “no bullying” between Thomas, Haye, and Bullard in the jungle itself, but rather “a lot of boisterous testosterone”.
She added: “It was actually an incredible experience and all the drama has sort of happened afterwards. What’s gone wrong?”
Haye’s feud with Thomas on the all-star programme has garnered attention, with Thomas previously stating the boxer “broke” him and pushed him to his limits.
Sinitta likened their behaviour to “like two eight-year-olds” winding each other up, recalling: “There were a few times when I was like ‘David, stop’, like I would be with my kids. ‘That’s enough guys, stop now’.”
Discussing the live final, where Haye also accused the show of editing footage to portray Thomas as a “victim”, Sinitta commented: “I know that David got loud Friday night, he wanted to make his point.
“He was trying to defend himself and actually, ironically, it came across as bullying because he was trying to get his words in.”
The star also revealed to The Sun that she found the live final “very uncomfortable and disturbing” and was left “visibly upset and shaken” by the ensuing chaos.
Appearing on Heart Radio on Monday, fellow contestant Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts said of Friday’s final: “It was unhinged. I felt like I was on a Jerry Springer Show.
“It was just unbelievable. People were walking off and there were hands flying everywhere, there was yelling, emotions and crying, it was wild.”
Roberts, who was the fourth contestant to be evicted from the jungle after being the slowest to complete a challenge, added: “It was chaos, it was absolute chaos.
“It’s a shame really because Adam did become the legend and I don’t think he was even able to enjoy it because of all of the drama that went on.
“He had a really tough time in there and it was unfortunate that they had a moment to discuss things as adults and maybe clear the air a little bit.
“But instead, it was yelling and unfortunate behaviour. I was disappointed and my heart hurt a bit inside because there’s so much going on in the world and for us to then treat each other like that.
“We all went through this really tough experience, and we all could have sat and discussed as adults. It’s a TV show and it’s supposed to be entertaining, and I was just a little bit disappointed by their behaviour.”
Appearing on talkSPORT Breakfast on Monday, fellow contestant Harry Redknapp called the live final a “nightmare”, and said: “I thought it was The Jeremy Kyle Show. I thought, ‘I’m in the wrong studio here’.”
Speaking to hosts Ally McCoist and Andy Townshend, the former football manager added: “It all got out of hand. People couldn’t take a bit of banter and it became a big issue.”
Responding to allegations of “favouritism”, an ITV spokesperson told The Independent: “We showed an accurate and fair representation of events. Suggesting ITV favours anyone is an incorrect and harmful accusation. All campmates were invited to the live finale to celebrate the series and to share their thoughts, individually and collectively.”
