What a drag!
Big Brother’s Year of the Woman won by... a man
IT WAS meant to celebrate the centenary of women gaining the vote.
But in an ironically modern twist, the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother has been won… by a man.
Shane Jenek, an Australian drag queen who appears under the stage name Courtney Act – a play on the phrase ‘caught in the act’ – beat former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe in Friday’s final.
The two characters could not be more different: Ms Widdecombe, a devout Christian, is openly against gay marriage, while Mr Jenek is a reality TV star who set up a company selling wigs for drag queens.
This year’s series was launched with eight women to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage. Two days later eight men – including Mr Jenek – joined them.
The 35-year-old admitted that his win during the Year Of The Womanthemed series was ‘ironic’. He added: ‘It’s amazing to think the public have chosen me.
‘My inspiration for coming into the house was that teenage boy who didn’t quite know where he belonged or how he fitted in and feeling inspired by the Spice Girls.
‘I guess it was about validation that it is OK to be different.’
Ms Widdecombe, 70, said she was glad that a man won Celebrity Big Brother because she hates ‘tokenism’. She said: ‘I hate people saying that because it’s the Year Of The Woman, a woman must win.
‘I have one very clear principle, and that is equality is not about special favours, it’s not about treating women differently.
‘True equality, what we were fighting for, was to be on an absolutely level playing field with men.’
Questioned by presenter Emma Willis whether her position on gay marriage had changed after spending time in the Big Brother House with Mr Jenek, Ms Widdecombe said: ‘No! You don’t reason yourself to a position over a number of years and then suddenly, over the course of a couple of conversations, think, “Oh dear, I got it wrong!’’ ’
Fellow contestant and Mail on Sunday columnist Rachel Johnson said: ‘I predicted there would not be a female winner because the public don’t like being told what to do – we’ve seen that with Trump and Brexit.
‘Having a drag artist, who is so in-sync with the LGBT community, is almost better than having a woman win it.’
‘It’s amazing to think the public chose me’