Newly-minted Queen of the Jungle, and Triple J’s finest Concetta Caristo has addressed fan claims that the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia 2026 finale was “fake”.
After weeks upon weeks of gruelling Tucker Trials and campfire clashes, the radio personality was officially crowned winner of I’m A Celeb, earning her bragging rights until next season and $100K for her chosen charity, Full Stop Australia.
Although the moment was full of joy, some fans argued that this year’s finale was “fake” because of the network’s decision to pre-record the season rather than play it live, Daily Mail reports.
The only involvement Australia had in this year’s season was the finale as voting lines opened for the winner of the show.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia winner Concetta Caristo slams claims
Off the heels of her big win, Caristo questioned how fans could see it as fake and that the network “just done [the finale] in a way that reality TV does it a lot of the time”. However, she understands the frustration fans have with the changed format, especially with I’m A Celeb going from live shows to pre-recorded.
“The public voted, and that’s the ending that we got,” Caristo told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I understand if bolted-on fans, you really care about the show, and something changes. I can understand them. There is a lot of upset and frustration, but I think the show has turned out pretty amazing.”
Caristo then highlighted the fact that winning I’m A Celeb means a charity is awarded a massive donation, which is the real reason, and real joy, of winning Queen of the Jungle status.
“That’s literally what the winning means,” Caristo began.
“A very worthy charity wins $100,000. So fake or not, that’s a very real difference that it’s making to Full Stop Australia and, yeah, I couldn’t be prouder of that.”
How was the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia 2026 finale filmed?
While this year’s season of I’m A Celeb has copped an immense amount of feedback for going down the pre-recorded route, the radio presenter said, “it kind of felt iconic because that’s what they do on RuPaul’s Drag Race“.
“When you’re filming it back, you’re just being like — I’m just going through the emotions of like, ‘Okay, if this were me, and it feels amazing’. But, you know, it’s not real yet. It’s just a potential,” Caristo said before revealing Luke Bateman‘s winning scene was recorded first, then hers, and eventually Gary Sweet‘s.
“I really think it took me a second to be like, holy shit. That’s me. This means I won it. It really took a while to sink in,” Caristo added.
With her newfound Jungle Queen status, Caristo hopes to continue telling her story, with hopes of potentially writing a book or creating a live story soon.
“Just love that I get to be myself and get to do comedy, and I hope there’s more TV in my future, and I’d love to host something one day, I’m kind of just feeling very positive and open to whatever happens,” the I’m A Celeb winner spilled to P.TV.
It’s not confirmed whether or not Network 10 will continue to do pre-recorded versions of I’m A Celeb, but if I could chuck in my two cents, I do love the unpredictability of a live challenge!
But hey, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens in 2027.
You can stream all of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Australia 2026 on 10Play.
Image source: Network 10.
