Celebrity Big Brother star Chesney Hawkes has revealed that fellow contestant JoJo Siwa reminds him of his daughter, who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
It comes after housemate Mickey Rourke caused offence with a series of ‘homophobic’ remarks aimed at Siwa. The actor’s comments were met with anger by some viewers, with calls for him to be removed from the show as he received who was formally warning from CBB producers.
Siwa’s partner, Kath Ebbs, slammed Rourke’s behaviour, branding him “a pig”. Another of the housemates, sports presenter Chris Hughes, was praised after challenging the Sin City and Iron Man 2 star about the outburst.
Now, Hawkes, best-known for 90s chart-topper “The One and Only”, has spoken about the situation. Appearing in the diary room, the singer said the incident had “knocked me a little bit”, adding: “It’s funny because JoJo is the same age as my daughter. My daughter is also part of the LGBTQ community so it reminded me of her.
“I thought [JoJo] really handled it well. I was proud of her, in a fatherly way.”
Hawkes displayed some compassion for Rourke saying he liked spending time with him. “Obviously he is a legend and his stories and everything [are] amazing but he is in this mode in life where he doesn’t give a monkey’s about what anyone thinks, you can see that. He lives his life that way.
“But I can see there is a slight innocence to him. You sort of want to get in there and see if there is more to the tough exterior. He is an interesting character, that’s for sure.”
Hawkes has voiced his support for gay rights, including equal marriage and civil partnerships, since the early noughties, according to reports.
Celebrity Big Brother continues on weekdays from 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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