THE Only Way Is Essex star Joey Turner has horrified fans by wearing a t-shirt printed with the words “I love knife play”.
Concern quickly turned to fury in the comments section of the social media post as his following slammed the controversial statement as “disgusting and vile”.
Joey, 20, who quit Towie earlier this year, prompted alarm bells on social media when he revealed his trim figure in photographs last month.
Now, the star has seen his following up in arms again after posing in a t-shirt printed with the words “I love knife play”.
The reality TV star could be seen posing next to a neon sign outside a sex shop in Soho in his latest upload to Instagram on Sunday night.
Joey captioned the photo, in which he also wore a tight-fitting mini skirt, with a phrase in Russian – translating to “fatal attraction”.
The fashion student had fans confused over the meaning of the t-shirt, however, as they were convinced it was linked to the rising knife crime in the UK.
Many lashed out about the “example it was giving out” to promote knives, following statistics that inner-city crime in London had reached new highs.
In June, figures showed how knife crime had more than doubled in the capital, with 23 deaths during the start of the year compared to 10 in 2020.
One follower wrote: “Seriously wtf are you doing? Your platform and what you are putting out there is disturbing. Not sure what message you’re trying to put across but whatever it is, it’s not right.”
A second fumed: “I love knife play? Seriously grow up. That is a vile statement,” as a third added: “Grow up, what example are you giving out.”
“Do you not watch the news? My local MP was murdered months ago, loads of others stabbed to death,” a fourth concluded. “Disgusting and vile.”
However, others stepped in to defend the reality TV star, explaining that his reference to knives was “sexual and has nothing to do with murder”.
“It’s clearly a sexual reference, nothing to do with murder – it’s how people interpret it, that’s the problem, not who is posting it,” one woman hit back.
“Leave him be and if your twisted mind thinks of bad crime then that lies with you not him,” a second added, as a third said: “Unfollow him if you don’t like it.”
Last month, Joey was forced to hit back at followers who dubbed him “too thin” as he admitted he wasn’t bothered by comments about his figure.
“I am not your role model,” he wrote in a statement. “If I’m honest I’m not phased by the comments, I just want those who are about me to know I’m okay.
“I don’t care about the comments simply because it’s hard to care for the opinions of people that know nothing about me, my diet, my metabolism or my medical history with my weight.
“I’m a 20-year-old student, I’m not on TV. I’m a student like any other and I am not your role model, so if you want someone to look up to I suggest putting someone else on a pedestal because I am not him.”
He added to The Celeb Report: “I weigh seven and half stone, but I don’t weigh myself. I don’t care about how much I weigh. I am skinny, I can’t help that I am skinny.”
Joey admitted that he had “always had a long, thin frame” and believed to be eating a healthy diet of ceral, salad and sushi.
“I don’t eat loads. I am not really a foodie, that’s not me being anorexic, I just don’t care to participate in gluttony,” he hit back.
