One of the most explosive arguments to come out of The Block has been the bitter feud between Scott Cam and contestants Mitch and Mark – in which the duo accused the host of making a ‘homophobic’ comment about them.
While Monday night’s show saw Scott attempt to rectify the situation, Mitch has since explained exactly why he and Mark reacted so strongly to Scott’s comments.
WATCH: Scott Cam storms off after Mitch and Mark fail to apologise on The Block
“I just wanted to hide,” he told TV Week. “I was dressed flamboyantly [at the time] and I felt I looked like a gay person. I just wanted to disappear. I didn’t want to be there. I just thought, ‘Get me out of here’. I’m 56 and still going through this. When will it end?”
On Sunday night’s show, the contestants were left fuming after Scott labelled their living room as a “party room,” a comment they took to be a snide remark about their sexuality.
Scott pointed out the judges had noted the couple had consciously placed their second master bedroom on level two, “considering the party room on top of Mitch and Mark’s house”. Whilst also stating that the other team had adjusted their plans “to get away from the noisy people in your place”.
This prompted an immediate backlash from the duo.
“There’s no noisy people. People need to cope with the fact that there are multiple living spaces in all metropolitan homes and they need to actually step away from it because they have no idea,” Mark lashed out at Scott.
“It is a living space as any house in any suburban part of Australia has. And if they’re making a judgment about us — because they’ve often said, ‘People like us’ — I need to understand what does that mean? Are you judging us?”
Picking up on what the duo were implying, Scott replied: “I certainly don’t think they are making a judgment about you guys personally.
Explaining the reason for his attack on Scott, Mitch explained that the fiery exchange had reminded him of the struggles he faced growing up as a gay man – confessing that he struggled to come to terms with his sexuality and didn’t come out until his mid 30’s, when he was already married with three children.
However, Mitch admits that he has since accepted Scott’s apology on Monday night’s show, explaining that the host is not “a homophobe” or “judgemental.”
“He was raised as we were raised – that there was a certain type of ‘normal’ that was acceptable. He’s become very open to accepting everybody,” Mitch explained.
“I know friends of Scott’s who are gay or different and he doesn’t discriminate towards them or anyone, and I should’ve seen that.”
WATCH: Mitch and Mark lash out at Scott Cam on The Block
Earlier this week, New Idea reported that openly gay judge, Darren Palmer has faced off with critics on Twitter following the scandal.
Did Scotty miss that Mitch and Mark feel certain remarks are very subtle homophobia?’ one fan asked Darren.
‘Scott doesn’t judge so they’re not his remarks,’ Darren said of the judgements that upset the couple.
‘2 out of 3 of [the judges] are gay. The other one has gay people who she loves very dearly. None of us are homophobic. We judge on what we see and when the game is changed one week where the master bedroom becomes a living space, some weeks that decision will work for Mitch and Mark, some weeks it will work against them.’
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