Peter Andre has hit back at Rebekah Vardy’s comments in which she compared the “size of his manhood” to a “small chipolata”.
The singer said he had been “the butt of all jokes” for 15 years after the remarks, which were made in a 2004 interview and have resurfaced in the high-profile libel trial between Ms Vardy and fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney.
The News of the World article carried the headline: “Peter’s hung like a small chipolata, shaved, slobbery, lasts five minutes.”
It was brought up during the High Court proceedings by Ms Rooney’s lawyer as he questioned questioned whether Ms Vardy respected people’s privacy.
Ms Vardy told the court she “deeply” regretted the interview and was “forced” into it by her ex-husband.
Social media quickly rushed to Andre’s defence after the remarks resurfaced at the trial in London on Tuesday.
Andre has now addressed the comments himself in a video posted on Instagram.
“Fifteen years this has been going on and I kept quiet and I didn’t say anything and I let everyone have their laugh and I let everyone say what they wanted to say,” the singer said.
“Now she has gone to court and admitted that the story was made up and she did that because her ex-husband forced her to do it. Fair enough.
“But, put that all aside and just think how that feels. If a man had said this about her anatomy and made up something -you can use your imagination, saying something very unflattering - there would be outrage. There would be absolute outrage.”
Dressed in a grey dressing gown, Andre added: “Because it has been said about me it’s been the butt of all jokes. I’ve taken it for 15 years.”
Andre said he expected some people to tell him to “get over it” and to “not say anything”.
But he said it had been “going on and on” and was now being mentioned in a High Court that would have a greater reach than the original article itself.
“It’s brought up again, the only one that sits there and takes hit after hit about it is me. I’ve been laughing about it for a while but think about how it would feel if it was the other way round, and that’s all I’m saying,” the singer said.
“Yes, we all know now it’s a made-up story, but it’s a little more serious than that.
“I think it’s not fair something like this can get brought up again and again and again - we talk about mental health, about being kind, about all that sort of stuff and nothing seems to change.”
Instagram users offered messages of support after he posted the video, praising him for a “dignified” response.
Ms Vardy, who is married to Premier League footballer Jamie Vardy, has been giving evidence at the High Court in London this week for her libel trial against Ms Rooney.
The wife of former England star Wayne Rooney has accused Ms Vardy of being the source of leaks about her private life that ended up in The Sun. She made the allegations in an explosive social media post that detailed a “sting” operation to try and find the source, which earned her the nickname “Wagatha Christie”.
Ms Vardy has denied the allegations and is suing Ms Rooney for libel.
