Former ‘I’m A Celebrity’ winner Carl Fogarty is facing a backlash over comments he made about Ant McPartlin’s drink-driving arrest and subsequent return to treatment.
The motor racing champ, who won ‘I’m A Celebrity’ in 2014, angered fans after saying Ant should “man up”, accusing him of “running off to rehab every five minutes when something goes wrong”.
In an interview with the Daily Star, Carl said: “He’s got everybody running around after him going: ‘Oh, it’s a shame for him.’ Hang on a minute - grow up, sort yourself out and take responsibility.”
He continued: “Don’t go running off to rehab every five minutes when something goes wrong.
“He got in a car pissedd – don’t do that, it’s not right.
“You don’t need to go to rehab to be told to sort that out, you know that’s wrong and you shouldn’t be doing that. He needs telling straight, he needs to sort himself out and man up.”
Many called Carl out for perpetuating stigma around mental health and addiction issues with his language, particularly his use of the phrase “man up”.
Earlier this week, Ant was fined £86,000 and received a 20-month driving ban, after pleading guilty to drink-driving.
Following the sentencing, Ant told reporters outside court he is “truly sorry for what happened”.
“Higher standards are expected of me. I let myself down, I let a lot of people down, for that I’m truly sorry,” he said.
“I’d like to apologise to everyone involved in the crash and I’m just thankful no-one was seriously hurt.”
Prior to the hearing, Ant stepped down from all TV commitments for the foreseeable future and returned to treatment, having spent time in rehab last year for an addiction to painkillers.