Peter Andre has commented for the first time about statements made about his manhood after it dominated proceedings on the first day of the libel trial between Coleen Rooney and Rebekah Vardy. Vardy took to the stand on Tuesday (10 May) at London's High Court and admitted she regretted calling Andre's manhood a "miniature chipolata".
The comments were made by Vardy in a 2004 interview with the News of the World and she says she "deeply regrets" it and that she was coerced into giving the interview against her will. Vardy says her ex-husband made her do the interview but it is an allegation the ex-husband has previously denied.
Manchester Evening News reports that singer Andre, who appeared on I'm a Celebrity...Get me out of Here! in 2004, took to Instagram and wrote: “Do you know how hard it is to keep biting my lip on situations? But the way I look at it, most people saw in the jungle how an acorn turned into an oak so I think I’m OK.”
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The Mysterious Girl hitmaker added: “At least she has now admitted it wasn’t true. And was forced to say it.” Rooney’s lawyer David Sherborne was cross-examining Vardy when he probed her about the newspaper interview in which she went into detail about a claimed sexual encounter with Andre. Mr Sherborne had asked her if she respected people’s privacy, to which she replied: “Yes, I do.”
Mr Sherborne showed her a print of the article in the witness box before reading the headline in which the comments were made.
The News of the World was the highest circulating newspaper at the time, according to Mr Sherborne, with around four million reader, reports the Mirror. He asked Vardy whether it had been “respectful” of Andre’s “right not to share this information”.
She replied: “I was forced into a situation by my ex-husband to do this and it is something that I deeply regret. It is not nice to read and I understand why this is being used – to me, this is mudslinging, and I was also threatened with mudslinging by Mrs Rooney’s team.”
Vardy later revealed she did not ask Mr Andre for his permission or tell him the story was going to happen in advance. Mr Sherborne asked her: “Did you feel particularly strongly about the size of his manhood that it should be made public?”
Vardy, who has been married to Leicester City striker Jamie since 2016 and has three children with him, responded: “It was something that I was forced to say.” The trial continues on Wednesday (11 May).
