Rylan has hit out at “disgusting” I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! viewers for criticising Tulisa Contostavlos’s appearance.
The N-Dubz singer was a judge on The X Factor in 2012 when Rylan competed and her appearance on the ITV reality show arrives after what has been a tough decade for the star.
Rylan, who is now a successful TV presenter, pledged his support for Contostavlos in the week the latest series began. He shared a photo of the singer, writing: “YES 2012 come throughhhhhhh.”
He then added: “Also before people start going for appearance, Tulisa has been through a lot health wise the last few years so let’s not make s*** jokes about her on twitter yeah.”
Elaborating on his frustrations with the comments, Rylan told MailOnline: “She’s been through a hell of a lot over the past few years, medically wise, that I know has been well documented.
“So to hear people be like, ‘Why has she done this to her face, why has she done that –I just feel like saying, ‘What has it got to do with you for a start and, second of all, actually some of the things she’s done to her face is for medical reasons, so it’s none of your business at the end of the day.’”
He continued: “I’ll always defend my mates and I don’t care what people say about me. I get more annoyed what people say about people I love. Everyone’s always got an opinion and that’s fine. People can say what they want, but don’t go for someone with a medical issue. I think that’s disgusting.”
In 2020, Contostavlos, who has been cleared for all I’m a Celeb challenges, was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a temporary weakness that usually affects one side of the face.
This diagnosis came 13 years after the singer experienced “horrific” health issues separate from the condition.
She explained in an interview that she would often feel a sensation that she compared to ants crawling across her face. Last month, Contostavlos revealed one of the several doctors she had seen found “three chronically infected cysts” in her cheek.
Speaking about how she thinks she’ll fare in the jungle, Contostavlos said: “I will probably struggle in the first few days as doing something like this is a big deal for me. I’m a big softie and I’m an emotional person.
“I haven’t been thrust this much into the spotlight in a while and I have avoided it out of irrational fear. I will probably be the most emotional when I first go in. It will take me a while to settle in, but I know I will get past that.”
Contostavlos was first thrust into the limelight when the hip hop group she joined, with her cousin Dappy and their mutual friend Fazer, was awarded the Mobo award for best newcomer in 2007. N-Dubz were signed to Polydor the same year and their debut album went double platinum with four UK top-40 singles, including“Ouch”, “Papa Can You Hear Me?” and “Strong Again”.
The singer said of her I’m a Celeb casting: “My number one mission is to be my true authentic self. If me being my authentic self connects with people in a mass way, then it must mean I’m doing something right in life.”
Meet all of the I’m a Celebrity contestants for 2024 here.
