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Celebrity Big Brother promises a strange mashup of stars all in one house, and the odd roster is sort of the point. Putting unexpected or polar opposite pairs under one roof will likely mean some sort of drama, and drama makes for good television. This season is full of odd couples, but in the case of Mickey Rourke and JoJo Siwa — certainly bizarre housemates — what resulted wasn't good television; it was a disgusting display of homophobia.
In a jarring and upsetting exchange, Rourke, a 72-year-old actor and former boxer, levied a series of homophobic remarks at Siwa, deploying an often-violent trope that's unfortunately familiar to any queer person: a threat to turn her straight.
In a clip from Wednesday's episode, Rourke is seen asking Siwa where to go to have a cigarette. As Siwa leads him out to the garden area, Rourke asks her whether she's romantically interested in girls or boys. “I like girls,” Siwa says, adding that her partner is non-binary. “I could tell,” Rourke says.
“Non-binary is not just one identity, but a category that encompasses many different ways of experiencing and expressing gender.”
After they settle into the smoking area and others in the cast join, Rourke says he only plans to stay in the Big Brother house for four days, and this is when things escalate. “If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore," Rourke says loudly to Siwa.
“I can guarantee I’ll still be gay and I’ll still be in a very happy relationship," she replies.
“I'll tie you up,” Rourke says.
The exchange continues from here. Siwa tries to throw the comment back at him, attempting to laugh it off. Rourke says he plans to vote “the lesbian” out, and uses the f-slur, claiming he's referencing a cigarette, not Siwa. Former Love Island star Chris Hughes sticks up for Siwa, telling Rourke his language is offensive, then comforts Siwa when she starts crying after Rourke leaves the area.
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The progression of events is sadly familiar. If you've ever been the target of homophobia, it's not uncommon to volley the comments back at the offender, laughing as you do it and reserving your tears for when the offender is gone, for when you feel safe. This is, probably, a defense mechanism.
Siwa likely wasn't in any danger; she's in a house full of people, watched constantly by cameras, with a production crew nearby. But Rourke's comments reference the dangerous idea that queer people — and lesbians specifically — can be “turned straight” through intercourse with someone of the opposite sex — typically a cis man. Perhaps you've heard it before, that a woman is gay because she hasn't had “good” sex with a cis man, or that the woman is gay because she hasn't had sex with the specific cis man lobbying the threat. That somehow his penis is special and will be transformative, as if that's ever the case.
Rourke later apologised to Siwa, saying he didn't mean what he said, and he got a formal warning from Big Brother for his “offensive and unacceptable” language. Still, Rourke's comments don't exist in a vacuum. LGBTQIA+ people are at increased risk of sexual assault. One survey of LGBTQIA+ people in the UK reported that 88% experienced sexual harassment, and 77% had experienced sexual assault since the age of 18.
For LGBTQIA people, the threat of violence is omnipresent, and even when the threat is hollow, it's a stark reminder of the dangers that queer and trans people face. These kinds of comments, whether they're serious or not, pierce the feelings of safety that any person relies on, tethering us to the reality that being LGBTQIA is still a marginalised and othered identity, one that some people believe can be changed.
In case it needs to be reiterated: someone's sexuality doesn't hinge on a lack of something, it cannot be changed by another person, and it's not something to be fixed. And, everyone deserves to feel safe, especially where they live. Rourke said he planned to “vote the lesbian out real quick.” The first eviction vote happens tonight. Here's to hoping Siwa and her housemates root out the real issue, and they do it real quick.
We have reached out to Rourke's representative for comment, but have not yet heard back. This article will be kept updated.
This was originally published on Teen Vogue.
