ITV has confirmed it will be reviewing an incident that outraged Big Brother viewers after a contestant used a homophobic slur.
In an extended conversation aired during the show's livestream between October 15 and October 16, contestant Kerry Riches used the word 'gay' after her housemates played a prank on her.
The NHS worker came under fire for using the word after her co-stars Olivia Young and Jenkin Edwards decided to pull the prank.
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Earlier this week, Kerry had secured a spot in Big Brother's 'VIP' campsite during the shopping task. However, things took a much less glamorous turn when Kerry's pals hatched a plan to hide her luxury mattress, telling her that viewers had voted for the housemate that they wanted to lose it.
Kerry voiced her frustrations after the incident, resorting to using the word 'gay' in a problematic manner, saying: "Well, this is gay."
Olivia and Jenkin had to eventually come clean and reveal the prank as Kerry was adamant to take the issue to the Big Brother bosses to retrieve her precious mattress.
Living in the most scrutinised house in the UK, her slip of the tongue didn't go unnoticed.
The 40-year-old has faced backlash on social media over her behaviour in the house, with viewers taking to Twitter (recently rebranded to X) to express their outrage and calling on producers to axe her.
"There is nothing wrong with the word gay itself but the problem is the context in which Kerry used it.," one viewer posted on X after the incident.
"Oh, of course #Kerry uses gay as a derogatory word," another viewer noted.
"I hope Kerry gets reprimanded for that," said another.
ITV, which currently airs the revived Big Brother, has confirmed to the Daily Star that it will be looking into the incident.
On her part, Kerry has attracted a lot of negative comments from audience members on social media over the last few days, with many being irritated at her ways and views.
"Kerry’s speedy fall from grace with the gays and girlies has been spectacular to watch," another person commented.
LADbible has contacted ITV for further comment.
Topics: Big Brother, ITV
Stefania Sarrubba