‘She could have done something positive’
Former CBB star F Kellie Maloney, 63, is single and lives in Morden, Kent. She says, “I met India in 2015 at the hospital where she was having her operation. She was confident and very sure of herself. When I heard that she was going on CBB as part of the ‘all female’ twist, I was delighted. It felt like five steps forward for the transgender community. Unfortunately, since she’s been in there, I feel as though it’s taken ten steps back.
“From the beginning, she’s been very aggressive. She got so angry with Ann Widdecombe and Amanda Barrie for accidentally referring to her as ‘he’ – but it happens. You can’t wipe out your past. I was a man for a long time, and I understand that some people may still see me as the person I was.
“My three daughters [Emma, 40, Sophie, 22, and Libby, 17] still call me ‘dad’ and refer to me as ‘he’ sometimes. You just have to explain who you are now. I find making a joke often helps; for example, I might call a bloke who keeps getting my gender wrong ‘Miss’, as that’s the best way to illustrate the situation.
ATTENTION-SEEKING
“India also, in my opinion, became wrongly upset when her advances towards American singer Ginuwine were rejected, with him admitting that he’d never date a trans woman. I’ve experienced the same thing. I’ve been on dates and told the man that I’m transgender and they’ve decided they’d rather not date me. You have to accept it. Some men only date blondes or brunettes, it’s a personal preference.
“Equally, her attentionseeking behaviour in the house hasn’t helped the trans cause. Revealing that she has a phobia of drag queens after Shane Jenek’s alter ego, Courtney Act, dressed up fellow housemate Andrew Brady in drag, is unhelpful. She caused a scene, giving them the silent treatment, and it was completely unnecessary – especially as she’s been pictured looking very happy next to at least two drag queens in the past. Shane is actually doing far more to promote gender diversity than India.
ALL OVER THE PLACE
“I will say in India’s defence that CBB is very hard. When I went into the house in 2014, I’d just come out as transgender and had started taking female hormones, so I was all over the place. I was very argumentative and I wish I’d waited a bit before I appeared on the show.
“To me, being a woman isn’t about forcing people to acknowledge you are one. It’s about living your life as a woman, with all the trials and tribulations that come with that. I’m a woman, who’s confident and proud. I treat everyone with respect and expect others to treat me in the same way.
“India had a chance to do something very positive for the transgender community. Instead, she’s done nothing but pursue her own agenda to be controversial in order to gain notoriety, and that’s a shame.”