I'm a Celeb's George Calombaris tells his side of the wage scandal: 'Most horrific year of my life'

George Calombaris has opened up on I’m a Celebrity Australia 2026, about the wage underpayment scandal linked to his restaurants, which sent shockwaves through the hospitality industry.

In 2017, an independent review commissioned by Troy McDonagh, who was the Chief Executive of George’s company Made Establishment, found that hundreds of staff members were underpaid.

After Fair Work stepped in, it was revealed that the company had underpaid 515 employees, totalling up to $7.83 million.

The same year, George said he was “devastated” by the findings, and steps had been taken to repay all underpaid staff. His company was forced to pay a contrition payment of $200,000 to the Australian Government, undergo training and audits, and apologise.

George was one of three MasterChef Australia judges at the time, alongside Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston. While Channel 10 publicly supported George at the time of the scandal, shortly after the trio was let go from the show, the network cited its inability to reach contract negotiations as the reason.

What did George say about the wage scandal on I’m a Celebrity?

George opened up on I’m a Celebrity… Australia 2026 during the January 26 episode, where he shared his side of the wage theft scandal with his fellow campmates.

“2018 was probably the most horrific year of my life, and I do hate talking about it, because I don’t want to make it sound like I’m feeling sorry for myself. We did a full audit of the business, and we found out about 550 team members. We underpaid 49% of them and overpaid 51% of them,” he began.

“We’re sitting around a boardroom table, and they’re like, ‘Look, George, we should go to Fair Work and tell them, be upfront and honest. This is what’s happened: we’ve found the problem, we’re going to rectify it, and pay everyone back who has been underpaid. And obviously, we can’t ask for money back [from those who have been overpaid].”

George said that when Made Establishment informed Fair Work that they’d be paying back the underpaid staff, it was well received.

“We owned up, we paid back. And that, you know, is something that I know, and the people around me know.”

George added that when the story blew up in the media, it was “carnage” and” the worst time of his life, adding that 30% of my revenue dropped within a day.

The celebrity chef added that he takes accountability for what happened, but hated to see how his actions affected those he loves.

“I’m not perfect. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, but I’ll take full responsibility. Even after a week and the publicity everyday, I couldn’t leave my house I was stuck, my poor family, and that was the worst your family, what they go through.”