Big Brother’s Henry has been chastised for reaffirming his respect for Boris Johnson, particularly his management of the epidemic.
Before entering the residence, the 25-year-old food writer said he wanted to have a martini with the former Prime Minister, and even suggested his parents’ description of him as a “bit of a snob” was a compliment.
Viewers were startled to hear Henry acknowledge his feelings for the politician, especially as another roommate Trish mentioned two of her close family members died during the outbreak.
In a discussion over Partygate, Henry – who insisted ‘charisma’ is important in politics and likened it to a ‘pantomime’ – claimed Mr Johnson ‘worked bloody hard’.
‘Losing my father and my step-mum to Covid at a time when the NHS was being underfunded, knowing how political that is, is very personal to me,’ Trish had said moments before.
‘I do see the funny side to things but however I like to put people and their health at the forefront.’
Matty then spoke heartbreakingly about how, as a junior doctor, he seen people dying around him.
‘Then to see a few months later that the politicians were drinking wine, having parties, while people were dying, you want to clap for me but you want to have fun, take photos of you drinking wine playing Twister at Christmas,’ he went on.
‘How can we trust someone whose making the rules but saying everyone is equal but just some are more equal than others?’
Henry, admitting he didn’t want to sound ‘naive’ from his ‘privileged position’ replied: ‘But Boris Johnson, a lot of people disagree with me here, I love the guy, I’d like to go for dinner with him.
‘I think he worked bloody hard during the Covid pandemic and he gets a bad cred when he delivered one of the best Covid responses in the world.’
Trish and Matty remained mute, shaking their heads in response to Henry’s remarks, but viewers had plenty to say on their behalf.
henry saying boris johnson delivered one of the best covid responses in the world????? sorry??? #BBUK
— Chlo (@ch98720) November 9, 2023
Still stuck at Henry saying Boris provided the best Covid response after hearing Trish speak about losing loved ones #bbuk
— BURN IT ALL FOR 4B | WNCel⚔️ (@haniimhome) November 9, 2023
Henry saying that about Boris Johnson when Trish and matty shared their covid experiences🤮🤮🤮 #bbuk
— 🌃✨ (@n_t_xxxxxx) November 9, 2023
I can’t let Henry’s support of Boris Johnson slide. He was such a damaging, toxic figure in our political history. He’s made the most horribly bigoted statements. His management of COVID was catastrophic. It’s a blinding character flaw to continue to idolise him after that #BBUK
— Stu (@stu4rtdavid) November 9, 2023
henry is so lucky he isn’t up for eviction this week because his love for boris johnson is actually alarming #BBUK pic.twitter.com/g6hLh05FIq
— jem (@mikrokosmics) November 9, 2023
henry saying boris johnson delivered one of the best covid responses in the world????? sorry??? #BBUK
— Chlo (@ch98720) November 9, 2023
The nerve of Henry sitting next to Trish who lost her family to COVID, to say Boris did a fantastic job was just tone deaf ignorance #BBUKDiaryRoom #bbuk
— Padraic (@ra5eeki) November 9, 2023
One wrote: ‘I like Henry but I don’t agree at all with the Boris s**t and it was a little tone deaf to say directly after Trish said she lost two family members to Covid bc of that t**t.’
Someone else said: ‘Still stuck at Henry saying Boris provided the best Covid response after hearing Trish speak about losing loved ones.’
A third fumed: ‘I can’t let Henry’s support of Boris Johnson slide. He was such a damaging, toxic figure in our political history. He’s made the most horribly bigoted statements. His management of COVID was catastrophic. It’s a blinding character flaw to continue to idolise him after that.’
‘The nerve of Henry sitting next to Trish who lost her family to COVID, to say Boris did a fantastic job was just tone deaf ignorance,’ someone else penned.
The Big Brother debate about Partygate followed Channel 4’s drama over Mr Johnson and Tory party officials breaking lockdown regulations when attending staff parties at 10 Downing Street and other government facilities in 2020 and 2021.
The Metropolitan Police examined a dozen of these parties, three of which Johnson attended, together with his wife Carrie and then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who became three of the 83 persons handed fixed penalty notices.
Big Brother continues tomorrow night at 9pm on ITV2.
