David Haye responds to claims that he ‘bullied’ Adam Thomas on I’m A Celeb
David Haye says he did his best to behave well in the I’m A Celebrity camp and insists there’s “no bad blood” between him and Adam Thomas after being accused of bullying. The former WBA heavyweight champ, who came third on the 2012 ITV show, was voted out on Monday when the campmates didn’t save him.
Haye got to choose someone else to leave and picked Gemma Collins, thinking she was ready to go. In his exit interview, he was asked about his relationship with Adam Thomas, who has also had a heated argument with ex-footballer Jimmy Bullard.
During Monday’s episode, tensions between Haye and Thomas came to the surface when things got a bit tense. Haye suggested Thomas might have his own issues outside the camp, but Thomas fired back, saying, “I’ve got no issues, David, you’re my issue right now.” Haye laughed and joked about “hurting your feelings,” which wasn’t taken lightly by Thomas.
Thomas responded, “You’re not hurting my feelings, but if you don’t want to be nice, then don’t be. It’s not funny anymore, bro, I don’t know why you’re laughing.” Haye said he found it funny, but Thomas wasn’t happy with that attitude, saying, “I like you, but I don’t get why you keep going after me all the time.”
Later, Thomas talked about the fight at the Bush Telegraph, saying, “I don’t know where it came from. What do you gain from this? It just keeps going. I’m like, ‘Come on, man, it’s not funny anymore.’” Haye also called Thomas “useless” for stepping out of a challenge, a comment Haye admitted was a bit too harsh.
In his exit interview, when asked about his feelings toward Thomas, Haye said, “I am a bit of a d*ck sometimes, maybe too harsh.” But he added, “No bad blood from me. I’ve spent my life in tough boxing gyms since I was ten, fighting bigger guys and pushing myself hard. I won a world heavyweight title against a seven-foot Russian giant. So when a grown man says this TV show is the hardest thing he’s faced, I just don’t get it. Honestly, I was on my best behaviour.”
Haye said he’s spoken to Adam, shared his thoughts, and that some upcoming footage will explain more. “I’ll leave it there,” he said.
While some of their back-and-forth was seen as just banter, hosts Ant and Dec thought Haye’s teasing of Thomas for missing a Bushtucker Trial after being sick was a bit much. On the show’s podcast, Ant said, “It’s not nice to watch. Haye keeps picking on them, and Adam’s having a hard time and not coping well. The banter has gone too far, but David won’t stop.” Dec agreed, saying, “It’s crossed the line from banter. I don’t find it comfortable to watch.”
After the episode aired, Thomas posted on Instagram about how hard it was for him. “Watching it back hasn’t been easy,” he wrote. “There were times I felt pushed to my absolute limit, and I didn’t even recognise myself.”
He opened up about living with arthritis, something he usually doesn’t talk about much, but it really affected him in the camp. “My biggest fight was trying to hide the pain and look brave. That was exhausting. Some days my body just didn’t want to keep going, but I did.”
Thomas added, “I won’t pretend I handled everything perfectly—I didn’t. I wish I’d spoken up sooner and stood my ground instead of trying to keep the peace. But I’ve learned being kind doesn’t mean being weak, and sometimes you need to go through tough times to find your voice.”