Earlier this week, Kerry Katona hit out at the culture of “snobbery” at ITV after she admitted her infamous 2008 interview with Phillip Schofield left her feeling suicidal.
During a GB News interview with Dan Wootton, Kerry said her 2008 interview, where she slurred her words while speaking with Phil on This Morning, still “affects her today”.
However, following Phillip’s bombshell BBC interview, in which he said the fallout from the scandal has left him feeling suicidal, Kerry has spoken out once more.
‘This is exactly how I felt after the interview he did with me!’
After watching Phillip’s interview, Kerry posted a video clip on Instagram and said: “This is exactly how I felt after the interview he did with me! If I didn’t have my children I’d have killed myself #fact!”
The 2008 interview saw Phillip telling Kerry: “Your speech is a bit slurred, are you okay?” to which Kerry reacts: “Is it?”. She was on bipolar medication at the time and explained the medication affected her speech.
Posting on Instagram today (June 2), Kerry then went on to hit out at ITV, reiterating comments she’d made earlier this week. “Things need to change drastically at ITV!! Nobody reached out to me after the interview or asked me what bipolar was, or what medication I was on!”
Kerry added: “Four people from Love Island have killed themselves, including Caroline Flack! To EVERYONE who’s is involved with this I really hope that they are ALL getting the right support!!!”
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Kerry Katona ‘wanted to die’ after Phillip Schofield interview
Kerry first spoke about the Schofield scandal earlier this week. She admitted that while she didn’t want to come across as a “hypocrite” as she later patched up her relationship with Phillip, she did speak out at the culture at ITV. She alleged: “The culture at ITV and the toxicity, and the aftercare is so lack of, that I was left suicidal. No one reached out to me whatsoever. It was so disgusting.”
Kerry explained she was at her “rock bottom” when the interview took place. She added: “It was just awful. I was suicidal, I wanted to die. I wanted to kill myself. It was everywhere.” She added she has been sober for 14 years. But she broke down in tears over how the interview “still” affects her.
I feel so ashamed and so hard done by, even now.
Holding back tears, she said: “Even now, when I look at that video, I feel so ashamed and so hard done by, even now. For 10 years, I’ve had to justify myself. I’ve got no reason to lie [about the medication], even today I have to justify myself for that interview.”
When Dan Wootton later asked if Kerry had met the young runner on the set of Loose Women, Kerry said she had, and he was “lovely lad” but she worried about where ITV‘s “duty of care” is for him.
Kerry hits out at ITV over Caroline Flack
Kerry also alleged ITV treated Caroline Flack unfairly compared to Phillip Schofield. Caroline Flack died by suicide in February 2020 after she was dropped from Love Island following assault allegations against her boyfriend. Kerry added: “They asked her to step down like that. I don’t understand why Phillip was still sat on that sofa for three years, and ITV knew about it and Caroline took her own life.”
Kerry suggested it was because “she was a woman” and hit out at “double standards” for how Phillip was treated.
ITV has denied that they knew about Phillip Schofield’s affair, who said he “lied” to ITV bosses. However, ITV recently announced an external investigation into how it handled the Schofield affair.
Kerry also said Holly and Phil “never” go to dressing rooms to speak to guests, while she claimed Eamonn Holmes “always did”. She also alleged Holly Willoughby was “after a headline” when she interviewed her, and she felt “inferior to her”. Kerry said she thinks This Morning needs a “complete overhaul” and “new people in”.
ITV said in response to Kerry’s interview that it “takes responsibilities around duty of care and speaking up seriously”. Entertainment Daily has contacted representatives for Kerry and ITV.
Read more: Kerry Katona shares crushing realisation after ‘finding a lump in her breast’
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