Katie Price has been firmly criticised by a prominent British Pride event, with organisers claiming she pulled out of an appearance at ‘short notice’.
The TV personality and former glamour model, 47, had been scheduled to appear at the afterparty of the Milton Keynes Pride Festival on September 13.
Last night, the I’m A Celebrity star uploaded a video to her Instagram story, explaining that she would no longer be able to attend MK Pride due to scheduling commitments.
Katie said: ‘I’m so sorry to announce – I’m supposed to be at MK Pride Festival next Saturday, and to be at the afterparty at Pink Punters. I’m not going to be able to make it.’
She continued: ‘I’ve got filming and obviously I’m in the studio recording my new track, so I will be there next year. I hope you have a fantastic time and I’m so sorry. It’s just my filming schedule at the moment…’
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In response, MK Pride posted a lengthy statement, calling into question not only Katie’s professionalism but her support for the LGBT community.
The strongly-worded statement read: ‘The official afterparty was booked and promoted as a fundraising event, with Katie Price contracted as the headline performer.
‘Despite repeated attempts of contact to fulfil this agreement, her management has confirmed she will not be honouring her booking. This decision was made at short notice and is entirely outside of our control.’
This is not the first time this year that Katie has pulled out of a Pride event, after she cancelled her appearance at Glasgow Pride in July, citing ‘another urgent obligation’.
MK Pride continued: ‘Much has already been reported in the media about Ms Price’s approach to her professional commitments.
‘While our community has consistently supported her, it is deeply regrettable that this support has not been reciprocated. Choosing not to meet her obligations to a charitable Pride event demonstrates a lack of accountability and professionalism.’
Katie’s representatives told Metro: ‘Katie is disappointed not to be appearing at the Milton Keynes Pride afterparty due to unforeseen filming commitments.
‘She has great respect for Pride events and the LGBTQ+ community and wishes Milton Keynes Pride every success with their celebrations.’
The Instagram statement from MK Pride comes after Katie issued a worrying update to her fans about experiencing pain in her finger.
She was first diagnosed with soft tissue leiomyosarcoma (LMS) back in 2002 after noticing a lump on her finger, when she was four months pregnant with her son Harvey.
Soft tissue LMS is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that attacks smooth muscle cells in the body. Smooth muscle cells, among other things, help regulate our organs and blood cells.
Speaking on the latest episode of her Katie Price Show podcast, Katie revealed to her listeners that she became suspicious when she began experiencing pain where the lump had once been.
‘If you look at my finger, there is like a hole there and a scar there… I had it cut out twice, can you see that dent? It never hurt.’
She then explained why her suspicions again arose: ‘The same finger here… about three weeks ago, I thought, have I knocked it? Because it hurts when I push it, but there’s no lump.’
Metro has reached out to Katie Price’s representatives for comment.
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