Chris Hughes is restoring faith in straight men on Celebrity Big Brother

I don’t think anyone could have imagined quite how important Chris Hughes would be in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

I certainly didn’t.

On Monday night, the former Love Island star walked through the iconic CBB double doors alongside bonafide showbiz royalty such as EastEnders icon Patsy Palmer, chat show legend Trisha Goddard and, as if you haven’t heard by now, Oscar-nominated actor Mickey Rourke.

Rourke’s addition to the spectacular line-up was inevitably going to grab all of the attention but few could have anticipated what would unfold during his first 24 hours locked inside a reality TV compound.

At the live launch, during the 10 second walk from his car to the house, he managed to turn the crowd’s cheers to boos when he inappropriately grabbed host AJ Odudu.

Celebrity Big Brother has built its reputation on creating some of the most uncomfortable moments known to man, but this was another level of painful watching.

Understandably, there were calls to remove him from the house before he’d even made it down the stairs and met his housemates.

The next morning, he reduced LGBTQ+ housemate Jojo Siwa – 51 years his junior – to tears with wildly inappropriate remarks about her sexuality and relationship with partner Kath Ebbs.

He told her: ‘If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore.’

The actor then said to Hughes: ‘I’m going to vote out the lesbian real quick.’

Rourke also joked that he needed a ‘fag’ and pointed to Siwa, saying: ‘I’m not talking about you.’  

At this point, it’s clear Rourke should be removed from the Celebrity Big Brother house at the very least for his own well-being, let alone for the sake of others.

As awful as the exchange was to watch, particularly seeing a young LGBTQ+ woman clearly devastated and hurt in an environment she should feel safe, the aftermath was actually quite powerful, largely because of Hughes, the unexpected ally few people, including me, would have expected to step up.

As Rourke walked away blissfully unaware of the hurt he’d caused, Hughes’ eyes darted straight to Siwa with genuine care and concern and walked over to check she was OK.

She acknowledged: ’What I felt just then was you had my back when I’ve known you for 24 hours and you have no reason to have my back.’

Hughes held her hand, before she collapsed in his arms and sobbed as he urged her to let it all out.

No one else came to her rescue, but Hughes was there in a flash.

And while the other housemates watching on were rendered speechless, Hughes confronted Rourke head on to calmly explain why, on so many levels, those remarks were not acceptable.

Many people will call themselves an ally because they have gay friends or enjoyed an episode of Drag Race, but it’s rarer than it should be for straight people – particularly straight men – to actually call out homophobic behaviour when they see it.

Rourke, given his celebrity status, is also arguably in the Celebrity Big Brother house on a different playing field.

You can see most housemates don’t know how to behave around him because while his comments and anti-social behaviours clearly make them shudder, he is still, at the end of the day, Hollywood icon Mickey Rourke.

Sadly, there is a lot of power in celebrity, particularly for others who have spent their lives chasing stardom and are in many ways defined by it.

Hughes was the first to prove he is brave enough to stand up to said power, and I hope – and expect – others might now follow his lead.

Before Hughes entered the house, once the line-up was leaked, I and some female friends admitted we were worried Celebrity Big Brother could expose a toxic side to Hughes, which was clearly so unbelievably wrong it’s embarrassing to recall that conversation now.

But when you’re so used to being disappointed in straight men, it’s a fair assumption.

Watching Hughes so effectively show his allyship, personally, couldn’t come at a better time. He was so well-versed and respectful about the LGBTQ+ community, he made it look effortless – which, ideally, it should be.

Straight men, fairly or unfairly, are getting a bad rap, in part due to the may ways women and LGBTQ+ people are made to feel uncomfortable with very real daily interactions with them, or what bile is spouted out and celebrated by the loudest men on social media.

Donald Trump is quite literally the most powerful man in the world and couldn’t be further from being an ally to LGBTQ+ or women.

Only marginally less impactful is Elon Musk, who has cut all ties with his trans daughter, and turned X into a cesspit of virtual hate crimes towards pretty much any marginalised community.

Then there’s Andrew Tate – a former Big Brother contestant – who is manipulating young boys and men in ways beyond which anyone could have predicted, steering them into a future of misogyny and hatred towards women and LGBTQ+ people.

All three hold power in different ways but equally they are shaping the landscape and idea of what it means to be a straight man in 2025, and how the rest of us perceive them.

I’ve spent my entire adulthood surrounded by brilliant straight men who have held me up and protected me from homophobia. They celebrate their girlfriends, wives and female friends like they should be and are the best role models to the young boys they’re going to raise.

But over the last decade I’ve still become increasingly fearful when I meet a straight men for the first time because it is the worst of them making the biggest noise and running the world.

Hughes isn’t just a crucial ally in the Celebrity Big Brother house, it is so deeply important for all of us watching to see how excellent straight men can be.

As a gay man, I was so moved to see his sincere care for Siwa when she was in pain. He got it and knew what he had to do.

Our young boys are being warped by the Andrew Tates of the world and as Netflix’s Adolescence showed, we should be terrified – more than we have been until now.

But to counter Tate and others like him, we need more fantastic male role models for boys to look up to instead.

If Tate, Musk and Trump can build brands by being hateful, imagine what Hughes can achieve by being brave and kind.

I hope we see him achieve incredible things when he leaves the Celebrity Big Brother house as a true ally of the LGBTQ + community, which has taken me by surprise.

Perhaps the best part of it all, given how easily it came to him, is that I don’t think he’ll even realise how impactful he’s been – the fundamental essence of a true ally.

Celebrity Big Brother airs weeknights at 9pm on ITV1.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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