David Haye has finally addressed Adam Thomas’ bullying claims following their I’m A Celeb... South Africa feud.
Emmerdale’s Thomas became embroiled in heated exchanges with both Haye and former footballer Jimmy Bullard, with their ill feeling becoming apparent once again during last week’s live finale.
During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning, former professional boxer Haye claimed that Thomas was a “professional victim” who was “playing the victim card”, despite also admitting that he was a “super sweet guy”.
Haye also said the show’s editing portrayed him as the bad guy, with reports suggesting the 45-year-old is considering legal action against broadcaster ITV.
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In last week’s live finale, Haye and Bullard once again took aim at Thomas, which resulted in fellow contestants Sinitta and Gemma Collins leaving the set.
There were even reports that Bullard became embroiled in an argument with presenter Ant McPartlin in the car park after the show – although Ant has since rubbished the claims.
Earlier this week, Thomas revealed the ‘disturbing message’ he received from Haye after the show during an episode of At Home with The Thomas Bros.
Thomas said: “The most disturbing thing is that I look at David and, even after the show and everything he did, he sent me a voice note saying, ‘Oh mate, what a great show that was. I’m so happy you won. Congratulations.’
“I just sent him a message back saying, ‘I think this is where we draw the line, and I hope that you find happiness, bro, but I’m done.’
“That live show, I just felt like I’d been exploited. I felt like I was in the midst of it all, and it wasn’t even about me.”
He added: “He told me [out of camp], ‘You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met, and I just wanted to break you.’ Like, it’s cool. He apologised. I moved on.”
David Haye issues Adam Thomas response
On Thursday, Haye responded with a video of his own, and it’s fair to say he didn’t hold back.
Haye explained: “So, I’ve just taken the time to listen to Adam Thomas’s podcast with his brothers Ryan and Scott. Very interesting, very, very interesting to see. He’s had a few days to sit down, mull it over, and process everything that’s happened, him winning I’m a Celebrity and how he processed it, and it was, it was, it was enlightening.
“Dishing out banter to me and then losing the banter game, I give it back to him, he starts crying and moaning, and somehow he’s spun it so he’s still the victim. He’s done an hour of chat with his brothers. I put it on double speed because I couldn’t listen to the waffle.
“All three of them were bitching and whining and moaning, complaining. He won because I don’t think he’s been around guys, like proper guys, who actually have a bit of back and forth and you kind of build your resilience, your mental resilience, to jibes.
“I’ve had plenty of it in my time. Whenever I lose, whenever I get something wrong, I always get my mates giving me stick for it. That’s just what we do. That’s what real guys do.
“But somehow the light sprinkling of primary school banter that I gave him, which was so gentle, nearly caused him an emotional breakdown. He started crying. The volume of banter he received was significantly less than he dished out.
“So he dished it out, couldn’t take it. This message here, me explaining it, is another form of banter. Everyone’s so damn soft, it makes me sick, but it’s the world we live in right now, and you’re rewarded the softer and weaker you are. The more weak, brittle-spirited you are, the more validation the masses give you.
“I’m interested in the 15–20% of people who listen to me and go, ‘Yeah, maybe it makes sense, he’s right.’ The rest of them, I couldn’t give a shit. And the rest of you sensible people, you know what the score is, you know what’s right. You’re growing up, you’re nearly 40 years old, and you’re moaning that you’ve won a TV competition.”
Topics: David Haye
Luke Davies