I’m A Celebrity star Jack Maynard apologises for ‘disgusting’ homophobic tweets: ‘I was young and stupid’
Professional YouTuber Jack Maynard has apologised, after he was removed from ITV show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in the wake of a homophobia scandal.
Vlogger Jack, 23, entered the jungle for the reality show alongside nine other celebrities.
He was removed from the show after his history of homophobic and racist tweets were exposed, including using the n-word and repeated use of the slur ‘faggot’.
He has also been hit by more shocking allegations that he begged a 14-year-old fan to send him nude pictures online.
The messages where reportedly sent from Jack’s Facebook account – which he took down yesterday – in December 2011, when he was 17.
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The YouTuber, who is famous for being the younger brother of singer Conor Maynard, posted a video today in which he addressed the allegaitons.
He said: “I’m sure most of you have seen that a lot has been written in the press over the last few days. I’m so sorry to anyone that I offended, anyone I upset, anyone I made feel uncomfortable.
“Like a lot of you growing up, my entire life was on social media… I’ve grown an amazing following. Social media is my job, my work is this, online, and everything that comes with it, and I’ve messed up.
“I’ve been really stupid in the past, I’ve tweeted some bad things, some horrible things, some pretty disgusting things that I’m ashamed of.
“Growing up online is hard, all I can do is beg and encourage that you guys don’t make the same mistake as well.
“Don’t ever put anything online that you wouldn’t say to your mum.”
He added: “I was young, I was stupid… I was careless I just wasn’t thinking back when I’d just left school and I didn’t know what I was doing getting into arguments with people on Twitter before I knew I’d have any impact online.”
“I feel like I’ve let so many of you down. It’s horrible. I’ve done so much growing up since then. I was just young and stupid.
“I still am growing up, I’m still learning every single today. In fact I’m growing up a bit more today, today is my birthday”.
The star used the N-word as well as homophobic slurs in a series of social media posts.
The posts date from the era of 2012-13, when Maynard was 17-18.
When an abusive commenter suggested he had profited off of his brother’s fame, Maynard hit back: “Completely forgot you know how I got it YOU RETARDED FAGGOT”.
In another post he hit back “hahaha shutup you faggot… By the way who hit you with a shovel?”
He also posted tweets using the N-word.
A spokesperson for the vlogger had told The Sun: “Jack is ashamed of what he said in these tweets, many of which were deleted a long time ago and were sent in response to a neighbour who was bullying him.
“Jack was a lot younger when he posted them in 2012 but realises that age is no defence.
“He would never use that language now and realises that, as someone who was bullied himself, this kind of retaliatory, inflammatory, insulting language is completely unacceptable.”
An ITV spokesperson previously said: “Jack has issued a full apology and has deleted the tweets that he sent.”
Some viewers have defended Maynard, calling the decision to remove him from the show “pathetic”.
https://twitter.com/xlucypearson/status/933086058996207616
Others said he deserved to be taken out of the jungle.
oh ok so jack maynard got kicked off i’m a celeb for being racist and homophobic pic.twitter.com/DuaxzmQdkS
— SCAR IS SEEING NCT AND SKZ | 10 (@taeilkink) November 21, 2017
Lorraine Kelly previously hit out at the comments on her ITV daytime show.
She said: “What an idiot, what an idiot! You are right it does come back and bite you on the bum if you write something.
“If it’s unacceptable then, it’s unacceptable now.”
