Gemma Collins has spoken about her recent spat with ‘Dancing On Ice’ judge Jason Gardiner, admitting she felt compelled to stand up to him as she felt he was “body-shaming” her.
During Sunday night’s live show, Gemma was told by Jason that she needed to up her game on the rink, noting we shouldn’t expect any “big lifts” from her later in the competition.
To this, she told him she’d been too upset to rehearse properly due to tabloid reports about her over the last week, even accusing him of “selling stories” about her to the press, which he swiftly refuted.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, Gemma said: “Do you know what, I just had to say my bit because, not to be rude, I don’t need to be body-shamed, I put up with body-shaming for years.”
Gemma went on to say that her reasoning for taking part in ‘Dancing On Ice’ was to inspire women of all sizes, adding: “It doesn’t matter what your size is, why shouldn’t I, because I’m a plus-size girl, be successful, be on ‘Dancing On Ice’?
“I will be get an OBE from the Queen one day [for] changing the women’s movement.”
In an interview prior to the incident, Jason told The Sun he felt Gemma was “lazy”, commenting: “What I don’t want is it to become is a pantomime. I don’t want people to destroy the great legacy the show has already achieved.”
Following Gemma’s outburst, Jason took to Twitter to brand the suggestion he’d sold a story about her “salacious” and “libellous”.
“Hopefully now people will wake up & stop believing the BS that comes out of [Gemma Collins’] gob,” he added.
‘Dancing On Ice’ returns on Sunday night at 6pm on ITV.