ITV in ‘crisis talks’ over GK Barry’s I’m A Celeb appearance after podcast backlash
I’M A Celeb star GK Barry is at the heart of “crisis talks” centred around her appearance on the ITV reality show, The Sun can reveal.
It comes after the broadcaster was slammed for bringing the YouTube star, 25, into the full 2024 jungle line-up following controversial comments on her recent Saving Grace podcast.
GK, real name Grace, was slammed for comments deemed to be “harmful” after her chat with Only Fans creator Bonnie Blue, who recently made headlines for bedding a series of University students during Fresher’s Week.
She has also boasted about sleeping with a dad and his son.
The podcast host – who turned down a Strictly spot for a stint in the I’m A Celeb jungle – is now in the midst of an “absolute PR nightmare,” a source has told us.
They were first to tell The Sun of the sheer impact on show planning and said: “I’m A Celeb is a family show and they can’t have anyone on there who agrees with sleeping with barely 18 years olds.
“The top brass have held crisis talks as to how they handle the backlash with GK enters the show.
“GK has deleted the video but the furore hasn’t gone away.
“The backlash is already huge on YouTube and social media this is an absolute PR nightmare for ITV.
“They rely on advertisers wanting to spend money on the show and it’s not a good look when one of the campmates has had someone so controversial on her podcast and agreed with everything she said.”
The Sun has approached ITV for comment.
FAN FURY
Fans were quick to round on Grace after her episode with Bonnie was released.
They called out how she dealt with the difficult subject matter and accused her of platforming “harmful behaviour” and a being “disgrace to feminism”.
Thousands have shared their concerns that her 3.6million TikTok followers are largely under 20 – and questioned jungle bosses decision to sign her up for ITV’s family friend show.
One wrote online: “Her audience is 13-20 year old girls. Young and impressionable. This is not the message young girls should be hearing. We need to start de-platforming.”
Another added: “GK Barry having bonnie blue on her pod and AGREEING with the harmful s*** she was saying is beyond disappointing. Do better babe.”
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A third said: “GK Barry agreed with all Bonnie said and it’s sickening. What was said is disturbing and has nout to do with feminism. The glorification of [sex work] has put girls and young women in serious danger.
Bonnie went on a tour of universities during Freshers Week, aiming to sleep with as many students as possible for free, as long as she could upload the footage to OnlyFans.
It came after Grace revealed Love Island star Ekin-Su threatened to sue her after she chatted about the actress on her platform.