Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson breaks down as he discusses the time he famously fat-shamed singer Paulini on Australian Idol on tonight’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The former reality TV judge broke down as he told his campmates that he’s not the same person he was then.
‘I don’t feel like that guy Dicko on television 20 years ago. I am a different person. It is interesting for me to feel how that impacts on the person I am today’ he said.
‘Maybe each time I tell it and it invokes an emotion in me, it takes me nearer to working out how I actually feel about it. It probably tears a layer away and that is a good thing.’
Dicko says that had a ‘chip on his shoulder’ during that period of his career.
Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson (pictured) breaks down as he discusses the time he famously fat-shamed singer Paulini on Australian Idol on tonight’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
‘I had to prove myself but I just set about trying to be the cold hard facts guy and it was pretty brutal at times,’ he said.
The television star goes on to say that he may have more tactfully advised Paulini against wearing the dress if he had his time again.
‘If Paulini had have come to me at the record company and the stylist had have been there and she had walked out in that dress and said this is what I am wearing to the ARIAs, I would have advised her against it’ he said.
‘I didn’t want to hurt here and I promise you, if she had have walked a red carpet wearing that dress 20 years ago, there would have been comments made in women’s magazines.’
Paulini was left humiliated when ‘Dicko’ fat shamed her while she was competing during a 2003 episode of the show (pictured) in a gold dress
Dicko broke down in tears as he recounted a father telling him that he’d caused his daughter’s anorexia over the comments.
‘He said, ‘this is your fault. She was an Australian Idol fan and when you said that comment to Paulini, she spiralled out of control and she is now in hospital, she might die and if she does, I am going to hold you personally responsible” he said.
‘To feel that my comments might have driven a beautiful young girl, the apple of her father’s eye, into a hospital ward where she could die, is really hard’.
During Wednesday’s episode, Dicko was asked about the cringeworthy moment that left Paulini humiliated back in 2003.
Dicko admitted her would be ‘tarred and feathered’ if he tried to do something like that on Australian TV today, and revealed people still ask him about the shocking incident.
He then went on to recall the controversial TV moment that divided the country, as his campmates listened with shock and confusion.
‘I don’t feel like that guy Dicko on television 20 years ago. I am a different person. It is interesting for me to feel how that impacts on the person I am today’ he said
‘There was this girl called Paulini… amazing voice. But she came on towards the end of Australian Idol when it was massive, 2.5million people per show,’ he began.
‘She wore a two piece dress and it looked, it just didn’t look good. It went though my mind. I can actually shut-up because people have started to like me now.
‘I can shut up or I can do what I said I would do. Unfortunately, I said you need to choose more appropriate clothes or shed some pounds.’
Dicko talked down the incident saying it was ‘eleven banal words’ which sent the country into a frenzy.
He did, however, admit it has become harder to speak with an honest voice.
‘I’m a straight shooter but these days I’ve had my arrows confiscated because it’s just not worth it,’ Dicko said.
Dicko admitted her would be ‘tarred and feathered’ if he tried to do something like that on Australian TV today, and revealed people still ask him about the shocking incident
‘You have to find a way to be straight these days. I promise you there are thoughts going on in this head that I can’t verbalise.’
Taking a softer stance, he admitted he wouldn’t say the comments to Paulini in this day and age.
‘Would I say it today? No I wouldn’t but I am a different person today and the world is different,’ he said of the controversy.
Paulini reflected on the indecent in February while speaking to Stellar magazine.
‘Would I say it today? No I wouldn’t but I am a different person today and the world is different,’ he said of the controversy
The singer admitted that her confidence took a lengthy blow that took a long time to recover from.
‘It wasn’t like I started with a lot of confidence anyway,’ the now 40-year-old said.
‘But [that experience] definitely took me backwards,’ she added.
The stunner was just 21 at the time, and had chosen to perform her song in a show-stopping gold dress.
‘When Dicko made that comment it was kind of like a wake-up call for me. What he said to me was hurtful, but it made me think, the music industry is about every aspect of your life,’ she told Daily Mail Australia recently.
‘You’ve gotta look after yourself physically and you’ve got to make sure that you look good,’ she continued.
Anyone needing support with eating disorders or body image issues is encouraged to contact:
Butterfly National Helpline on 1800 33 4673 (1800 ED HOPE) or [email protected]
Eating Disorders Victoria Helpline on 1300 550 23
For urgent support call Lifeline 13 11 14
In the shocking episode, he told Paulini to ‘choose more appropriate clothing and shed some pounds’
