Ex-BBC journalist who challenged homophobe Tyson Fury enters Big Brother
A former BBC journalist who was suspended for challenging homophobic boxer Tyson Fury has entered Big Brother.
Heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury was controversially nominated for the BBC’s Sports ‘Personality’ award last year – despite claiming that homosexuality and paedophilia will bring about the apocalypse.
The boxer has simultaneously stood by his comments and denied being homophobic – while also claiming that sex with children was legalised by a fictional ‘Gay Rights Act 1977‘.
BBC journalist Andy West was suspended after calling out his employer over the incident, accusing the BBC of “hurting me and other gay people by celebrating someone who considers me no better than a paedophile.”
West left the BBC after the row, saying: “I am ashamed to work for the BBC when it lacks bravery to admit it is making a mistake.”
This week the reporter was a surprise entrant on Channel Five reality show Big Brother.
He explained to host Emma Willis: “I stopped being a journalist a while ago under weird circumstances, so I thought this was a chance to show that journalists also have personalities and they’re nice people.
“Journalists get a lot of stick sometimes, so I wanted to show we’re decent types.”
He added he wants to make “good headlines” in the house, adding: “I’ve got a boyfriend, so there’s no naughty headlines.”
‘Celebrity’ Big Brother tried to spark outrage earlier this year by inviting on homophobic politician Winston McKenzie.
McKenzie, a former UKIP candidate who is notoriously anti-LGBT, having repeatedly claimed that same-sex adoption is child abuse
Despite being purportedly ‘sacked’ many times by UKIP, Mr McKenzie still stood for Parliament as a UKIP candidate in Croydon North last year.
However, he has since defected to fringe party the English Democrats.
