I'm A Celeb: Amir Khan sparks Twitter storm after asking if a woman can be prime minister

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
Stephanie Soteriou
In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.


Amir Khan left I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! viewers tickled as well as outraged during last night’s episode of the ITV reality show, with the boxing champ asking if a woman is eligible to be prime minister during a “sexist” conversation with his fellow contestants.

The 30-year-old star, whose wife is expecting their second child, seemed to have no idea that the UK’s current prime minister is Theresa May – who is very much a woman.

Amir shocked I’m A Celeb viewers. Copyright: [Rex]
Amir shocked I’m A Celeb viewers. Copyright: [Rex]

Proving why he is more known for his brawn than his brains, Amir was talking to the camp’s Prime Minister Stanley Johnson when the remark slipped out.

Speaking to Stanley, Amir asked: “If something God forbid happened to you is it possible that a woman could take over?”

Stanley replied: “Well a woman would take over because Toff [Georgia Toffolo] is my deputy.”

Stanley patiently explained the situation to Amir. Copyright: [Rex]
Stanley patiently explained the situation to Amir. Copyright: [Rex]

Digging a little deeper, Amir asked: “Has there ever been a woman prime minister?” before quickly remembering Margaret Thatcher.

Amir’s shocked campmates quickly pointed out that he had forgotten Theresa May, with an embarrassed Amir seemingly forgetting that he is on a TV show, immediately responding: “Don’t tell anyone that!”

Amir forgot about current PM, Theresa May. Copyright: [Rex]
Amir forgot about current PM, Theresa May. Copyright: [Rex]

Needless to say, Twitter had a field day with Amir’s comments and took to the microblogging site to share their response to the gaffe, including comic Jason Manford:

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues at 9pm on ITV tonight.

Follow Yahoo Celeb UK on Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest celebrity news!

Read more:

[ I’m A Celeb viewers praise Iain Lee for crying on camera ]

[ Former X Factor contestant claims she was sexually harassed by competitor ]

[ Wayne Rooney had ‘no idea’ that Coleen was going to post statement about their marriage ]

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Latest stories

  • Man who sued Manchester City after Bennell abuse says apology means ‘nothing’

    The man told a judge he had not taken part a compensation scheme set up by City because he did not agree with the terms and conditions.

  • Sunak cuts £2bn from R&D budget but will fund Cummings science agency

    Sunak cuts £2bn from R&D budget but will fund Cummings science agency. Chancellor announces £800m for Aria, a new body that will fund ‘high-risk, high-reward’ technologies

  • Man charged with malicious communications after Angela Rayner receives threats

    Police said they made a third arrest on Thursday.

  • SpaceX needs to tame toilet trouble before weekend launch

    SpaceX is resolving toilet spills in its capsules before it launches another crew for NASA

  • Telecoms hit by fuel shortages in Haiti

    Haiti's telecoms networks have sharply cut back on service because of fuel shortages caused by the tightening grip of criminal gangs on the capital Port-au-Prince, company officials said Tuesday.

  • Sunak announces reforms to Air Passenger Duty for UK flights

    Chancellor Rishi Sunak said flights between the four nations of the UK will be subject to a new lower rate of Air Passenger Duty from April 2023. He also announced changed to reduce carbon emissions from aviation with the introduction of an ultra-long haul band covering flights of over 5,500 miles.

  • By banning six Palestinian NGOs, Israel has entered a new era of impunity

    By banning six Palestinian NGOs, Israel has entered a new era of impunity. I founded al-Haq in 1979. Israeli now considers it to be a terrorist group, along with other vital humans rights organisations

  • Trailer for Buzz Lightyear's origin story released

    Trailer for Buzz Lightyear's origin story released

  • HBO commissions fourth series of Succession

    Series three of the award-winning drama began airing earlier this month.

  • Sunak announces 'radical simplification' of alcohol duties

    Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will take the steps to radically simplify alcohol duty with a system designed around the principle of "the stronger the drink, the higher the rate", as well as a 'draught relief' - a new, lower rate of duty on draught beer and cider.

  • UK debt agency boss wants to limit impact of gilt issuance slump

    A mammoth cut to Britain's plans to issue government debt was structured to minimise market disruption as far as possible and maintain a steady supply of bonds to investors, the head of the country's debt agency told Reuters on Wednesday. Gilt prices shot higher after the Debt Management Office (DMO) said it planned to issue 194.8 billion pounds ($267.5 billion) of bonds in the current 2021/22 financial year, 57.8 billion pounds less than its previous remit. Both 10-year and 30-year British government bonds recorded their biggest one-day price rises since March 2020, when prices surged after the Bank of England restarted its quantitative easing programme during Britain's plunge into a COVID-19 lockdown.

  • France says will act tough with UK now to get fishing licences

    France will adopt a zero tolerance attitude towards Britain and block access to virtually all its boats until it awards the fishing licences France says its fishermen need in its post-Brexit dispute, a government minister said on Thursday. "I stand by the fact we pursued dialogue until now, we got half of the fishing licences today, but that's not enough and not acceptable," Clement Beaune, France's Europe minister, said on CNews TV. "So now, we need to speak the language of strength since that seems to be the only thing this British government understands," Beaune said.

  • Mikel Arteta hoping Eddie Nkeitah stays at Arsenal

    Mikel Arteta has backed Eddie Nkeitah to become a “top, top player” and is hoping that will be at Arsenal after he struck in the Carabao Cup fourth-round win over Leeds. The Gunners secured a 2-0 victory as Calum Chambers scored just 21 seconds after coming off the bench before former Leeds loanee Nketiah tapped in. It was just the 22-year-old’s second appearance of the season, his first coming in the third-round success over AFC Wimbledon, and he is out of contract in the summer.

  • Youth climate activists ‘occupy’ Science Museum all night over fossil fuel sponsorship

    Thirty youth climate activists “occupied” London’s Science Museum on Tuesday night in protest at its sponsorship deals with fossil fuel companies. Members of the London branch of the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN London) held a candlelight vigil at the famous landmark for “the victims of the Museum’s fossil fuel sponsors: Shell BP, Equinor and Adani”.

  • Head of Army vows to help authorities over death of Kenyan woman linked to British soldiers

    The head of the Army has pledged to help the authorities over the death of a Kenyan woman linked to British soldiers in his first intervention in the case.

  • Portugal faces snap elections after MPs reject budget

    Portuguese MPs have rejected the proposed 2022 state budget, leading to the likelihood of an early election.View on euronews

  • Poland's president discusses security with King of Jordan

    Jordan's King Abdullah II of Jordan has traveled to Poland for talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda

  • Germany's COVID caseload makes biggest leap in two weeks

    Germany's coronavirus caseload took its biggest jump in two weeks on Thursday, with over 28,000 new infections, the Robert Koch Institute said, adding heft to worries about restrictions this winter. The number of new infections per 100,000 people over seven days - one of the metrics used to determine policy measures - stands at 130.2, up 12.2 points from 118.0 the previous day. New infections have been steadily creeping up since mid-October.

  • Second NCAA gender equity report shows spending disparities

    The NCAA has fallen short of upholding its commitment to gender equity, spending more on male athletes on average than female ones

  • Boxpark Wembley to host real-life Squid Game for Halloween

    “We will not be murdering people” reads a disclaimer on Boxpark’s website