TV

I’m A Celeb fans take drastic action to bring Jack back

They want their voices heard following his sudden departure

Jack Maynard’s devoted fans are begging I’m A Celeb bosses to reinstate the vlogger.

The YouTuber’s admirers have been bombarding social media with pleas for Jack’s return to the jungle.

And now they’ve taken their mission one step further by starting a petition.

Read more: Medic Bob saves Ant & Dec from a poisonous snake

A campaign set up on Change.org says: “Ridiculous how 22-year-old Jack Maynard has been kicked out for tweets made while he was 15.

“Bring Jack Maynard back to I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!”

The petition aims to gather 1,000 signatures before being sent to ITV, and has passed the half-way mark already.

Ant & Dec announced on Tuesday night’s show that Jack had left the show due to circumstances beyond camp.

No further info was given on air but a rep for the vlogger later released a statement saying Jack’s managers and ITV had made a joint decision to remove him from the jungle so he could defend himself against recent tabloid stories.

He was forced to apologise last week after being accused of sending homophobic and racist tweets back in 2012.

A rep said at the time: “Jack is ashamed of these tweets, many were deleted a long time ago.

“He would never use that language now and realises this kind of retaliatory, inflammatory, insulting language is completely unacceptable.”

And overnight he faced further accusations of sending inappropriate messages to a teenage fan when he was 16 – he’s yet to respond to that allegation.

Jack left Australia on Wednesday, although it’s unclear when – or if – he will speak out to address the allegations.

His rep has said: “In the last few days Jack has been the subject of a succession of media stories which, given his position as a contestant on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here – filmed in the Australian jungle, with no contact with the outside world, he has been unable to respond to.

“Since it is only fair that everyone should be aware of any allegations made against them and should also have the right to defend themselves, it was agreed that it would be better to bring him out of the show.

“Jack agrees with this decision which was made by his representatives and ITV and thanks everyone who has supported him in the show this far.”

Read more: Football bad boy ‘offered half a million’ for I’m A Celeb

Meanwhile, Jack’s fans were outraged after his exit wasn’t addressed on yesterday’s show.

While Ant & Dec announced his departure on Tuesday, viewers had expected to see Jack telling the camp he was leaving, but instead no mention of him was made at all in the episode, leaving everyone wondering how the campmates had taken the news.

He did still appear in the opening credits, however, which baffled some fans.

I’m A Celebrity continues 9pm on ITV


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

Related Topics