Tulisa says ‘my life fell apart’ during fake sheikh drugs trial
The charges against the N-Dubz star were later dismissed.
Tulisa Contostavlos told her I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! campmates that her life “fell apart” after she was arrested on suspicion of supplying class A drugs in 2013.
The charges against the N-Dubz star were later dismissed after prosecution witness “fake sheikh” journalist Mazher Mahmood was found guilty of tampering with evidence, during her 2014 trial.
“2013 was the year I was set up by a British newspaper, for concern in the selling of class A drugs,” she told fellow campmate Oti Mabuse.
“The guy’s name was Mahmood and basically, I was approached by a big movie company and they sent me a tweet or a DM from their official account to audition me for a movie role…
“I’d dabbled in acting, so this opportunity for me was huge.”
Contostavlos said the role was offering £3.5 million and she was flown out for meetings with producers in Las Vegas with “first class flights, limousines (and) five star hotels”.
“I found out it was a lie,” she told former Strictly Come Dancing star Mabuse.
“So I was told, as I wasn’t an actress, I was less likely to get the role and the only reason I would get it is if I was the girl in the role, and the girl in the role was this bad girl from London who was constantly up to naughtiness, rolling with gangs, up to all kinds of naughty stuff.”
Contostavlos said “they had me dangling on the end of a string”, claiming every time she met with the team they’d tell her “we need some drugs”.
“After months and months, eventually they got a number and it was of someone that wasn’t even a drug dealer, it was an aspiring movie producer and I wanted to make a hook up as well for that person, but I didn’t know anyone that could do that,” she said.
“The long story short is they ended up ordering £800 worth of cocaine from the number that I had given them.
“Then before I knew it, I was being arrested in the concern of the selling of Class A drugs and I was facing four years in prison.”
Contostavlos revealed she lost “all my endorsements” over the incident.
“My life fell apart,” she said.
The 36-year-old continued: “When it came to the trial, I’d had a conversation with one of their drivers, I was being recorded but I didn’t know, I was saying how anti-drugs I am, so they were very aware of my feelings towards drugs.”
Contostavlos said the driver initially gave a statement confirming she was anti-drugs, however she claimed that as the trial loomed the journalist forced him to change his statement.
In 2016, Mr Mahmood was jailed for 15 months tampering with evidence in the collapsed drugs trial of pop star Contostavlos following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
Wednesday’s episode also saw podcaster GK Barry and Dean McCullough take on the bushtucker trial, Drown In The Dumps.
The pair failed to unlock any stars and went back to camp empty-handed.
The end of the episode saw Love Island star Maura Higgins and writer-turned-broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles revealed as late entries into camp.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV1 and ITVX.
