Love Hate star John Connors has been singing the praises of new Irish Big Brother contestant, Hughie Maughan.
21-year-old Hughie, is an Irish traveller, who recently came out as bi-sexual.
Before entering the Big Brother house, he revealed that he wanted to rubbish stereotypes, and since being on the show, has gained a lot of attention – for all the right reasons.
Love Hate star John Connors has been particularly impressed by the young man, and took to social media to share his thoughts.
He said, “Started watching Big Brother. Don’t judge me. I normally hate these kind of shows, but a traveller from Ballymun is in it, named Hughie Maughan.
“He just said, ‘I’m proud of being Irish. I’m proud of being a traveller. I’m proud of being gay.’
“Well fair f***ing play to him. I hope young travellers are watching on.
“If he stays in this long enough, he could break barriers for young LGBT travellers.”
John himself is no stranger to speaking out about his own traveller identity, and has done lots of work to try break down stereotypes himself.
He previously told the Irish Times, “This is part of my identity. You get it from the moment you’re born, as a Traveller, society telling you you’ll amount to nothing – and that does build up in you as a rage, that you will never be accepted, that no matter what you do as an individual you will always be the same to them: a drunken, thieving, smelly knacker.”
While he doesn’t let it bother him any more, he’s hopeful that Hughie’s appearance on the show could change people’s perceptions, for the better.
