Evander Holyfield- 'Homosexuality Ain't Right' Comments Get Reprimanded on 'Celebrity Big Brother'
Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield is receiving harsh criticism for comments made during his appearance on "Celebrity Big Brother" in which he said that homosexuality isn't "right" or "normal." The show's producers issued a warning to Holyfield after receiving complaints from viewers.
"I can confirm we have received complaints, which we are currently assessing. However, no decision has been made to formally investigate at this stage," a spokesman for the series told The Independent.
Holyfield made the remarks on the show during a conversation with Luisa Zissman, who proposed that there should be more openly gay sports stars and questioned Holyfield if he knew any in the boxing world. She noted that people should be able to be more open about their sexuality, which led Holyfield to remark, "that ain't normal."
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"The Bible lets you know there's wrong there's right. It don't make no difference," Holyfield went on. "If you're born and your leg were turned this way, what do you do? You go to a doctor and get it fixed back right. All I'm trying to say, you know handicap people are born, you can't say because they are born that way you can't fix them. It is a choice [to be gay]. C'mon, how can you not say you ain't gay unless you sleeping with the opposite sex?"
Producers then called Holyfield to the Diary Room and reprimanded him for his remarks.
"While 'Big Brother' understands these are the views you hold, they aren't the views that are held by a large section of society, and expressing these views will be extremely offensive to many people. Do you understand why?" the producers asked.
"Yes, I understand why," the boxer replied. "I thought I was just … I forgot about the thing. I was just telling her my opinion but it's not like I was going to mention it to anybody else. It was just our conversation."
Even though Holyfield had no plans to mention it to anybody else, viewers quickly took to Twitter and social media in order to express their views about the conversation. While some disagreed with Holyfield's adherence to a Biblical perspective, numerous others argued that the show had no right to try and censor his honest opinions.
"Appalling that Channel 5 censored Evander Holyfield's view on homosexuality. Welcome to Britain, where freedom of expression is forbidden," tweeted Kyle Moutray.
"BornAgain Christian Evander Holyfield says being Gay is 'not normal.' Glad to see celebrity Christians making a stand," tweeted Dave Phillips.
One person not thrilled by Holyfield's comments is celebrity performer Boy George, who tweeted that he "had such admiration for Mr Evander Holyfield" before his TV appearance.
