- Twelfth day in the wilderness: emergence of the malevolent term and fresh partnerships
Sarah Knappik is just pondering aloud: What if, she muses, we women pooled our power? Maybe we could "take down a few guys". Given the situation, there are five ladies left, more than the four fellas still around. Despite their constant boasting about being stronger, wiser, and practically indestructible, the men are outnumbered by us women.
The power struggle between the genders has been escalating for the past twelve days within RTL's "Legends Jungle Camp". Following Giulia Siegel's controversial departure, the game seems to be shifting gears. Previous alliances are crumbling, new ones are emerging. The females in the jungle, in particular, are growing increasingly tired - first of each other, then of the men who exude self-importance and refuse to believe that any female contestant has a shot at winning the 100,000 euro prize. As Elena Miras puts it during the Monday RTL+ episode of "I'm a Star - Showdown of the Jungle Legends": "The men here think they're the kings."
"A naughty word"
However, it takes some time for this realization to set in, and it gains momentum from the argument that arose on day eleven between Knappik and Georgina Fleur. The reason for their sudden fallout after a successful jungle challenge remains vague. Fleur went so far as to utter "the dirty word": "Clear out and take your stars with you."
Sarah, always the Stasi-styled investigator, accepts the role of the aggrieved and recruits others to her cause. "Georgina used the dirty word," she declares. "That's not cool, especially as a mother."
Thorsten Legat nods solemnly in agreement: "It's a naughty word" - using it more frequently than Georgina herself did. He insists that the jungle is a "refined" setting, even curated for the viewing pleasure of children.
"Thorsten, this isn't a church service"
One who fails to understand the drama is Gigi Birofio: "Thorsten, this isn't a church service," he says. "There have been worse things on television." Overall, Birofio appears increasingly frustrated. He's not just growing tired of the jungle ("I think there's nothing I despise more than the jungle. Except maybe school, that was equally draining."), but especially with the self-proclaimed alpha male "Kasalla" Legat.
Gigi, who himself struggled with the basic camp rations this time ("A snail tastes exactly like a snail"), advises Elena Miras to not blindly trust everything Legat says and suspects: "He's just playing to win."
Legat doesn't emerge victorious in episode twelve, but he does manage to earn eight out of nine stars in his jungle challenge. The impact of his participation and success remains unclear, even to Legat, who continues to mislead his fellow campmates about his next moves.
RTL leaves the aftermath hanging, but offers a sneak peek into episode 13. In it, host Mola Adebisi declares: "I don't believe in feminism. My wife is my queen, but I am the king." The context of this statement was initially unclear. However, it's not unlikely that such remarks will spark a new round in the jungle's gender war.
Sarah, feeling betrayed by Georgina's use of a derogatory term, states firmly, "I'm not going to let Georgina get away with using 'the dirty word'." Later, when Thorsten uses the same term more frequently, she retorts, "Thorsten, this isn't a church service, we're not in a sanctified space to use such language."
