Firass Dirani has become public enemy number one among the celebrity recruits on SAS Australia for regularly getting the directing staff (DS) offside.
But the actor insists he has ‘no regrets’ about his behaviour – despite being labelled the villain and being in the midst of an escalating feud with co-star Shannan Ponton.
Speaking to Who magazine on Thursday, the Underbelly star claimed his actions and subsequent group punishments did everyone a favour by ‘filtering out the bulls**t’.
‘I have NO regrets’: Now Firass Dirani (pictured) has mocked the directing staff (DS) on SAS Australia while drinking with his rumoured girlfriend after calling Shannan Ponton a ‘redneck’ and ‘culture vulture’ for having Maori Tattoos
Firass’ insubordination towards the DS has resulted in multiple group punishments during the series so far, and has directly resulted in two celebrity recruits voluntarily withdrawing from the course.
‘The more I talked back, the more other people got punished and the more people eliminated themselves because they couldn’t handle it,’ Firass explained.
He added: ‘This show really pushed all our fake façades away on day one, and if my behaviour got to people, that just meant I was helping sort the weak from the real.’
Firass insisted he had ‘no regrets’ about his time on show, and as a self-described ‘masochist’ he enjoyed the challenge of being scared, and being pushed outside of his comfort zone.
‘I was helping sort the weak from the real’: Speaking to Who magazine, the Underbelly star claimed his behaviour and subsequent group punishments helped ‘filter out the bulls**t’
‘Okay, yeah, everyone is on the bandwagon’: On Wednesday, the actor mocked the show’s authoritative figures as his rumoured girlfriend Heven Iskender told him to ‘shut the f**k up’ every time he tried to speak while drinking red wine
Potshots: SAS Australia star Shannan Ponton has sensationally labelled Firass Dirani (pictured) a ‘sociopath’ after he showed ‘little remorse’ for his selfish actions on the military-style show
On Wednesday, the actor mocked the show’s authority figures while drinking red wine out of mason jars with his rumoured girlfriend, Heven Iskender.
The House Husbands star, who has claimed Channel Seven is unfairly portraying him as the ‘villain’, tagged Seven and the show’s DS in the posts.
In the clips, every time Firass went to speak his rumoured girlfriend interrupted with ‘shut the f**k up’ as he responded: ‘Okay, yeah, everyone is on the bandwagon.’
Firass appeared to be referencing the DS shutting down recruits on the show and the backlash he has been receiving from viewers and former co-stars.
In particular, Firass has repeatedly clashed with Biggest Loser trainer Shannan Ponton on the show, mainly due to Firass’ behaviour towards the DS, which has resulted in group punishments.
Claim: ‘I believe that he’s a sociopath in his behaviour,’ Shannan (pictured) said in an interview with news.com.au. Shannan is not a doctor and is not qualified to make a psychiatric diagnosis
‘The whinging must stop!’ Firass (pictured) called Shannan a ‘redneck’ and said he put the personal trainer’s ‘legacy to shame’ on the series
Bad boy: Last week, the recruits were forced to run sprints as punishment for Firass’ insubordination, as he was ordered to stand back and watch
Firass fired back at Shannan on Wednesday after the fitness guru labelled him a ‘sociopath’ to News.com.au.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, the 37-year-old actor branded Shannan a ‘redneck’, and labelled him a ‘culture vulture’ for his Maori tattoos.
‘I find it strange where this vile aggressive labelling behaviour is coming from? I suspect there’s more prejudice against me than I imagined,’ Firass said.
‘Feels like a redneck to me. Him and his followers. That’s called a line in the sand.’
‘What’s with his Maori tattoos? You’re embarrassing a whole culture. You are not worthy of such ancestral powerful artwork. You don’t even fall on the coattails of such warriors. You culture vulture,’ he added in another swipe.
‘There HAS to be a villain’: Firass took to Instagram to hit back at Seven this week, claiming the network was unfairly portraying him as the ‘villain’ of the series
‘They’ve more than fairly edited him’: Mark Billingham, an ex-British Special Forces soldier, said on Monday that Firass’ behaviour was ‘a lot worse’ than what was shown on TV
Firass has openly claimed Channel Seven is unfairly portraying him as the ‘villain’ of the series.
‘There has to be a villain, ladies and gentleman. There HAS to be a villain. And, lo and behold – right here, this is it,’ he said, pointing at himself.
Drill sergeant and ex-British Special Forces soldier Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham claimed to news.com.au on Monday that Firass should be ‘grateful’ for his generous portrayal.
‘They’ve more than fairly edited him to be honest, because he was a pain in the a**e,’ Billingham said bluntly. ‘He’s a bit of a pain.’
SAS Australia continues on Monday from 7:30pm on Channel Seven
Tune in: SAS Australia continues on Monday from 7:30pm on Channel Seven