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Yvie Jones: “You don’t know what it’s like”

Body image issues turn emotional in a powerful moment in the jungle.

Yvie Jones last night delivered one of the more powerful moments seen so far on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here when she declined to learn how much weight she has lost.

The segment staged by producers with remaining contestants guessing the weight they had lost became one of emotion.

“I’ve had an eating disorder most of my life,” she said. “I grew up in a household where I was told one of the worst things to be was overweight.

“Sorry….I can’t actually tell you the last time I weighed myself.

“I wish we lived in a different world where what we look like doesn’t matter. And I know that a lot of people think that they understand what it’s like.

“Unless you’ve had an overweight problem, you don’t know what it’s like to go through life and be judged solely on the weight that you are on a scale or the clothes that don’t fit you properly.”

It was a candid moment but will doubtless win her a string of new supporters in the final week of the series.

“I feel like we’ve all been doing so well and now we’re going to celebrate how much weight we’ve lost and that somehow that is something to be proud of. And I don’t think it is something to be proud of.

“I just hope that by saying this I can help one person understand that it has nothing to do with the way you look… what your worth is in the world.

“So I’m going to respectfully ask that my number is taken away and that I don’t know how much I’ve lost because I don’t think it really matters.”

Producers agreed to her request.

Justin later approached her (just to make it all about him) and explained that he too had been subjected to body image issues. For real.

Natasha Exelby last night departed the series, which concludes on Sunday.

18 Responses

  1. While I understand where Yvie is coming from, I feel that her speech made some of the other contestants feel as though they had to hide the joy of their own weight loss. And I disagree with Yvie on a point, losing weight is something to be proud of, especially if it brings a person back into their healthy weight range.

  2. Good on Yvie! Though am confused you say it concludes Sunday, is that next Sunday? I thought it concludes tomorrow (Tuesday). As only three eps this week. It would be strange to wait for the finale after the last ep on Tuesday, four days away.

  3. Justin’s comments about being harassed and discriminated against because he was called too hairy or muscly… I couldn’t. Absolutely I am sure a lot of models are told they are too thin or look unwell, but how many of us “normal, non-iconic people” are being told to put on weight and that being skinny is wrong or unattractive? There are extremes on both sides, but that wasn’t the time for Justin to (as you said David) make it all about him.

      1. To be a little bit fair on Justin, he’s just a bit poor with language. I don’t think he really meant icon, such as someone who is iconic, but more that his job as a model means some others look up to him in a sense so he doesn’t want to disappoint people.
        His whole argument was pretty poor though. Yvie is kind of right that those who have never been overweight don’t know what it’s like, however I’d argue some people who have experienced racism or ableism or other forms of discrimination probably do. It’s much different to being called skinny, or hairy or whatever – although that shouldn’t happen either. But when you are overweight some people look at you with undisguised disgust or condemnation as if you don’t deserve to exist.

    1. The only thing that Justin said that made any sense was his reference to when he was a boy and was smaller than others. And yes the reality is men do have a certain image to project to be accepted within society. I suppose the whole “toxic masculinity” thing is trying to address that. But then he started going on about being offended and lost me completely.

  4. Good on Yvie, that was very brave to open up like that. As for Justin, he’s lucky he didn’t get a punch in the face. He is unbelievable & Yvie was very patient with him.

  5. It was an emotional speech and one of those speeches that made you stop and really reconsider your reality and how others experience life.

    I got what Justin was saying, that his whole career was one that involved one group making judgements about other people, beautiful people, but people nevertheless. He just lacks any real social awareness, but hats off to him for what he has endured through all the special challenges thrown at him. In that regard he is no prima donna, but a competitor.

    I don’t normally watch this show, but have watched more than a few episodes, mainly when my wife watches it on pre-record. I must say they have (mostly) chosen the contestants well. Quite a lot of emotional stories here and also a lot of very nice and decent people as well, all tied together by two great hosts.

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