Ofcom: Evander Holyfield’s anti-gay remarks cause most complaints for series so far
Evander Holyfield’s anti-gay remarks on Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother have so far attracted 98 complaints to Ofcom.
On Wednesday, the broadcasting watchdog said the American former heavyweight boxing champion had sparked the most complaints for the current series with his comments earlier this month that being gay “ain’t normal”.
Holyfield was subsequently ordered to the Diary Room where he was told by the programme-makers that his “unacceptable language and behaviour” had broken the rules.
The 51-year-old was booted out of the Big Brother house last week in a public vote.
On Tuesday, Holyfield took to Twitter to apologise for his remarks. “I am deeply saddened by any offense I may have caused anyone based upon what I said. I am sorry to any person I may have hurt or offended,” he tweeted.
Ofcom said it would be assessing “all complaints before making a decision to investigate”.
A total of 342 complaints have been made about the latest series of the Channel 5 show since it launched.
Other complaints were made following Monday night’s show, in which housemates were given the task of producing certificate 18 footage.
Channel 5 declined to comment.
