Big Brother Seany Exclusive!
Published: 13/08/07
The lovely Seany O'Kane recently popped into our offices and we simply had to ask him a few probing questions about life in this years Big Brother House and 'that' kiss between him and Gerry.
How would you describe your time in the BB house?
It was an intense rollercoaster ride. I think unless you have actually been a housemate its very hard for people to comprehend where your coming from, although people are watching you like a soap opera, when your involved and its your real life it can be like a pressure cooker. It’s an experience that money can’t buy and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
What has life been like for you since leaving BB8?
I don’t know where I’m going from one day to the next. I’ve been speaking to Glynn form BB7 last year and he says that even one year on he still can’t plan what he’s doing a week in advance. People feel like they know you and your part of the family, its funning when you see people playing with their mobile phone, secretly taking a picture of you and I’ve had girls come up to me in tears, one woman said her son who was eight or nine years old wouldn’t go to bed until he’d seen me and the show was on well past his bedtime. It's been manic and overwhelming but I have kept my feet on the ground.
Why did you choose to ‘come out’ on TV?
Well I thought if I’m going to do it I want to do it in style, I could send a text message or throw a coming out party. But a lot of my friends new and I told my mum last Christmas. Some of the people I was frightened of losing the most I really didn’t. It’s not like you go to school to learn how to come out, it’s a really personal thing don’t have a lot of gay friends but the gay friends I have different experiences of coming out. I just thought doing it on TV at least everyone will know and if they don’t accept me, they don’t. I was quite positive that as they got to watch me on the show they would think it isn’t a big deal after all.
Has that created any problems for you?
Not for me. Only in regard to some homophobic remarks I’ve had from the public. For my relationship with my dad, coming out on BB is the best thing that’s ever happened. I always felt that I was a bit of a disappointment to him I wasn’t a sports person or a tradesman, I always felt distant from him and he never told me he loved me. My mum always told me it was because he came from such a different background to me but I always thought that it is up to you to let people know how you feel about them. So, I thought I would be completely rejected by him but for the first time in my 25 years, since coming out he has told me he loves me and he was the one I feared the most that would reject me.
Have you ever experienced homophobia?
I think I’m a really crap gay guy to be honest, I’ve never been to a Madonna concert or owned any Barbra Streisand albums, I’m really crap! Ha! Ha! Society assumes that all gay people know everything there is to know about gay culture and we don’t. All I know is that I’m sexually attracted to men but there is a lot more I could educate myself on. I have never been a really obvious target for homophobia, however before going on BB, I worked in various roles specifically around issues that negatively effected people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, including people who were vulnerable or who had problems at school. In one of my previous post's I was working with one young girl who managed to get hold of my phone and asked who the guy I was with on my phones wallpaper. I hesitated at first, then I told her it was my boyfriend. Immediately she threw my phone to the floor, we were in the middle of a well known restaurant with a colleague,in a public place and she said, 'You’re gay? I’m disgusted, I hate gays and lesbians.' I felt really violated and isolated in such a public place, people watching must have thought I had done something to her, she was so disgusted. Seeing my distress, my colleague intervened and offered support, however the young female wouldn't even get in the same car as me. I felt so lonely at the time, my boss suggested that I shouldn't work with this young person for my own safety or consider another colleague to take over for me, but I really wanted to challenge her attitudes. I thought that maybe she had problems of her own. I have witnessed homophobia in Manchester, since leaving the show but I feel awkward in regards to challenging it in public, how will I be perceived, now that people know me? I was always the first to challenge any kind of discriminatory treatment before I became famous. I do want to use what celebrity I have to target issues such as homophobia and black and minority ethnic young peoples attitudes to homosexuality but how seriously will people take me? I’m fortunate that I’ve been involved in this kind of work before and can use the skills and knowledge that I have to know what I’m talking about but I sometimes feel I have to take a step back because it’s not Seány anymore who's making a stance against these issues, it's Seány from Big Brother.
How have your family and friends been with the increased interest in you and your coming out?
I was Seany their son, now I’m Seany the gay famous person from Big Brother. I have been home and met my dad and his friends in a really rural Irish bar, the kind of place where they probably have never seen a person of colour enter, never mind a person of many colours! S o to be welcomed by these real men’s men bricklayers, scaffolders it’s so overwhelming. I’ve had friends from the same area as me very catholic, very country the sort of place you only ever see on TV and one friend whose parents suspected her of being a lesbian was taken to a faith healer to see if they could cure her. She had to take tablets twice a day and she refused. Her dad beat her up and she has since come to Manchester and she’s living a great life. She said that since her parents have seen me come out on BB they’ve grown to accept her and I find that really strange that it’s taken a TV show for her parents to accept her.
Do you find a lot more guys are more interested in you now?
For the first time in Big Brother history they had a gay snog between me and Jerry and we could have had a really blossoming friendship but it was cut short.
When I first came out of the house I went to Soho and it was like a meat market, I had to leave, I felt so uncomfortable. My straight friend said that I should be having so much sex but I’ve only had sex with people I knew from before because you don’t know where these people are coming form or if they’re going to sell stories even though you could have the pick of any guy it would feel wrong. I’ve had loads of attention and that’s nice but I have had loads of girls come up and try to snog me and they don’t get it!
Best bit of BB8 for you
Everything from pushing Charley in the pool to putting the condom on Jerry’s teddy bear and pulling the duvet off Leslie but my favourite was helping to give Liam £100,000.
Quick Fire
- Describe yourself in 3 words
Big hair, big attitude, lack of co-ordination - What / Who makes you laugh?
People who dance in supermarkets. Karen from Will & Grace. - When was the last time you cried?
After I first nominated on BB. It feels like you’re taking away someone else’s dream. - What couldn’t you live without?
Love. ‘Seany’ love. - What kind of underwear are you wearing?
For the record I’m wearing pistachio green shorts with shapes of hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades on them.
Seany would like to thank Harvey Nicks for helping him out with his outfits.You can also see Seany at this years Manchester Pride festival.
