Ex-Big Brother contestant ‘stands by’ anti-trans comments about current housemate despite backlash
Nathan King has been heavily criticised for his comments about trans housemate Zaleh (1TV2)
Nathan King has been heavily criticised for his comments about trans housemate Zaleh (1TV2)
A former Big Brother contestant has doubled down on offensive comments he made about a contestant on the current series of the show.
Zelah, a personal trainer from South London who is trans, was revealed as part of the cast for the new series of Big Brother on Sunday (28 September) along with the Scottish gamer, Nancy, bisexual Dua Lipa fan and Pizza Hut manager, Gani, queer Zumba instructor Sam, from Chipton and more.
Upon his arrival in the house Zelah was declared the “winner” by many fans who instantly took to his warm personality, good looks, and charm. As part of his promo Zelah told ITV that going on the show was a way to show “that being transgender is not a choice.”
This statement was deemed problematic by one former Big Brother contestant, Nathan King, who featured on the 2024 series finishing in fifth place. Ali Bromley won that series.
Posting on Instagram recently, King shared Zelah’s promo with the above quote attached.
Over it King misgendered Zelah writing, “She’s right, it’s not a choice, it’s a MENTAL ILLNESS.” King then added, “This should NOT be encouraged.”
As the post was shared to King’s Instagram stories, which expire after 24 hours, it is no longer visible on his profile, though it was screenshotted and shared on Reddit.
“He is repulsive”
The responses to the screenshot were damning, with one person branding King, “a f***ing loser.” Someone else referred to him as “a c*** on the show and he’s a c*** now.” Another Reddit user called him a “a nasty human being,” while someone else put, “he is repulsive.”
A more recent Instagram story post from King shows a tweet of his reading: “Why do trans-identified people make being trans-identified their whole personality? Bore off.” Over that he then added on Instagram, “They can’t ever tell me I’m wrong. They just scream insults.”
In response to PinkNews’ request for comment Nathan King said, “For the record, I fully support [the] LGB [community] – anyone suggesting otherwise online is talking nonsense.”
Addressing his trans comments, he told PinkNews, “I fully stand by it. I believe being transgender is indeed a ‘mental illness’. Interestingly, I’ve received a torrent of abuse and death threats, which hints at a society more interested in obedience than reality.”
Nathan King went on to say, “What’s deeply troubling is how prime-time TV, whether inadvertently or otherwise, are actively encouraging impressionable young minds to question their gender. Turning something so serious into casual entertainment isn’t just dangerously irresponsible, it’s reckless and potentially harmful. Criticising that isn’t hate, it’s calling out a dangerous trend that very few people dare challenge.”
In 2019, the World Health Organisation declared that being trans is “not actually a mental health condition.” And while King is troubled by trans representation in the media, we’re more concerned about rising levels of transphobia and the impact of anti-trans media coverage and the impact that has on the community, namely when it comes to levels of depression and poor mental health, a relationship observed in multiple reports.
Zelah, Gani, Sam, and Nancy are joined in the house by Somerset farmer, Cameron, five-times engaged 56-year-old Caroline, and also Elsa (who claims she can see dead people). Teja, from Bristol, Royal Navy alum Marcus and self-confessed rule-breaker Jenny join the above, alongside Butler in the Buff/ engineer Tate, who also moved in on Sunday.
Conservative party member Emily also started the show but was evicted on day one. After she left, Cameron B, Feyisola, George as well as Richard joined the house on day two.
Big Brother airs 9pm on ITV2 and ITX, Sunday to Friday.
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