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Nazeem Hussein’s emotional tale of racism on I’m A Celebrity

In among the froth and candy floss of the arrival of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Carson Kressly, there was a rare moment of deep emotion on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! on Monday night.

Comedian Nazeem Hussein was a ‘guest’ on Steve Price’s Jungle Radio Show and he talked about growing up as a Muslim in Australia.

“After my parents split, my Mum was able to use her religion as a prism to make sense of her situation and, from a young age, religion was something that helped me,” Hussein told the camp.

“I was just a teenager when September 11 happened. Before September 11, Muslims were just another ethnic community. After September 11, Muslims in Australia suddenly became this political community that was ideologically opposed to the Australian way of life.”

He wept as he recalled the impact of a Twitter campaign after the Lindt Café siege in Sydney in 2014.

“My sister [prominent Melbourne lawyer Azmeena Hussein] texted me and she said: “Nazeem, I’m scared to wear the hijab home because I think people are going to attack us.” I said “just take it off, don’t wear it, you don’t need to wear it if you’re feeling scared”.

“And then throughout the day that hashtag started trending, #illridewithyou, where people were volunteering to support each other; non-Muslims were volunteering to sit with Muslims to make them feel more comfortable.

“She then messaged me later saying: ‘No, you know what I now feel more comfortable and safe knowing my fellow Australians are willing to stand up and support me’.

“That actually made me cry when it happened because we don’t see that enough.

“We don’t see Australians coming together for each other. And that man [Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis] wanted to divide Australia. He wanted us to turn on each other, but what he did instead, was made us come together.”

He likened Pauline Hanson’s rhetoric to Islamic State, in a clear warning to politicians who are happy to get into bed with One Nation to keep power.

“When Pauline Hanson says irresponsible things, she is splitting us, Muslim and non-Muslim. We have to use the opportunity to strengthen bonds. It’s weird for me to be passionate about politics but this is personal for me,” he said.

His campmates were deeply moved by his story. Ash Pollard summed it up by saying she now understood far more than ever about this issue by listening to him speak.

Kris Smith: ‘I lot of gay men find me attractive’

Carson’s arrival into the camp – in a pink-and-leopard-skin shipping container – was the other big moment of the night.

He’s the king of the one-liners (“I feel like I’ve had too much Botox and it’s making my eyes squinty”) and quickly revealed that he’s single as he eyed up model Kris Smith.

Kris revealed equally quickly that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with being what he called a “gay man magnet”.

He said he hoped Carson was only flirting with him for fun because “he’s definitely batting for the wrong team”.

Kris Smith

Kris Smith has turned heads. And lots of them. Photo: Channel 10

“I think a lot of gay men find me attractive, which is a massive compliment,” he said.

“Anybody to find you attractive is a massive compliment but they always make a beeline for me for some reason.”

The other blokes were deadpan as Carson brought out his “nice new underwear that I can’t wait to show you”.

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