Culture

Ewin Holyfield: My dad isn’t homophobic but he thinks ‘being gay is a choice’

Jan 07 2014
Written by Scott Roberts

The son of Celebrity Big Brother housemate Evander Holyfield has spoken out to defend his father, after the former boxer made homophobic remarks on the show.

“My dad is the most loving and caring person you will ever meet. He treats everyone like a human being… even if they are homosexual,” Ewin Holyfield told TMZ.

“My dad feels that being gay is a choice… and naturally that’s how things work. You cannot procreate and make a baby with two women, or two men. But at the same time, my dad is not going to judge someone for their sexual orientation.”

He added that Evander’s former brother-in-law is gay and the ex-world heavyweight boxing champion has always “treated him like a brother”.

Producers of Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother have faced calls for Evander Holyfield to be ejected from the house, after he stated on Sunday that being gay “ain’t normal”, adding that it was “a choice” which “could be fixed”.

He refused to apologise for the remarks.

Yesterday, broadcast regulator Ofcom confirmed it was “currently assessing” the comments, following several complaints from viewers.