Thorsten Legat on the DFschungelcamp: His age has affected him

Thorsten Legat (55) started his second attempt in the jungle camp with great ambitions. The former football professional, who created an absolute classic of the format with his “Kasalla”, was determined to win “I’m a Star – Showdown of the Jungle Legends”.

On day 13, he finally had to leave the camp after losing a test and Eric Stehfest (35) and Mola Adebisi (51) choosing Gigi Birofio (25) – bitter tears included. In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Legat reflects on his time in the jungle: the pain after his exit, the burdens of old age, the behavior of his fellow campers and his own tactics.

Your exit from the jungle was associated with “heartache” for you – have you overcome that now?
If I’m honest, I’m still mourning it. I’ve looked at how I accomplished the task and what happened afterwards – it’s incredibly difficult for me, even today. I’m not as 100 percent as I was back then, but certain things remain in my heart and mind. I’m still mourning it because I love the jungle camp more than anything and I’m simply part of the family.

Thorsten Legat on the jungle camp: “I take it like a sportsman”

So you are still very disappointed that it wasn’t enough again?
No, I’m not disappointed at all. I’m taking it like a sportsman. I’m not disappointed, I’m sad because I would have liked to win. The fact that my mission was over and I failed because of guys who were better made me a little sad.

You were quite confident of victory, but Mola and Eric said that you were “too confident”…
If I go into this format with the attitude that I don’t feel like it, I’m not challenging, I’m just cashing in – then I’m a bad person. I want to prove myself, and that comes out because I was a competitive athlete. I was a Bundesliga player for 16 years, and I’ve been doing martial arts for 51 years. If I can’t show this willpower, then you have to ask yourself what I’m doing. I have to polarize people. This approach of going in there and knocking everyone out is what motivates me, it’s my prerequisite. But if it doesn’t work, then I accept it and am an absolute sportsman who plays fair.

You showed a different side of yourself and even cried openly. Did you expect to become so emotional?
It depended on the situation. I was asked questions on the jungle phone that touched me. Then you get really emotional, even though you don’t want to, and then the tears come, including mine. I’m a family person and I love my family – that’s who I am and that’s how I’ll stay. I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness when a person cries.

In such an emotional moment, you apologized to Giulia Siegel for some of your comments. But that caused confusion among the other campers…
I have known Giulia for a few days longer than the others there, she is an excellent woman. I have made very good contacts through her, she wanted to help me a lot. But what I have seen of her in the jungle so far has frightened me a little, and I stand by that. But you also have to differentiate: When I said to her at the announcement that she was not a legend, that did hurt me. Afterwards I thought, damn it, how can you do that well? Because Georgia and I rocked the treasure hunt, it occurred to me: apologize to her, because she is a legend after all. She is a complete professional and she has been there a few days longer than me and many others, everything she has experienced – I simply had to apologize for that statement. But I stand by that, I do not have to apologize for the criticism of her statements. She has to apologize for that.

Did you have any further contact with her after the show?
I’ve decided to wait until the whole show is over. I have to endure everything first and then I’ll contact her, I promised her that. You have to be able to differentiate: it was a game, a show. We can’t go out there with anger and hatred. She is Giulia Siegel, I am Thorsten Legat, you speak out, you accept it or you don’t and then everything is fine.

Gigi has been gossiping about you behind your back and portraying you as inauthentic. How do you feel about him today?
That scared me too. I mean, he’s 25, I’m 55 – he’s a small, naive boy who sometimes blurts out words without knowing what he’s saying. He wants to polarize in his own way. But he must know that if he has a big mouth, it will sometimes be shut. His way gets worn out at some point. But he saw me as a competitor. He called others small fish, and I say sarcastically and jokingly: to me he’s a tadpole. He’s a youngster in the industry and he needs to make sure he matures a bit and grows up. At some point he’ll meet the wrong person – not me – and then he’ll get a beating like in “fame fighting”. I don’t wish that on him, I love him, I like him, but he should express himself more conscientiously and show respect for people who are a few years older.

Before your exit, you wanted to teach the others a lesson with your tactic of inventing secret information – why?
From the first day, this camp was nothing but arguments, anger, noise, emotions and rage – at one point I thought I was going crazy myself! We wanted to prove ourselves there and duel, not argue. Then I thought to myself: I’ll play the Munchausen with the long nose and use tactics. After the lie, I looked at the faces of the others and the way they behaved. You could see how their eyes flew. Then I thought: See, you did everything right.

So you wanted to lure your fellow campers out of their shell with your lie?
Exactly. I wanted to see the way they reacted and how their faces changed.

Looking back, which jungle participation was more challenging?
The camp in South Africa, which I attended at the age of 55, was the biggest challenge in all my years in the industry. I was nervous, I cried, I was happy, I had good experiences, I had bad experiences too, everything came at me, the full package. But I would still do it again, because it’s my thing.

Have you underestimated the challenges of old age?
I always thought that in 2016 you were 45, you were active – not that I am not active now, but I have gotten older. I thought: watch out Thorsten, you go in there as if nothing had happened – yeah crap, it was probably nothing! I really thought the sky was falling on my head, it was all so difficult for me. The third day knocked me out because of the food, I thought, this can’t be true! All the energy was gone – and then you stand there and collapse like a little sack. Then I thought: you can tell your age. But you pull through, show nothing and rock. That is the measure of all things, when you don’t let it show and you do your job well, go for it, let out the odd quip – that’s exactly what entertainment is about.

You talked a lot about your family in the jungle. How did they receive you when you returned from the jungle?
My children have moved out and are going their own way. You should at that age, at 26 and 25. My wife hugged me lovingly, she is also very sensitive, and said: “It’s great that you were there, I’m so proud of you for what you achieved at that age.” She is my biggest critic – but when you get compliments from your wife, you shouldn’t just enjoy them, you should store them deep in your heart.