I’m A Celebrity star Jack Maynard faces backlash over ‘retarded faggot’ tweets
(ITV)
A YouTuber who is appearing on ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’ is facing a backlash over a history of racist and homophobic posts.
Vlogger Jack Maynard, 22, is currently in the jungle for the ITV reality show alongside nine other celebrities.
But Maynard’s future on the show is in doubt after tabloids reported on his history of controversial Twitter posts.
The YouTube star, who is famous for being the younger brother of singer Connor Maynard, used the N-word as well as homophobic slurs in a series of social media posts.
ITV Studios
The posts date from 2012-13, when Maynard was 17-18.
When an abusive commenter suggested he had profited off of his brother’s fame, Maynard hit back: “Completely forgot you know how I got it YOU RETARDED FAGGOT”.
In another post he hit back “hahaha shutup you faggot… By the way who hit you with a shovel?”
He also posted tweets using the N-word.
A spokesperson for the vlogger told The Sun: “Jack is ashamed of what he said in these tweets, many of which were deleted a long time ago and were sent in response to a neighbour who was bullying him.
“Jack was a lot younger when he posted them in 2012 but realises that age is no defence.
“He would never use that language now and realises that, as someone who was bullied himself, this kind of retaliatory, inflammatory, insulting language is completely unacceptable.”
The Sun suggested his future on the show could be in doubt after the revelations.
An ITV spokesperson said: “Jack has issued a full apology and has deleted the tweets that he sent.”
Lorraine Kelly hit out at the comments on her ITV daytime show.
She said: “What an idiot, what an idiot! You are right it does come back and bite you on the bum if you write something.
“If it’s unacceptable then, it’s unacceptable now.”
It’s not the only controversy on the reality show this year.
Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale is expected to be a late addition to the show’s roster.
She will donate her MSP salary to charity while she is in Australia filming the show which draws around 10 million viewers.
But that has not stopped her successor as Labour leader Richard Leonard from criticising her, threatening to suspend her from the party over her absence from Holyrood.
And Scottish Labour MSP Jenny Marra tweeted: “Election to parliament is a privilege to serve and represent people. It’s not a shortcut to celebrity.”
The former leader of the Scottish Labour Party earlier this year said she was outed against her will.
Ms Dugdale, who resigned as her party’s leader in August, says she did not consent to her sexual orientation being revealed.
The politician says that she did not consent to left-wing magazine Fabian Review publishing the details of her private life, but they ignored her request.
