Entertainment
Celebs Go Dating’s Joey Essex in unaired ‘row’ with Paul Carrick Brunson after making ‘insensitive’ comment
Celebs Go Dating’s Joey Essex is said to have been embroiled in a row with matchmaker Paul Carrick Brunson in the most recent series of the show.
The 46-year-old relationship expert allegedly accused the former Towie star, 30, of making a ‘racially insensitive’ comment in unaired scenes.
It comes after reports claimed Paul had quit the E4 dating show after he revealed an ‘off-camera altercation’. However, he has since confirmed he has not left the programme.
It’s understood the exchange was triggered when Joey allegedly said the phrase ‘fo sho’ while responding to Paul, who hails from America.
According to claims, tensions then grew when Paul tried to explain why his comment, which is slang for ‘for sure’, could be seen as offensive.
A source said: ‘It’s fair to say that Paul didn’t gel with Joey as well as the other contestants – not because of any personal animosity, but because Paul thought Joey wasn’t taking the experiment seriously.
‘By his own admission, Paul was finding the show difficult and was already uncomfortable prior to Joey’s entrance with being constantly referred to as P-Dawg.’
The insider added to The Sun: ‘At one point Joey misused some slang in front of Paul, who took him aside to explain why it could be seen as inappropriate.’
Soon after the most recent series of Celebs Go Dating ended, Paul took to social media to say he was glad to see the back of filming, sparking speculation that he’d left the show.
In the post, he wrote: ‘For the first time I got into an off-camera verbal altercation with a celeb.
‘Real talk, if it wasn’t for daily meditation, exercise and CBD, I would’ve put hands on them.
‘All this underscores a big lesson for me; my family is my strength. I literally need to be with them to function. They ground, replenish, and light me up. My family is my greatest treasure.’
However, Paul later insisted that this ‘goodbye’ to filming was referring to his return to the US.
‘My social post referred only to my departure back to the States where I was very happy to be reunited with my family who I missed terribly,’ he told OK! Online.
‘I thoroughly enjoyed my time filming Celebs Go Dating and since returning to the US I’ve had lots of lovely messages from fans who have enjoyed watching the show.’
Both Joey and Paul’s rep declined to comment.
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