I'm A Celebrity's Cyrell says Deni should be 'humble': 'You're not Mariah Carey'

Tonight’s episode of I’m a Celebrity Australia 2026 saw a showdown of epic proportions after Married at First Sight (MAFS) star Cyrell Paule admitted that she didn’t know who ARIA award singer Deni Hines was.

Cyrell’s admission left Deni stunned, prompting the singer to tell the reality star to Google her name when she leaves the jungle. But in an interview with Chattr, Cyrell doubled down on not knowing who Deni was, saying she only recognised her last name.

“I knew she was Marcia Hines’ daughter. What she got upset about was that I didn’t know that she could also sing, and that she had sold records. I just remembered, like, Marcia Hines having a daughter. I don’t know a song she sang… I’ve never heard of her albums or the songs she’s made,” Cyrell told Chattr.

“She did not like that I didn’t know she was a singer… And she goes, ‘Oh, I should hit you with this spoon [for not knowing who I am]’. She had a wooden spoon, and she was threatening to hit me with it. I was like, well, you can hit me with that wooden spoon all you want, but that’s still not going to make me remember the songs that you sang.”

Cyrell pointed out that many people didn’t recognise others in the jungle and said she found it hard to grasp why Deni was so upset.

“I just didn’t really understand that myself, because I feel like there are so many of us that didn’t know who the other person was. Like I had Gary Sweet, and I had Rebecca Elmaloglou in with me in the Elephant Graveyard — both Logie award winners — both have been in the industry for how many years, and I didn’t recognise them, and neither one of them threatened to hit me with a wooden spoon.”

Cyrell thinks it’s ‘cringe’ that Deni got annoyed that she didn’t know who she was

Cyrell told Chattr that she found it strange that Deni was so offended by someone not knowing who she was, when there were other huge household names in camp.

“I thought it was 100% cringe… Some people are going to know you, some people aren’t, and you’ve got to be humble. You can’t take offence,” she explained.

Cyrell made a name for herself as a standout personality on MAFS 2019, one of Australia’s biggest reality shows, before going on to compete on The Challenge and The Amazing Race. While she’s well-known among reality TV fans, she explained she didn’t care when people didn’t recognise her in the jungle.

“It’s the same as me, you see, I walked in there, half of them didn’t know who I was. I didn’t turn around and go Cyclone Cyrell at them, did I?” She laughed.

“So I think in that sense, you just got to be humble and realise, you know, yes, I’m assuming you’re a great singer, but you’re not Mariah Carey, like, settle down,” she added.

Cyrell went on to add she wouldn’t be taking up Deni’s suggestion to Google her, saying she frankly didn’t see the point.

“The last thing I’m going to do is go home and Google who Deni Hines was, if anything, she made me not want to get to know her anymore, from that moment, it’s like, why would I put a virus in my phone by Googling her?” Cyrell said.

“I think that’s funny that she says for me to Google her, because it’s just like, well, girl, Google me, then you might know who I am and who you’re talking to.”

Stream I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Australia 2026 on 10Play.