Sam Dastyari makes drug confession on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here

Sam Dastyari’s candid speech on his failed marriage and political career may have won him sympathy, but one former contestant isn’t buying it — here’s why.

Sam Dastyari’s candid speech on his failed marriage and political career may have won him sympathy from his I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! castmates, but one former contestant isn’t buying it.

Steve Price, who appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2017, told The Projec t on Wednesday night that Dastyari was “playing the game” in order to get the “sympathy vote” and win the show.

Steve Price wasn't convinced by Dastyari's speech

“I reckon it’s smellier than the food they’re serving in the camp there, I mean Dastyari knew exactly what he was doing last night,” Price argued.

“He’s standing up in the middle of the camp delivering this message about how his life’s been shattered, and we all feel sorry for what happened to him in the end with his personal life, but he knew exactly what he was doing.”

Price also claimed that Dastyari had placed himself in plain view of the filming crew when he was discussing his past.

“Where he was doing it, he’s standing up there knowing that right in front of him was one of the cameras, you know where the cameras are,” Price said.

“If you’re going to give that sort of discussion and go that deep into your life what you’ll do is sit there quietly on the end of your bed somewhere and tell someone — this stinks.”

But The Project’s Peter van Onselen disagreed with Price, pointing out that in his own dealings with Dastyari the former Labor senator had always been frank even when knowing how to use a media opportunity.

“Pete, he’s playing the game,” Price replied bluntly. “I think what he is doing there is he realises he needs the public to vote to keep him in, so he’s playing the sympathy card and he’s playing it early... he wants a vote, he wants to win!”

A rare occasion but I have to say I 100% agree with @StevePriceMedia on this one, Sam’s speech smacked of thinly veiled self pity and attempted manipulation. I wouldn’t trust a word out of that guy’s mouth.

— Tamsyn Blythe (@notimefb) January 16, 2019

Sam Dastyari

On Tuesday night, Dastyari made a startling drug confession during a candid discussion about the collapse of his political career.

“I have done every single drug,” Dastyari told his fellow contestants in the jungle.

Dastyari was talking about the depressive period of prescription drugs and binge drinking he slumped into after his career in Canberra ended.

The Labor senator quit the Australian Senate in December 2017 after weeks of controversy over his links and interactions with Chinese donors.

But Dastyari also told his jungle companions he was “an arrogant prick” and ranted for several minutes about his downfall and how he was responsible.

“I was out of control, and when it came crashing down, it all crashed. The hard bit there is accepting I was completely responsible for my own downfall.”

Talking about the “Shanghai Sam” Chinese scandal which ended his life as an MP, Dastyari said “I blew up my entire life.

So the Sam Dastyari rehabilitation campaign begins...here we go. #ImACelebrityAU

— Michael Byrnes (@MichaelByrnes) January 15, 2019

The former senator spoke candidly about his struggles

There's actually some pretty interesting political revelations from Dastyari right now on #imacelebrityau

Took a bucket load of drugs at one stage. I think after he got dumped.

— Richard Bot Tuffin 🌈 (@RichardTuffin) January 15, 2019

“My career is over. My marriage is over. My reputation is in shatters.

“All that is completely self-inflicted and there is a darkness to that.

“I lost everything.”

Fellow contestant Yvie Jones looked unimpressed by Dastyari’s outpouring, chiding him, “You didn’t lose your kids and you didn’t lose your life.”

On Twitter, some viewers were not impressed by Dastyari’s revelations, with @OZzSue 1 tweeting “Shanghai Sam asks why am I doing this #ImACelebrityAU? You’re doing it Sam because your a media whore”

Michael Byrnes tweeted, “So the Sam Dastyari rehabilitation campaign begins ... here we go”.

Nathan Hall was more brutal, tweeting, “Sam Dastyari and his bulls**t sob story can both f*** off.”

Mark Chadwick wrote on Twitter, “Not watching, but I have to say that Mr Dastyari is making even more of a dick of himself”.

I’m A Celeb airs 7:30pm Sundays - Thursdays on Ten.