Big Brother investigating transphobia claims made against housemate
Big Brother has said it is investigating transphobia allegations made by fans. (ITV)
Big Brother has confirmed that it is investigating claims that a housemate made “transphobic comments” aimed at evicted cast member Hallie.
While watching the 24-hour livestream of the ITV reality series over the weekend, some viewers allege that they overheard housemate Paul make a joke rooted in transphobia following Hallie’’s departure using a Halloween skeleton decoration.
A spokesperson for Big Brother told Digital Spy: “We are currently looking at footage following speculation on social media and while this process continues, at this time we have not yet found any references to the skeleton being compared to former housemate Hallie nor any transphobic comments.”
Hallie, who was the third housemate to be evicted from the Big Brother house, came out as a trans woman to her fellow castmates in the early days of the ITV series.
The 18-year-old became a fan favourite on the series, as she taught less-informed co-stars and any curious viewers at home about the trans community and what it meant to be trans.
As the series went on Hallie stirred up some drama, pulling pranks on her housemates and breaking a house rule by writing secret messages back and forth to co-star Olivia.
In other moments, she reduced viewers to tears as she spoke candidly about how much her mum had given to help her through her transition.
It was a shame, then, when Hallie was ousted from the house in a public vote last week.
Many viewers, who expressed how much they’d miss the youth worker, complained that the series wouldn’t be as fun to watch without Hallie there to keep things interesting.
Even Hallie’s fellow housemates were shocked that she had been evicted so early on, with friends Olivia and Kerry worried that the 18-year-old might have been evicted because she is trans.
“People can have prejudice towards certain things,” Olivia pointed out.
“I just think it really puts it in perspective, like, how many people sat at home and opted to use their vote to get rid of someone.”
She added: “I’m just baffled, man. Out of the three people nominated, right? They don’t feel a specific way about two of them, but they really despise one of them.”
Other housemates like Jenkin and Chanelle disagreed, arguing that Hallie being trans didn’t have “anything to do with the voting” and that everyone in the house was “from a minority.”
Hallie has since commented on her friends’ fears, saying it would “break her heart” if transphobia had contributed to her eviction.
She told PinkNews in an exclusive interview: “I’m not denying it may have a part to play in the reason I was voted out, because there are people out there that do not like the way I live my life, and do not like trans individuals.
“That’s horrible to think that’s why I was voted out.”
She added: “I think it was amazing that Olivia had brought that up, because it brought more awareness to it. I don’t like how Jenkin and Chanelle had shut it down and had been like, ‘no, she can’t say that,’ because they don’t know.
“It could have a big part to play in the reason I was voted out, because everyone was in shock. I’m not denying it had a part to play, but I wouldn’t like to think it did.”
Big Brother continues on ITV2 and ITX every Sunday through to Friday.
