opinion | In the final of the 2023 jungle camp, Gigi Birofio and Lucas Cordalis hoped for the crown, but their comrade-in-arms Djamila Rowe won the show. Nobody would have thought that at the beginning of the season – and yet she is the worthy jungle queen, according to our editor Michael Hille.
The jungle camp dynasty has a new monarch: Djamila Rowe. Proclaimed by Sonja Zietlow and Jan Köppen, the 55-year-old was the new jungle queen, she not only won the crown and the prize money, but also the favor of the RTL viewers. As always fought twelve stars for the crown, in the final there were only three: winner Rowe, reality star Gigi Birofio and singer Lucas Cordalis.
In the run-up to the broadcast, many had hoped that the finale would actually end with Djamila Rowe on the throne, saying “I’m a star – get me out of here!” had pursued in 2023. And she is without question a worthy winnerdeserved the victory like only a few before her and all that, even though she was not only far from favorite status in the run-up to the season, but was originally not supposed to move into the jungle camp at all.
Jungle camp: Djamila Rowe became a surprise candidate
RTL / Stefan Thoyah
Jan Köppen and Sonja Zietlow moderated “I’m a star – get me out of here!” in 2023.
So she had experience with TV formats, but Rowe was hardly anyone’s top candidate beforehand – partly because she was simply less distinctive in her personality than many of the other competitors. With Claudia Effenberg, Lucas Cordalis or Tessa Bergmeier you could be sure that they would cause friction, but Djamila Rowe was hardly predictable. In a way, she was not only the surprise candidate of the season, but also the grab bag: It could have gone in any direction with her.
Djamila Rowe: From the quiet woman to the self-confident fighter
RTL / Stefan Thoyah
Djamila Rowe won – rightly so!
Especially in the first editions, Djamila Rowe went completely under in the jungle camp, even seemed invisible. She was rarely in the picture, provided virtually no templates. Their jungle existence began quietly and in the background. But that changed: With every show, she gained self-confidence. In the clips and moderations by Zietlow and Köppen, RTL sometimes tried to use prejudice against her because of her false celebrity affair, but it was recognized: Rowe woke up. And quite likeable.
She opened up and told her private story. She didn’t live up to the cliché of the weak it girl at all, on the contrary! More and more she became a candidate who holds the group together in the jungle and does not bend over backwards to please the viewers. She maintained her refreshingly honest manner until the announcement of victory: “I’m getting sick,” were her first words when she was named jungle queen. It also couldn’t hurt that she died final jungle test shortly before canceled would have. It increased the sympathy values much more that she could always admit her weaknesses.
The jungle camp is a show, but the last few years have shown that usually only those who pull off the least show win. Those who remain true to themselves will be rewarded by the audience – and Djamila Rowe succeeded. She cleared up prejudices and went through by far the greatest development in the camp. This is indeed what winners look like. Sorry: queens!