Rylan Clark has defended Tulisa Contostavlos from remarks I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! viewers have made about the N-Dubz singer’s face and body.
Clark, 36, became “good friends” with the former X-Factor judge when he was a contestant on the ITV singing competition in 2012 and has remained close with Contostavlos ever since.
Upon entering the I’m a Celeb jungle in Australia, Contostavlos has faced cruel comments about her appearance and speculation over the cosmetic surgery she may have undergone.
Speaking on This Morning on Friday, 29 November, Clark hit back at I’m a Celeb fans who have made remarks about the way Contostavlos looks on social media.
“I’m so proud of her that she’s gone on the show [and shown] everyone she’s the decent girl we know and love,” he said of the singer, whose opted to take part in the series after what has been a tough decade for the star.
In 2020, Contostavlos was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a temporary weakness that usually affects one side of the face.
“On a personal level, she’s been through some health problems,” Clark said. “Some people are attacking her for her image. Settled that down,” he warned. “There’s reasons for that.”
Clark continued: “Look at me! I don’t care if people take the mick out of my teeth but she’s such a sweet girl..Listen, if she wants to do anything to her face or body that’s entirely up to her.
“Good luck to her. But actually when you look at the work she’s had that’s down to health issues she’s had.”
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Contostavlos’ recent Bell’s palsy diagnosis came 13 years after the singer experienced “horrific” health issues separate from the condition.
She explained in an interview that she would often feel a sensation that she compared to ants crawling across her face. Last month, Contostavlos revealed one of the several doctors she had seen found “three chronically infected cysts” in her cheek.
Clark warned I’m a Celeb fans: “If you don’t like someone’s singing or presenting go for them for that but let’s stop going for people’s looks.”
The presenter added he “would love” to see Contostavlos be crowned queen of the jungle but admitted that even if the N-Dubz singer doesn’t win the competition, the series was “exactly what she needed for herself”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Clark revealed he and Contostavlos got “really close” while both on The X Factor due to “some things that went on” during the 2012 series.
Clark’s fellow contestant Lucy Spraggan revealed last year that she was raped by a hotel porter who broke into her room after a night out for Rylan’s 24th birthday, and subsequently left the competition as she recovered from treatment. The porter was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Back in February, the occasional This Morning host reflected on the “horrendous” experience, explaining that he’d never previously discussed it because “it’s not my story to tell, even though I was part of it”.
He reflected: “As a 24-year-old – it was the night of my birthday – to wake up to your friend saying, ‘I was raped last night,’ while being on the biggest show in the country while being followed by the press wherever you go… I don’t know how I did it.”
When speaking to The Independent in 2022, Rylan seemed to refer to Spraggan’s experience, while also noting that his own experience of being an X Factor contestant came with difficulties.
“When I was a contestant, a lot of things happened that I wouldn’t let happen to me now,” he explained. “It’s not my story to tell but I’m sure that people will know what happened at some point.
“I just know that I did everything right. All I can say from being on the other side is that I make sure, with all the shows I work on, people are looked after and maybe that comes from a place of being in situations where I didn’t feel that I was.
I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! continues nightly at 9pm on ITV1, STV and ITVX