I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here producers have been forced to clarify that Ant did not use a racial slur during last night’s show.
Dec was making a joke about the working conditions of the show’s production team, saying that the blue fleeces the celebrities had been wearing would be donated to “underprivileged Australians who suffer terrible working conditions.”
The camera then cut to the crew who could be seen wearing the fleeces.
Ant replied saying: “Poor souls, they get paid in avos” – or, in other words, avocados.
However, many viewers misheard the line and thought Ant had said “Abos” instead of “avos.”
‘Abo’ is a slur used in Australia used to describe an Aborigine person in a derogatory manner.
Those who misheard Ant took to Twitter to express their frustration.
@Ant_McPartlin is it NOT ok to say "Poor souls, they get paid in abos" FYI, ' Abo' is a racial slur that has been used in the past and still used TODAY to degrade Aboriginal people, you know the Indigenous people of the land where you film your show @imacelebrity
— Rangi Hirini (@rangihirini) December 2, 2017
Did Ant just say “…he would get paid in Abbos” on #ImACeleb ????
— Dan Yeandle (@danyeandle) December 1, 2017
Paid in Abos!! Little racist there #ImACeleb #ImACeleb2017 #ImACelebrity
— ว໐ຖ คthคຖ (@TheGtPretender) December 1, 2017
Is it OK for Ant to refer to "Abbos" on #ImACelebrity I'm not so sure. Could be wrong. But it sounded wrong.
— Andrew (@SilverFox0916) December 1, 2017
Producers have since clarified Ant’s words, stating that the presenter said “avos” and not “abos.”
A spokesperson told The Sun:
“Ant said on tonight’s show that the crew were paid in Avos which is short for avocados and a commonly used abbreviation in Aus.”
