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| NW |
| Hot Goss Johnnie Rotten? There are concerns that Johnnie from Big Brother will suffer a breakdown once he's evicted, due to how he's been portrayed as "the villain" on the Network Ten show, and there are a lot of people who aren't happy about it. Some members of the gay community feel the way Johnnie has been depicted has resulted in a negative portrayal of a gay man, and his friends are angry that his actions have been misinterpreted when he's a genuinely nice guy. An email which was sent to Ten, the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras office accuses the station of "polarising a nation against a gay man" by turning him into "the villain of the piece". Meanwhile, friends of Johnnie have circulated their own email to thousands of people as part of their "Save Johnnie" campaign, which states that "Johnnie is a sincerely compassionate and good man". Far from Johnnie's assumption that the viewers will see him as "the nice, compassionate guy", many viewers have decided that he's manipulative and "two-faced", due to his habit of nominating people and then later hugging them. But those who know him say there's nothing malicious in it. Recent evictee Anita, who, despite having a blazing on-screen fight with him, hopes people will not turn against Johnnie outside. "Whatever he does is not planned," she says. "I think he just hugs people because he wants to be loved very much." Even other TV stations have waded into the debate, with Andrew Mercado from Channel V's The Informer saying, "I think Johnnie will be absolutely devastated when he comes off the show." Andrew, who has urged viewers of his show not to buy into the idea of Johnnie being the bad guy, says, "He's been disadvantaged in the game due to the way he's been made out to be. I've been horrified that people are booing him, and think that perhaps a little bit of homophobia has crept in." A former housemate and friend of Johnnie's says people have totally got the wrong impression of him. "He's an extremely nice guy, and one of the most kind-hearted I know," says the friend. "It's just in his nature to comfort people around him, whether they're his favourite person or not. I'm concerned, but then again I think he's got the strength of character to cope." Article from NW |