Big Brother needs to boot Marcello out of the house --[Reported by Umva mag]

Big Brother is a pantomime; everyone knows that. Booing and cheering on eviction nights is part of the thrill.

And this year, we definitely have our villain.

However, the theatrics stop being fun when that housemate’s behaviour crosses the line of entertaining to broach unacceptable territory. 

Marcello, a 34-year-old youth mentor, entered the famous compound last week having already declared his adoration for Peter Andre in his opening VT and vowing to make a strong impact.

Not even seven days in, he had been labelled a ‘sex pest’ online by viewers.

As he continues to make slimy remarks, perpetuate harmful misogynistic ideals, and prey on the young, single women in the house, I believe time is well and truly up for this self-professed rap music connoisseur.

Alarm bells began ringing when Marcello entered the smoking area alone with Ali, a 38-year-old criminal psychologist and a firm favourite among BB fans for her straight-talking yet sensitive persona.

Marcello flippantly told her they ‘vape kissed’ after sharing one another’s vapes, which quickly and, rather unbelievably, escalated to him bragging to other housemates about supposedly locking lips with her.

‘That’s not a thing!’, she chuckled to him, obviously uncomfortable.

‘I’m joking, I’m joking,’ he replied with a grin.

Ali, a proud lesbian who came out later in life and with a girlfriend of five months remained, understandably, horrified by such an insinuation, reminding him: ‘I have people watching.’

Marcello continued to laugh off his actions, clearly without a sliver of awareness of how they might come across, leaving Ali to stew and fear that his lies would not only be believed by the rest of the house but send the wrong signals to her lover on the outside.

You know it’s bad when ITV airs shoddy footage from the smoking zone to provide ‘context’ to a situation, an area that didn’t even make it to screens in 2023.

Watching these scenes unfold left me with a pit in my stomach. While difficult to articulate how repugnant it was, I can say it perfectly reflected the fetishisation, invalidation, and sheer distress that lesbians and queer women face at the hands of straight men every single day.

As a lesbian myself, who has been subject to the whole ‘you just haven’t met the right man yet’ jibes, I felt Ali’s pain in my heart.

To lie about kissing a woman who has a girlfriend, while knowing it is your word against hers, before continuing the ‘joke’ to the point of her clear discomfort, is verging upon sexual harassment and, in my belief, warrants ejection from the house.

Not only that, but Marcello went on to say to Ali ‘you know what you were doing’ by being alone with him, feeding into the misogyny that makes women scared 24/7 and terrified of being told they ‘asked for it’.

In the aftermath, I was left appalled by ITV’s lack of compassion towards Ali, with spin-off show Late & Live hosts seemingly dismissing Marcello’s actions as laddish banter. I still can’t help but think it would’ve been handled differently had Ali been straight with a boyfriend on the outside.

Perhaps you’d think that Marcello would stop there, having been made aware by someone he claims to be close with that he caused unease.

Alas, the predatory comments have persisted.

When the whole house was punished for openly discussing nominations, the hot water was switched off, leaving them unable to shower and somewhat unhygienic for two days.

Then Marcello said to housemate Sarah that she smelled like ‘period and tea bags’. He then went on to ask her if it was her ‘time of the month’.

Left stunned at his brazen lack of education, Sarah sat him down to explain why it’s rude to suggest a woman is ‘on her period’ when appearing agitated or emotional. The 27-year-old farmer well and truly put Marcello in his place.

Then later that night, she let her hair down. Having watched Sarah struggle for the first few days, crying, wailing, and often clashing with other housemates, watching her twerk like her life depended on it as refreshments became available was joyous.

Well, it was until Marcello leapt at the opportunity to descend the moment into debauchery.

‘I was waiting for the right moment and then the storage door opened,’ he said with a smile, the disgust immediately apparent on Sarah’s face.

Perhaps what was even more striking was when oldest housemate Emma, 53, made a quip about how Sarah shouldn’t have danced like that if she didn’t approve of such sordid comments in response.

In that moment, a fellow woman — especially one who’s labelled herself the ‘house mother’ — shutting down the sexism would’ve been powerful. Alas, it seems it was a reminder of how archaic attitudes are ingrained in our own gender.

Whether it’s by coming onto Baked Potato (Rosie) and complimenting her excessively or turning everything into a suggestive gag, in one way or another, Marcello continues to embody the traits plenty of us despise in men: creepy, relentless and incapable of taking a hint when enough is enough.

Producers need to intervene, and hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best need to stop playing devil’s advocate. Not everything needs a justification or a counterargument. Marcello should be removed from the house. 

When you’re in a position to call out misogyny and inappropriate behaviour, it must be utilised. I know Emma Willis – who conducted a no-nonsense interview with Roxanne Pallett after the soap actress falsely accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her – would have.

If this were old school BB – the likes that removed Christopher Biggins for biphobia, Aaron Frew for flashing, Kayleigh Morris for violent threats, and Nick Bateman in the first series for influencing nominations – Marcello would not have lasted this long.

Allowing him to stay in the house sends a loud and clear message to the women within its walls that they not valued.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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