‘Celebrity Big Brother’ housemate Katie Waissel has finally spoken out about an anti-Semitic joke made by Christopher Biggins at her expense during their time in the house.
The incident led Biggins to be given a warning by ‘CBB’ bosses, although neither the joke nor his reprimand from producers made it onto the show, and the first viewers heard of it was a week later when he was removed from the house over a separate remark.
Katie has now had her say on his comment, branding Biggins a “nasty person” for using her heritage as the butt of a joke about the Holocaust.
She told The Sun: “It’s very real to me. So there you go, Christopher Biggins, you nasty, nasty person. It’s disrespectful to me, my ancestors and every family who have history tied to this dreadful place.
Katie went on to say that what perplexed her even further was that she’d had an earlier conversation with him where she detailed an emotional trip to Auschwitz that she’d previously taken.
Upon his removal from the house, Biggins insisted that Katie hadn’t been offended by his comment, though she’s now told a different story, revealing she actually cried in the Diary Room for half an hour.
The former ‘X Factor’ singer revealed: “I sort of went, ‘Oh’ and immediately got up and said, ‘OK then, I’m going to go to the Diary Room’. I didn’t want the situation to escalate so I removed myself from it.
Eventually, Biggins was removed the house when he said that AIDS was a “bisexual disease”, having already offended viewers with comments about bisexual people days prior.
He was a noticeable absentee at the series’ grand finale, with ‘CBB’ bosses later revealing he was the only one of the housemates not to be invited to the live final.