Recently, Scott Cam has found himself in the middle of a heated scandal on The Block.
During the September 8 episode, the reality show host read out feedback from the judges and left gay couple Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie fuming when he labelled their living room as a “party” space, resulting in a claim he was stereotyping the LGBTQ+ community.
In an interview with WHO, Mark reveals that after the episode went to air, he caught up with Cam, who was incredibly concerned. “Scotty was worried that he offended us and assured me it was a misunderstanding,” the 57-year-old contestant says.
WATCH: Mitch and Mark lash out at Scott Cam on The Block
He adds that he feels as though the backlash Cam received online was unfair. “It bothered me that Scotty was still upset,” he says. “The media might think we are saying it
to protect Scotty. I’m not protecting Scott – he’s got his own back.”
The grandfather went on to defend Cam and said that he and his long-term partner, Mitch, felt respected during their time on the renovation show.
“I’m not just saying he’s a good guy – he really is a good guy. He’s part of The Block family, who are all about inclusion,” Mark adds.
Indeed, the couple believe the fact that the tension-filled moment wasn’t edited out proves the show wanted to engage in a conversation about homophobia and why it is such an important issue.
“The thing I took out of being on The Block was that they didn’t shy away from the tension surrounding the gay community,” Mitch, 56, says. “[The show] is going to air in houses around the nation, so to have debate is good.
“Sometimes the words you use, you don’t mean them in an offensive way. But when people hear them – based on their experience – they hear it in a different way. I’m really proud of the fact that the show didn’t edit anything. It was an important discussion.”
Now, several months after that episode was filmed, does he think Cam meant any malice?
“God, I can’t believe that. He’s not a homophobe.”
Cam isn’t the only one to have faced negative comments online – Mark and Mitch have received their share of bad feedback from viewers, based on their sexuality.
“There are people who hide behind keyboards,” Mark explains. “We’ve been shocked by how nasty some people can be online. We had some negative stuff and we had some direct messages that were pretty awful.”
It hasn’t all been negative, though, with Mark saying, “There are a lot of people who are very supportive of us.”
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