How Chris Hughes became the perfect, unexpected LGBTQ+ ally on Celebrity Big Brother

It was only the first proper day in the Celebrity Big Brother house, and already, JoJo Siwa faced a horrific ordeal as she endured a homophobic onslaught from Mickey Rourke. Rourke got a formal warning for his behaviour, which involved him saying he would turn JoJo straight, tie her up, that he was going to “vote the lesbian out” and called her a slur. In the space of five minutes. And whilst JoJo Siwa endured this, the one ally in the Celebrity Big Brother house who spoke up to defend her was none other than Love Island’s finest Chris Hughes. We as queer people are finding our identity challenged and under scrutiny more and more by people who now think respecting us is “too woke” – and I just need to speak a bit about how important it is seeing straight men by an outspoken brave ally on national television.

Chris Hughes, the man you are

I just want to speak a bit about why it matters when people like Chris Hughes speak up when things like this happen. Chris Hughes is a straight lad from Love Island,a show that deems the inclusion of queer people “a logistical difficulty”. But what is amazing about Chris is he also joined the show Queen For The Night a few years back, and got a full drag makeover. He is extremely comfortable in who he is, and his allyship for us got proven last night that when it counts he stands up.

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This can’t be said for everyone. When Chris spoke up to Mickey Rourke, Jack P Shepherd stayed silent. Once Mickey walked away, Jack pulled an “ooo” face and acted like the situation was just cringe drama rather than something very serious. Chris Hughes stood up, challenged Mickey, went right over to JoJo and comforted her. He didn’t miss a beat.

Mickey Rourke is extremely famous, and clearly a bit of a loose cannon. If he was less famous, I feel like ITV would have removed him without a second thought – and people have been taken out of Celebrity Big Brother for a lot less. But because Mickey Rourke is obviously the most famous person in there – and, assumingly, one of the most costly to book – he remains. This level of fame and the way that the house tiptoe around him (Why was Daley making him a coffee and pandering to him in the morning, for example) makes standing up to someone like Mickey Rourke intimidating.

And yet Chris Hughes did it. He called it out.

This kind of allyship is what we need

If another queer person like Danny Beard stood up to Mickey on Celebrity Big Brother, I don’t think that it would have had the resonance. It sounds bad, but when it comes from a straight, masculine man who is putting his neck out there to stick up for queer people it matters. Mickey listened.

Over the last 10 years, I have witnessed feeling like the entire world was finally behind LGBTQ rights to feeling like people are trying to catch queer people out, or think we’re being “too woke” as the flames of the imaginary culture war are fanned by right wing press and ‘gender ideology’ critics masking their transphobia with the veil of it being for women’s safety.

Thank god for men like Chris Hughes who are still standing up as an ally, being brave and doing the right thing – and I hope JoJo Siwa felt infinitely more reassured that people care about her on Celebrity Big Brother.

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