Courtney Act calls for Celebrity Big Brother fans to show ‘compassion’ to Ann Widdecombe
Courtney Act leaving the CBB house (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act has urged fans to be kinder to runner-up Ann Widdecombe.
The drag artist, also known as Shane Jenek, says she had been alerted to the fact some people have been “making mean tweets and comments [to her] on my behalf”.
Courtney condemned online trolls, saying that fans who have sent tweets with “mean” sentiments do not represent her.
Courtney Act (Getty)
“I’ve heard that people are making mean tweets and comments on my behalf to Ann Widdecombe and others,” she wrote.
“I do not support any mean tweets. Please treat everyone with compassion and understanding.”
Later that day she told Lorraine Kelly: “What I really kept in my mind was, I’m not going to change Ann’s opinions, but maybe people watching, whether it be in the house or watching at home, will hear two sides of an argument,” she said.
Courtney Act (instagram/courtneyact)
CBB Bit On The Side host Rylan has also faced abuse following the series.
He admitted on Loose Women that he had been attacked on social media for his stance towards the 70-year-old former Tory MP.
Recalling some of the online criticism, Rylan confessed he had been labelled “a disgrace to the gay community” by CBB fans.
Emma Willis and Ann Widdecombe (Getty)
Rylan, 29, said: “Ann Widdecombe… I’m so… I love the show and I love being there but I’ve never been more happier that this series is over, because every night on Twitter all I got was these people that were either Team Courtney (Act) or Team Ann Widdecombe.
“I’ve been called a disgrace to the gay community for not laying into Ann Widdecombe.
“My thing is if Ann Widdecombe had said or done anything homophobic, racist, whatever, in that house, she would have been pulled straight away and she would have ‘been out of that house.”
Rylan (Getty)
While inside the Elstree house, Ann told fellow housemates that she believes same-sex marriage is wrong and the NHS should not prioritise gender confirmation surgery for trans people.
He continued: “I don’t agree with Ann Widdecombe’s views and I’d like to think in this day and age, not a lot of people agree with her views.
“But she is more than alright to have them (views).
Ann Widdecombe finishes in second place during the 2018 Celebrity Big Brother Final (Getty)
“She didn’t force those views on anyone while she was in the house or anything.
“So I treated her like a housemate, like I would any other housemate.
“And do you know what? That’s my job, and I do my job well, and that’s exactly what I did with Ann Widdecombe. ‘I don’t have to agree with what she was saying.”
During her time as an MP from 1987 until 2010, Ann vehemently opposed gay rights – voting to block them at every opportunity.
