The Block host Scott Cam has broken his silence after being accused of making a homophobic slur towards gay contestants Mitch and Mark early on in this season of the renovation show.
WATCH: The Block’s Mitch and Mark forgive Scott Cam
The Nine star told TV Week that he was extremely hurt and upset over the damning comments, and strenuously denied the allegations.
“A quarter of our company are gay and they’re my best friends in Melbourne when I live there,’ he told the publication.”
“For me to be accused of making a homophobic slur was a slur on the friends I work with.”
In a statement after the episode aired, Scott denied that he was referring to Mitch and Mark’s sexuality when using the phrase “you guys”.
He said: “I think there was a miscommunication that they were perceiving when I was saying ‘you guys’ and I was referring to – which I have many times – that they’re cashed up empty-nesters, which is something those boys are.
“That’s what I thought they were upset about, so I had no knowledge of their thoughts that I was referring to them and their sexuality. I didn’t think that because I wasn’t doing it.”
The scandal unfolded when Mitch and Mark were left fuming after Scott labelled their living room a “party room” during an episode aired in September.
Cam pointed out the judges 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.
“It’s a judgment about having an entertainment space next to a master bedroom.”
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