England footballers’ cooking show with Yung Filly pulled by the FA after rapper’s rape and assault charges
The Football Association has pulled a new cookery show featuring Yung Filly alongside top England players, after the rapper was charged with rape and assault.
The rapper and Youtuber, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, was arrested while on tour in Australia after being accused of assaulting a woman in a Perth hotel room on 28 September following his performance at a nightclub in the city.
The FA announced on Wednesday that it had partnered with Barrientos for a series named Freestyle Cooking, as part of its Greater Game campaign, which aims to promote healthy eating and wellbeing among young people and their families.
The series had been set to feature appearances by England football stars Bukayo Saka, Ezri Konsa, and Jarrod Bowen, and was to be distributed on Youtube, England Football’s social media pages and Yung Filly’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.
But after the news broke on Wednesday that Barrientos had been arrested in Brisbane and extradited to Perth the following day, the FA removed the show and all related promotional content from its channels.
The internet personality, aged 29, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and four counts of sexual penetration without consent.
Photos of the woman’s injuries allegedly caused by Barrientos were provided to the magistrate by the prosecution, who said: “No ordinary person can consent in these circumstances.
“Across her body is a history of violent acts… We say these photos and what is alleged is beyond the pale, beyond what could be considered to be a consensual act.”
Barrientos, who is best known for his work with the YouTube collective Beta Squad, fronts the BBC shows Hot Property and Yung Filly’s Celeb Lock-In, and also featured on Channel 4’s The Great Celebrity Bake Off in 2022.
The Independent has approached the FA and representatives for Yung Filly for comment.
