Big Brother producers have been accused of covering up homophobia after one housemate accused others of offensive language.
Last week, Dean Quinton was evicted in spectacular style, having been forced out of the fire exit due to a technical malfunction that prevented the main doors from opening as they should.
The 35-year-old barber from Walthamstow certainly made an impact during his 27-day stint in the famous compound, but his comments after his exit seem to have ruffled feathers further.
Speaking during an Instagram Live, Dean revealed that, during Halloween Week, fellow housemate Marcello Spooks coined a nickname for him, as he was dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster.
In conversation mid-task, he claims Marcello called him ‘Campenstein’ before Big Brother called him to the Diary Room to check he was ok.
Dean also alleges that a lot of the ‘core’ group were repeatedly making jibes like, ‘this is gay’ or ‘that’s gay.’
He did not name the housemates individually, but throughout the series, the likes of Hanah, Segun, Marcello, Thomas, and Khaled have referred to their clique as the ‘core group.’
Furthermore, Dean has said that Ali, to whom he was close in the house, also informed him that she had heard unsavoury comments made.
Big Brother viewers have taken to forum site Reddit to discuss Dean’s revelations, expressing their anger, particularly towards Marcello, who has made numerous unpleasant remarks over the past five weeks.
These have included lying to other housemates about ‘kissing’ Ali, a lesbian who has a girlfriend, while in the smoking area alone together, and making various sexualised, overly flirty quips towards the women.
‘Why does Marcello get away with homophobia and misogyny?!?!’, asked Reddit poster Particular_Tiger5831.
‘Can’t believe people are defending Marcello saying this’, commented elioandoliver4ever.
‘I feel like ITV more than any other channel (compared to C4 or C5) is doing the absolute most to avoid these types of behaviours airing. I feel they have an agenda in terms of who they want to push for success, quite like Love Island’, blasted KleinValley.
When some argued that a name like ‘Campenstein’ was ‘funny’, Drewtheedruid retorted: ‘To quote mean girls “that’s only okay when I say it”. I think if Marcello was an ally, it’d be more acceptable.’
Others asked why Marcello hasn’t yet been ‘kicked out’ of the house, having repeatedly received backlash for his behaviour.
This isn’t the first time Dean has ripped into Marcello.
Dean’s accusations come after his exit interview with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best, in which his attempt to bring up the matter of alleged homophobia in the house was swiftly shut down.
Will began by questioning Dean on how he previously described Marcello as ‘he’s everything I hate about people on the outside’ with his ‘toxic masculinity’.
Dean doubled down, saying: ‘In the beginning, I was like, “Oh, he’s really genuine; he’s actually a nice guy,” but as time went on, he started making misogynistic comments about women.’
As an example, he claimed: ‘One of the comments was, “What’s there to do in Amsterdam? The women!”‘ This was not aired, though.
‘Now, for me, you don’t treat women like that; that’s disgusting,’ Dean stated, thanking the studio audience for applauding him.
‘Then he started making some homophobic comments…’ Dean then began.
But host AJ was quick to interject, telling him: ‘He clearly had said some things that rubbed you up the wrong way…’
Dean said he didn’t bring his issues up to Marcello’s face before Halloween Week, as the opportunity never presented itself until he was forced to dress as a Vampire, along with Nathan, and dish the dirt on fellow housemates.
The task involved the pair answering brutal questions to be rewarded with blood, which would help their teams clinch victory.
Marcello’s scandals aren’t the only big talking points of BB this series, as, this week, Sarah Griffiths was given a stern warning for making a ‘joke’ with racist connotations. She apologised and was reminded that the house comprises people from all walks of life, which she should respect.
Additionally, ITV has come under fire for editing out pro-Palestinian symbols, such as Ali Bromley’s watermelon t-shirt.
