Jermaine Jenas has unequivocally hit back at his critics in bizarre fashion after uploading a topless video of himself dancing in his kitchen.
Former England and Spurs star Jenas, 43, was one of the BBC’s rising stars before he was axed from his role on Match of the Day in August 2024 following the discovery of inappropriate messages sent to two women.
Jenas had served as a regular presenter on The One Show and 5Live before his wife, Ellie Penfold, confirmed she had split from the former footballer in the wake of the scandal – having been together for 16 years.
He is now in a relationship with Parisien estate agent Anne Leplaideur, 31, with the pair spotted holidaying together this summer.
He spoke at length about how he had ‘lost everything’ during his ‘tough two-year period’ in a car-crash appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain last month, in which he was grilled by presenters Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh.
Jenas took issue with Singh’s ‘line of questioning’ and later claimed the presenters had ‘a thirst for blood’, with the former footballer accused of ‘skirting around the issue’ of his behaviour and responding to questions in a defensive manner.
Jermaine Jenas has hit back at his critics in a defiant Instagram message on Saturday
But taking to Instagram on Saturday, Jenas posted a defiant message while dancing and spinning a plate of white chocolate pancakes.
‘I no longer care how the story gets told,’ the caption read. ‘F*** you and them… Respectfully.’
Rio Ferdinand responded to the post by saying: ‘Okaaaaay… these tunes don’t fit the caption ffs.’
The ITV interview saw Garraway ask Jenas what he had ‘learned’. Jenas replied: ‘To say I was happy in the industry I was in is an overstatement. When it comes to what I’ve learnt, it’s a very specific thing to put my finger on.
‘It’s probably a little bit of an unfair question to find that one thing. You go through life, you make mistakes and there were things happening on the outside of work also affecting my behaviour.’
Singh then accused him of ‘skirting around what you’ve learnt’, but Jenas responded: ‘I’m not skirting around anything, Ranvir.
‘I’m more than happy to have the conversation, which is why I’m here. I’m not here to be defending myself in any way, shape or form.
The 43-year-old ex-footballer was grilled during a car-crash interview on GMB last month
He was accused of ‘skirting around the issue’ of his BBC sacking in August 2024
‘I know what I did was wrong and I accept those punishments. Nobody is skirting around the responsibility of what I did. I know what I did and I know what I did was wrong. So I don’t understand where that line of questioning is coming from.’
Singh then asked him for his ‘advice to other men who are in positions of power in any industry and who think they are just flirting with women at work who… what is your advice to other people then who might be learning from your mistakes?’
Jenas replied: ‘I think they can look at what happened to me and make their own assumptions about what they have to do with their own lives.
‘I’m not here to preach to other people about what they should do with their lives. I’m here to explain to people my own experiences of what I’ve been through and what I’ve done and the impact that it’s had on everybody in my life.
‘I’m not here to dictate to people in terms of what they want to do. I understand why you have to come at me with this line of questioning and it’s completely fine and if you feel like I have not been punished enough then go ahead and keep going.’
Singh said she was ‘not saying that’, adding that Jenas had spoken about ‘what’s been taken away from me’ – but ‘people might say you put yourself in that position, you risked it all by doing what you did’.
Jenas replied: ‘Oh, 100 per cent. I did put myself in that position and I’m not sat here begging and pleading for my job back.
‘I’m fully accepting of what has been taken away from me. I put myself in that position and that’s where the learning comes from – and that’s where I have to now look forward to what is coming next. That’s where the post comes from.
Jenas, 43, split from wife Ellie Penfold after inappropriate messages sent to two women were discovered
‘It’s impossible to not learn about yourself when you are put into the position that I was put into, that I put myself into. You have to take stock, look around yourself, look at your own behaviour and realise that things have to change.
‘I’ve done that over a period of time where it’s been very tricky – granted I put myself in that position.’
Jenas deflected throughout his ten-minute interview, pleading for forgiveness because everyone ‘makes mistakes’.
The 43-year-old learnt of his sacking from the BBC while live on radio.
He added: ‘The learning from it doesn’t always have to be negative. We are so obsessed in this industry with “oh, he’s been cancelled” – everything has to be negative.
‘Hang on a minute, I’m a person who has learnt a lot from my mistakes and spent ten to 12 years in this industry and had a brilliant career and really enjoyed my time on television. There’s a lot for me to give back.
‘I’m not saying on television, it could be on any different platform where I know a lot of people feel how I feel.
‘I’m a human being. We make mistakes. You two [Singh and Garraway] can’t sit in front of me and say you’ve never made a mistake in your life. We all make mistakes, we live in the public eye.
‘Every mistake I made was made public and I had to handle that as a man. That’s exactly what I did. The thing now is about moving forward and what I’m about to do next. Currently, I’m not sure.’
