Big Brother fans have urged ITV to take action after branding a housemate’s recent behaviour ‘vile and uncomfortable’.
Caroline Monk has been a controversial figure since misgendering fellow contestant Zelah Glasson, which garnered 398 Ofcom complaints and a formal warning from Big Brother.
However, more recently, the 56-year-old has been accused of being inappropriate towards other male contestants, most notably towards celibate housemate Richard.
On a Reddit thread discussing last night’s episode, Fun-Raisin1923 wrote: ‘I’m getting very uncomfortable watching how Caroline interacts with Richard’.
Meanwhile, Luttle-liar added: ‘Has someone said something to Caroline about her weird behaviour towards Richard?’
Sombrero_Tanooki agreed writing: ‘Richard looks so uncomfortable, Caroline will not leave him alone.’
Caroline’s behaviour towards Richard became such a point of discussion that a separate thread broke off to discuss her actions.
Titled ‘Caroline’s inappropriateness,’ the post saw several users complain about her perceived conduct.
In that thread, Acrobatic-Capital716 called out her ‘fascination’ with Richard, calling it ‘awkward to watch’.
ProfessionProof5284 was the most excoriating, claiming: ‘It’s because [Richard] is asexual and now she knows she has got worse and started being vulgar’.
‘She is a bully,’ they finished. ‘She also needs to stop touching the young lad’s private parts. She’s vile.’
This ‘touching of young men’ has become another bone of contention for some viewers.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
In last night’s episode, Caroline tugged on her fellow housemate Marcus’s trousers, which led to outrage online.
At least one fan on Reddit branded her actions ‘inappropriate’, claiming they believe that if she were a man, ‘she would have been evicted for sexual harassment.’
Olneeno111 added: ‘I’d call that sexual harassment and if Marcus had done it to Jenny, there would’ve been outcry’.
This belief wasn’t contained to Reddit either. On X, @SarahFreer wrote: ‘Do we all remember when many moons ago, a female celeb tried to pull another female housemate’s pants down, and they got a warning for it? But Caroline is allowed to do the same to Marcus?’
@rogerlee004 agreed, saying: ‘Wtf is Caroline doing touching Tate and Marcus inappropriately. If it were a man doing that to a woman, there would be outrage’.
@Eurofizz went one step further, demanding ‘BBUK needs to take action on Caroline, this is unacceptable and unwanted.’
In a separate thread on Reddit, this time titled ‘Caroline has no sense of boundaries’, fans discussed how her ‘impulsiveness’ had made the episode a slog to get through.
‘If a guy was acting like her, it wouldn’t have been tolerated for as long as it has,’ National_Phase_3477 wrote. ‘The way she is acting around I would say is bordering on sexual assault. Marcus and Richard both have looked uncomfortable with her sexualised behaviour towards them.’
Still, not everyone agrees that Caroline is out of order. Co0o0per23 wrote on Reddit, ‘Stop making problems, everything was done in jest and nothing went too far, no one was made to feel unsafe or objectified, there was clear context to the behaviour.’
Big Brother 2025 controversies
Here’s a rundown of all the Big Brother 2025 controversies so far…
- Jenny out Zelah: Jenny unintentionally outed Zelah, who is transgender, to the house. Zelah had only told a select few in the house when Jenny let his secret slip. Jenny later apologised for her actions, and Zelah forgave her as her behaviour had not been malicious.
- Caroline misgenders Zelah: 398 viewers complained to Ofcom after Caroline called Zelah Glasson ‘a girl’ during a game. The incident saw Caroline receive a formal warning and she was told that any other instances would result in her removal from the house.
- Feyisola and Cameron B argument: 261 people complained to Ofcom about a heated argument between Feyisola and Cameron B, which ended with Cameron storming away while shouting profanity.
- George Gilbert removed from the house: George Gilbert was removed from the Big Brother house for ‘repeated use of unacceptable language and behaviour,’ most of which was not broadcast. George had previously been handed a verbal warning for discriminatory behaviour two days before his exit.
When other users pointed out that Tate had been thrusting towards her, OwnCanary2046 added: ‘Exactly – lots of double standards when it comes to Caroline bashing here’.
When Metro approached ITV for comment, a Big Brother spokesperson said: ‘All Housemates receive Respect and Inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother Senior team to prepare them for living in the House and to set out Big Brother’s expectation for appropriate behaviour and language.
‘Housemates are monitored 24 hours a day and instances of inappropriate behaviour are responded to appropriately when required.’
Big Brother airs on ITV2 at 9pm from Sunday to Friday.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.