“Uncomfortable”, “shocking” and “disgusting” – that’s how Good Morning Britain viewers described an interview with Curtis Pritchard on Thursday, in which presenters Adil Ray and Kate Garraway tried to “force” him to say he was bisexual.
The Love Island star appeared on the ITV breakfast show after making headlines earlier in the week when he said he would not rule out the possibility of a relationship with a man in the future.
The topic was addressed during his interview on GMB, and while Curtis insisted his sexuality was not something he felt the need to label, hosts Adil and Kate faced criticism with their unrelenting line of questioning.
Kate began: “You dropped the bombshell is that you would consider in the future a relationship with a man...”
Curtis replied: “I think the future’s a road which is unwritten, nobody can ever say what’s going to happen in the future, really. I mean, last year, would I have said I’m on Love Island? No. This year, I was on Love Island. So, I never want to label what the future’s going to be, because I don’t think anyone can ever do that.
“So all I want to say is that I’m 100 per cent comfortable where I am now in my relationship with Maura and it’s moving in the correct direction.”
Adil then asked: “Are you saying you’re bisexual?”, to which Curtis reiterated he was “not labelling anything”.
“Why not?” Adil continued.
Curtis explained: “Because I don’t feel like I need to label anything. Because, so many people put labels on things, people say things... and – I’ve learned this from the villa – my head’s not going to be turned – and then in the future... the head gets turned, they change their mind and opinion. Things change. That’s why I’m not labelling anything.”
Continuing to question Curtis, Adil continued: “There is some discussion since your comments people saying for men in particular they find it hard to come out and bisexual, you should just say that, and there might be a concern on your part to say openly as a man in Britain in 2019, ‘I’m bisexual’.”
Curtis again explained he did’t feel labelling himself was “the right thing to do”, adding that he is “comfortable” in his relationship with fellow Love Island star Maura Higgins.
Kate then chipped in: “I know what you mean you don’t want to box yourself in, but if you’re open to a relationship with a man, that means that you have considered or thought about it? Does Maura know about this? Is there a concern how it affects her?”
Curtis said they had discussed it and were “happy with what’s going on”, to which Kate then asked: “Why didn’t you talk about it when you were in the villa?”, before bringing up his friendship with Tommy Fury on the show.
While Adil ended the interview by saying he “admired [Curtis’] honesty, calling it “quite refreshing”, viewers called out Kate and Adil for “pressuring” Curtis to commit to calling himself bisexual.
HuffPost UK has contacted a Good Morning Britain spokesperson for comment and is awaiting a response.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.