‘SAS Australia’ puts celebrities through a series of strenuous physical and psychological tasks, but perhaps the most gruelling challenges Roxy Jacenko has faced have been in the aftermath.
The PR queen, who quit the show six hours into filming, has faced a barrage of negative social media comments following her exit that aired in Monday night’s premiere episode.
After hitting back at “keyboard warriors” with an Instagram post revealing she’d fractured her hip and pelvis in the lead up to the August filming of the new reality show, she hung up on Triple M radio host Lawrence Mooney who “berated” her on air with criticism.
She then revealed her close friend, client and ‘SAS Australia’ co-star Candice Warner “sacked” her after they appeared on the show.
Friendship Over
“Is she really my friend anymore? No,” Roxy told KIIS FM radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O on Tuesday.
During the first ‘SAS’ episode, Roxy and Candice were asked to verse each other in the physical fight challenge. While Roxy turned her back and refused to throw a punch, Candice kept going.
“You know why I never hit back? Because it’d be like being in a ring with Jackie,” said Roxy, referring to radio host Jackie O who she’s also good friends with.
“You’re my mate, and I’m not going to smack you in the face for other people’s entertainment.”
The mother-of-two added, “I can’t punch my then-friend in the face for people’s entertainment”.
“You look back and go, ‘Fuck, I should have whacked her one,’ but you know what? I’m bigger than that and I’ve got respect for other people.”
When Jackie O asked if they’d been in contact since filming, Roxy responded, “No, she sacked me instead”.
Hitting Back At Trolls
On Tuesday morning an edited version of a pre-recorded interview was aired on Triple M, where Roxy was speaking to host Lawrence Mooney.
But after Lawrence “berated” her and said she was “playing the victim”, she hung up on him mid-chat.
“To be berated as I just was on Triple M by whoever he is, wow!” Roxy told Kyle and Jacki O.
When Jackie asked what he said, Roxy replied, “Basically that I was a loser... I could hardly get a word in edgeways.”
During her chat with Lawrence, Roxy had said, “What they failed to show on the TV was that I fractured my hip and pelvis six weeks previous. But forgetting all of that, I’m actually disgusted and upset that people are so mean to each other.”
“Let’s not forget, this is a show for entertainment. I’m glad I left when I did because if others’ entertainment is Candace Warner bashing me in the back of the head when I’ve turned my head, do me a favour, I don’t need to be a part of that for other peoples’ entertainment.”
“But you knew what you were going into,” said Lawrence.
“You knew exactly what you were getting into, because you said to your orthopaedic surgeon you were going to jump out of a helicopter. So let’s not play ‘Roxy the victim’ here.”
When Roxy said “the most important thing” was she “showed up” on set despite her injury, Lawrence said, “And you dropped out.”
HuffPost Australia has contacted Candice Warner and Triple M for further comment. Roxy declined to make further comment.
Since Roxy’s departure, ‘SAS Australia’ now features 16 other celebrities taking on a series of brutal physical and psychological tests from the real SAS selection process.
The cast includes ’The Bachelorette’s Ali Oetjen, glamour model Arabella Del Busso, ironwoman and cricket WAG Candice Warner, ‘Love Island’ star Eden Dally, former Miss Universe Australia Erin McNaught, actor Firas Dirani, Shane Warne’s son Jackson, swimmer James Magnussen, comedian Merrick Watts, cricketer Mitchell Johnson, rally car champion Molly Taylor, former ‘Bachelor’ and rugby union player Nick ‘Honeybadger’ Cummins, AFLW player Sabrina Frederick, former Bali inmate Schapelle Corby, ex ‘Biggest Loser’ trainer Shannon Ponton and swimming gold medallist Shayna Jack.
An elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers will be on hand to put the stars through their paces: Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and his DS (Directing Staff) Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox and Ollie Ollerton from the UK version of the series.
Never miss a thing. Sign up to HuffPost Australia’s weekly newsletter for the latest news, exclusives and guides to achieving the good life.