Aitch Criticizes Abortion Laws, Heads to Jungle for Down Syndrome Awareness Campaign

Manchester rapper Aitch has revealed he is going into the I’m A Celebrity jungle to raise awareness for people with Down Syndrome, like his 13-year-old sister Gracie.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m not only just doing it for people with Down Syndrome, I’m doing it for people around as well.

‘I don’t want anyone to be like disheartened or feel s*** if they do find out someone in the family’s got Down Syndrome. It’s a blessing.

‘You’re going to have the best time of your life as long as you’re spending it with that person.

‘My main thing, really and truly, is because I don’t want Down Syndrome to be seen as a negative thing. 

‘I don’t want anyone to go like, oh yeah, my kid’s got Down Syndrome, or my sister’s got Down Syndrome.’

‘And anyone to have the reply of, ‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that’ because it’s just definitely not the case. They’re the best people in the world.’

Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome.

He also waded into controversial abortion laws which allow the termination of a baby with Down Syndrome up until birth.

Aitch, 25, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, said: ‘I’ve just learned certain things over the years that make me a bit sad. In terms of you can be a day before giving birth, and if you find out your child’s got Down Syndrome, you can still have the option to terminate it.

‘Whereas in another situation, if your kid doesn’t have that, you’ve only got a certain amount of time before you can abort.’

The Straight Rhymez musician has an incredibly close bond with his little sister and dedicated his song ‘My G’ to Gracie, with all the funds generated from this song will be donated to the Down’s Syndrome Association.

The song’s lyrics read: ‘Baby, live your best life, you shouldn’t grow by force. All in your own time, G, the globe is yours.’

He then mentions G throughout the song, which refers to his sister’s name.

Introducing the song on his Instagram with a special video of his sister Gracie, Aitch wrote: ‘Track 14, My G- This one’s straight from the heart. 

‘For my sister Gracie, the most perfect girl I’ve ever met. Life wouldn’t be the same without you kid and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Go live your best life mate and enjoy every minute.’

At the beginning of My G‘s music video, Aitch includes a touching tribute that says: ‘This song is dedicated to Gracie Armstrong. You have the biggest heart in the world! Don’t change for no one. Love you kid x.’

The accompanying music video featured Ed Sheeran.

He revealed that he didn’t tell his beloved sister that he was going in the jungle for fear that she would blab about the top-secret news.

‘My Gracie thinks I’m going to LA because she’s a chatty mouth,’ he joked.

Asked if she will be surprised to see him in camp with his fellow celebrities including Jack Osborne and Kelly Brook, he said: ‘100 per cent. I don’t know think they’re going to tell her. I think they’re just going to sit her down and she’s going to find out that way, I reckon.’

‘So unfortunately, I won’t get to see that reaction.

‘She’ll probably just be like, ‘Oh, that’s Harrison!’ I don’t know, it’s funny. But she’ll definitely be excited, she’ll be buzzing for me.

‘Yeah, she loves it. She shouldn’t really be staying up that late but it’s all right.’

The singer hopes that his stint in the jungle will increase his profile as he looks to branch out into more television work.

He said: ‘The original reason I wanted to come on here was because it’s hard to say no, isn’t it? It’s just a show that I grew up watching.

‘So when I got the opportunity, and when I told my mum I’d got the opportunity, she’d probably got mad at me if I said no anyway.

‘But in terms of future-wise, it’s also good to build on the profile.’