Benji Marshall reveals clash with Ronnie Caceres lead to ‘HR brief’

Celebrity Apprentice star Benji Marshall has revealed that the tension between him and rival Ronnie Caceres got so heated that HR was forced to step in during filming.

Speaking with KIIS 106.5’s Kyle and Jackie O show on Wednesday morning, Benji claimed Ronnie wasn’t ‘authentic’, prompting the radio hosts to agree.

‘We’ve had a lot of people in and say, “Ronnie would do things and say like, oh that was just for TV” off the air,’ Jackie O said.

Celebrity Apprentice star Benji Marshall, 37, (left) has revealed that the tension between him and rival Ronnie Caceres, 46, (right) got so heated that HR was forced to step in during filming

‘He really had a go at me one day and I said, “Please Ronnie, not today, I’m having a bit of bad day”, and he still went…’ said Benji.  

‘I said, “Mate, what are you doing?” and he said, “Well, do you wanna make good TV or not?”

‘I said (to him), “At the end of the day, you’re forgetting we’re here for charity Ronnie, not for you”. It’s funny though, he’s famous for being on reality TV, so I think he understands what it’s about. But I think he tried to play a role that, in the end, he doesn’t look so good.’ 

Kyle then jumped in, asking, ‘Why didn’t you just knock him out?’ leading Marshall to say that things soon escalated between the pair.

‘He really had a go at me one day and I said, “Please Ronnie, not today, I’m having a bit of bad day”, and he still went…’ said Benji 

‘It’s funny, I did get a bit of a brief from HR on that, ‘cause one day I thought I was going to … I don’t like bringing it up, I don’t want to bag the bloke.’

Marshall explained that it happened after Ronnie joked that fellow contestant Jean Kittson, 66, had ‘dementia’ in front of business executives.

Afterwards, Jean explained what had happened to Marshall, who said he was ‘really disappointed’ in Caceres.

Marshall explained that it happened after Ronnie joked that fellow contestant Jean Kittson, 66, had ‘dementia’ in front of business executives

The former NRL star later snapped, ‘Don’t touch me, I already heard what you did to Jean.’

‘He said she had dementia, twice, and I hit him up. It’s not a thing to joke about,’ he explained.

‘My wife’s grandma died from dementia, I know a lot of people who’ve had it. Whether he thought it was funny or not, that’s not the point. I just hope he learned from that, that you just don’t say that… but he was playing a role.’ 

Benji pictured with his wife Zoe Marshall. The couple married in 2013