Perhaps inevitably, Nigel Farage and YouTuber Nella Rose had a lively debate about cultural appropriation on last night’s episode of I’m a Celebrity…
As campmates discussed whether it is acceptable for white people to say “water” in a Jamaican accent, Nigel and Nella disagreed. “If a white person does a black accent, then that’s considered a crime” Farage complained.
Nella said it “depends on the context”, and that some people can be offended if they feel they are being mocked. But Nigel wasn’t convinced by her explanation. “I don’t know what the rules are” he said, and added “I’m no further forward as to what’s acceptable and what’s not”.
Nigel gave Mexican fancy dress as an example of something that he feels people are too touchy about. Nella countered, saying some Mexicans might feel it can be insensitive to treat their traditional dress as a joke. Nella made a comparison with Native American costume, saying that is rightly seen as inconsiderate these days, while the subject of blackface was also raised.
“It doesn’t bother me because I expect it from him” Nella said afterwards, but said: “it’s the ignorance of not knowing what offends other cultures” she most takes issue with. Nella said she was “disappointed” because the two have to live together, and “we were vibing” beforehand.
Following that, Nella didn’t seem keen to talk to Nigel. Towards the end of the episode she added: "Nigel's going to be Nigel at the end of the day. I'm just not going to listen to any of his opinions when it comes to race."
The pair have previous: last week, Nella accused the former UKIP leader of being "anti-immigrant". She also asked: “why don't black people like you?", and he defended himself. After that, the pair agreed it was good they can agree to disagree. Ant and Dec seemed to be urging that viewers do the same this time, as the show served up another culture war friendly moment.
There was more drama later, as Nella was being seen by the medic, so was exempt from tomorrow's trial. Instead, Farage and Nick Pickard were chosen. Nigel looked happy.
Earlier, Jamie-Lynn Spears, younger sister of Britney, had wowed campmates by telling them what Ryan Gosling is really like. “He’s a lovely person in real life. When I was younger I grew up around him because he was on The Mickey Mouse Club with my sister. Him, my sister, Justin [Timberlake], Christina [Aguilera]...” Jamie-Lynn said, sprinkling the jungle with a little bit of A-list stardust (no offence to Marvin from JLS). She didn’t say if Gosling has kept in touch.
Ryan, Britney and Jamie-Lynn’s Disney World boot camp for young showbiz kids doesn’t sound all fun. While Britney was presumably a star pupil, Jamie-Lynn was wilder, remembering how she pretended she’d farted as her mother was trying to make Britney a star. “Now I know how to be direct, but with a filter… But as a kid I was just very direct with no filter” Jamie-Lynn said.
At the start of the episode, Made in Chelsea man Sam Thompson, Tony Bellew and singer Marvin Humes were stuck at the nasty Misery Motel doing a brutal challenge, searching through rats, animal entrails and bugs for coins they could spend on food. They won a healthy number, and bought a tasty but small meal, as well as a novelty apron for head chef Fred Sirieux. They also bought chocolate, which the campers saved for later.
When she ate it, Jamie-Lynn’s chocolate gave her a sense of the luxuries in the real world outside, and she went to have a cry and some time away from the others. While earlier in the series her weeping felt forced, last night Jamie-Lynn's frustration seemed completely warranted. Life in the camp isn’t fun: Danielle Harold was woken up in the middle of the night by a frog on her head, it rained intensely, and the toilet has started to smell.
Back at the tasks, Nella Rose and jockey Frankie Dettori had far less luck in theirs, failing to get any stars at all in a gruesome snake-filled safe-cracking ordeal. Frankie got through it by trying to enjoy himself, ironically welcoming one snake into his undercarriage. “One is trying to get into my pants, that’s nice” he said, joking that it saw his manhood and said “that’s no threat”.
Apart from his chat with Nella yesterday, Nigel Farage had been getting fairly little screen time, especially given he dominated headlines about the series before it began. Apart from at the very start, he hadn't been voted to do the challenges, and even said he was “jealous” that Nella was getting 25% of the air time ahead of him last night. He'd worked out the percentage himself.
Nigel’s colleagues at his day job on GB News have a theory that there’s something fishy going on. A segment on the channel claimed producers were conspiring to cut Farage out for political reasons, as they don’t like his right-wing views. Given ITV paid Nigel a reported £1.5m to be on the show, this seems unlikely. It will change tomorrow: Nigel will be put through his paces with a bushtucker trial, just like he dreamed. Guaranteed airtime at last.
Tipped to win: Ex-boxer Tony Bellew is one of the toughest in the camp, but also seems one of the kindest. He went to check up on Jamie-Lynn when she was upset, and got emotional tasting chocolate, after days of bland food. “I let a piece of chocolate melt on my tongue in my mouth. That was a very strange thing to do. The jungle has made me soft” he said touchingly.
I'm A Celebrity... airs on ITV and ITVX every night at 9pm
