David Haye has launched a fresh attack on Adam Thomas, offering what he claims is the âreal reasonâ behind their explosive clash on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! South Africa.
In a video posted to social media from a luxury resort, the former heavyweight champion hit out at the actorâs recent podcast comments, once again accusing him of playing the âvictimâ and failing to handle what he described as âbanterâ.
Reflecting on the fallout, Mr Haye said: âDishing out banter to me and then losing the banter game. I give it back to him. He starts crying and moaning. Somehow he’s done it. So he’s still the victim.â
He went on to criticise Mr Thomas and his brothers following their podcast appearance, adding: âI put it in double speed because I couldn’t listen to the waffle. All three of them. Bitching and whining and moaning.â
The boxer suggested the tensions in camp stemmed from a difference in personality and resilience, claiming the soap star had not been exposed to the kind of âback and forthâ he considers normal.
âI 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,â he said.
Mr Haye added: âThe volume of banter that he received was significantly less than he dished out. So he dished out, couldn’t take it.â
He also dismissed the severity of the exchanges, insisting: âThe little light sprinkling of, uh, primary school banter that I gave him, which was so gentle, he nearly had an emotional breakdown over it.â
I’m A Celebrity…South Africa fans were quick to flood Mr Haye’s comments with their opinions of his latest outburst.
One critic penned: “For someone thatâs not bothered. You seem to be talking about it a lot?!”
Another added: “Genuinely sick of hearing about this now. You have hurt someone, whether that was indirect or not, own it..”
“Sounds like adam is in your head now,” penned a third, as someone else suggested Mr Hay “move on now honestly itâs boring.”
However, others sided with the boxer.
“F****** hell, you wanna see the banter my mates and I have with each other, itâs f****** brutal down the local pub…he wouldnât last one beer,” one fan wrote.
Another penned: “Iâm with David! Real menâs banter is terrorising each other! I work in construction, and itâs all we do to each other all day everyday! And if you canât handle it, donât partake in it in the first place.”
The boxer’s comments mark the latest escalation in a row that has dominated headlines since the ITV series aired, with Mr Thomas previously accusing the former world champion of bullying.
He also alleged that Mr Haye admitted targeting him deliberately, recalling: âHe told me, âIâve never met a nicer guy. I just wanted to break you.â Now if that isnât classed as bullying, I donât know what is.â
Mr Haye, however, has repeatedly denied the accusation.
âEveryone’s so damn soft, it makes me sick,â he said.
âIt’s the world we live in right now and you’re rewarded the softer and weaker you are.â
He continued: âYou’re nearly 40 years old and you’re moaning that you won a TV competition⊠You’ve got ÂŁ100,000 to give it to a charity of choice⊠Things are looking positive.â
The former boxer also hinted that more details could emerge which challenge Mr Thomasâs version of events.
âThere’s a lot of stuff that’s going to come to light that hasn’t come to light that kind of contradicts this story just a little bit,â he said.
âThat I’m looking forward to seeing the light of day.â
More than 170 complaints were lodged with Ofcom during the all-star series, in which Mr Haye and Mr Thomas camped out in the South African jungle together for three weeks.
The controversy has also taken a legal turn, with Mr Haye allegedly preparing to sue ITV for up to ÂŁ10million over claims he was unfairly portrayed as a âpantomime villainâ through editing.
ITV has rejected those claims, stating it showed âan accurate and fair representation of eventsâ.
