James Haskell slammed over poor-taste joke in his first appearance since split from Chloe Madeley

JAMES Haskell has been slammed over a poor-taste joke in his first appearance since announcing he'd split from Chloe Madeley.

The former I'm A Celeb made the audience audibly gasp with the gag - which compared 9/11 to a rugby coach.

James, 38, last night showed face at a recording of the podcast World Cup After Party: The Good, the Bad and The Rugby - which Mike Tindall co-hosts.

It was the first time he'd been seen publicly since he and Chloe revealed they'd called it quits on their marriage.

He joked about the split with his co-hosts as they performed at the G-Live Centre in Guildford, Surrey.

But James also made a horror one-liner about the deadly attack that rocked the world on September 11, 2001.

The 38-year-old was relaying a story about former England coach Andy Farrell asking players to be honest with him and staff.

James recalled it involved talks around methods at the team training centre.

reported he said: "He went straight to Tom Wood, right, former player and he crumpled like the Twin Towers."

The shocked crowd was said to have gasped while someone said: "Jesus."

James then went on to say: "What? Too obscene? F*** off, that was 9/11 d***head, it's 2023 time to get over it."

Before he backtracked and said: "I'm joking, I'm joking.

"It’s alright. Don’t worry I’m not coming back to Guildford, it’s alright."

As James spoke, his co-hosts were said to have been holding their heads in their hands.

But the joke didn't just shock the crowd - people online have had similar reactions.

One person blasted James on X, formerly Twitter, writing: "What a publicity-desperate idiot.

"Chloe is well rid of him. Glad she’s moving on from this caveman."

Another slammed: "This guy is an obnoxious pr***.

"Sooner he disappears under a rock the better."

It comes just days after James and Chloe revealed their break up.

The couple secretly split in September - just 13 months after the birth of their daughter, Bodhi.

Their announcement however came after James was pictured in a cosy embrace with another woman.

On Saturday, Chloe said on Instagram: “James and I mutually decided separate at the end of September, 2023. 

“We had not planned on releasing a statement at this time - certainly not while the television show was airing - but constant speculation about our marriage has, unfortunately, forced our hand.

“Beyond this statement, we will not be speaking about this matter publicly, and we would request privacy at this time. 

“Our sole focus now is our beautiful daughter. We shall continue to co-parent with nothing but love.” 

James later shared the statement online and added: “It's with a lot of sadness I write this post, but unfortunately, in the world we live in, it has to be done.

“My priority is my daughter’s and Chloe’s happiness and security. For that reason, I won't be commenting any further.”