Former cruiserweight and heavyweight king David Haye has responded defiantly to the backlash over remarks he made about “ugly girls” while on the all-stars edition of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… South Africa. The controversy centres on comments he made about attractiveness and personality, which have been widely critiqued and labelled sexist by some viewers.

During the build-up to the live finale of the show’s second All Stars series, Haye attempted to clarify his stance after his words sparked public debate. In a discussion on This Morning, he said,

“Ugly girls have better personalities than traditionally beautiful supermodels. Everyone’s looking for something to be offended by. Who’s offended by what I said there? Is it pretty girls, ugly girls, who?”

Haye expanded on his view of what he described as “ugly duckling syndrome”, explaining his belief that those deemed less physically attractive are more likely to cultivate a strong character out of necessity. He suggested:

“If you get a hundred beautiful girls, a hundred ugly girls, put them in the dark, the ugly girls will have a better personality because they’ve had to develop it through necessity… Uglier girls have to have the personality.”

When asked why he should be the one to judge appearances, Haye insisted he was merely putting forward his opinion, saying:

“I’m not the arbitrator. I’m saying, in my opinion, the beautiful girls that I see usually have terrible personalities, whereas uglier girls, fat girls, have much better personalities, more bubbly personalities.”

Despite significant criticism from some of his campmates on I’m a Celebrity and audiences at home, Haye has refused to retract his views, asserting that he is simply being candid and that his comments have been taken out of context. His girlfriend Sian Osborne, whom he referenced during the discussion, has defended him, describing his comment about her personality as a compliment.

Public reaction to Haye’s comments has been mixed, with social media users sharing sharply divided opinions. One person wrote,

"Imagine interviewing a man known for being one of the angriest, meanest and most aggressive men in a sport where participants beat each other to near death and expecting him to care on the impact of his words on your feelings?"

Another added,

"He's talking about pretty privilege in the most caveman way possible."

A third commenter took the opposite stance and applauded Haye for not backing down, saying,

"Refreshing to still see someone stand ten toes on their original opinion. Everyone is too quick to apologise today. We'll be fine."

The debate the remarks have ignited has continued online and in the media, with public opinion divided over whether Haye’s comments were intended as a complimentary observation about character or were inappropriate and offensive.