Judge Robert Rinder, openly gay star of U.K reality courtroom series Judge Rinder, has criticised Love Island star Curtis Pritchard as being “disingenuous” for refusing to label his sexuality. In a recent article in Evening Standard, he questioned whether Curtis’ statement about his sexuality was a genuine reveal or “whether he was attempting to don the cloak of a minority identity in order to cynically exploit it.”

The judge said people who are straight but refuse labels do so “in order to appeal to a broader audience, are at best indulging in financially motivated, crass flirtation and, at worst, being a cynical tease.”

Judge Rinder commented on the Good Morning Britain interview in which Curtis, a 23 year-old, dancer, was persistently questioned on his sexuality by presenters Adil Ray and Kate Garraway. “I was hugely underwhelmed as Pritchard squirmed and pivoted,” the Judge said.

‘I never want to label what the future is going to be because I don’t think anyone can really ever do that.’#LoveIsland's Curtis Pritchard addresses rumours about his sexuality. pic.twitter.com/RsAPJxo6sY

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) August 8, 2019

People on social media heavily criticised the Good Morning Britain interview in which the two presenters attempted to make Curtis label himself bisexual. Judge Rinder took a different approach, saying “there is nothing wrong with asking somebody to clarify comments that they have voluntarily made.”

The Good Morning Britain interview followed comments made by Curtis to the Sun, in which he did not rule out the possibility of dating men. He said, “I can never ever say what will happen in the future. I wouldn’t rule anything out.”

Judge Rinder is trying to highlight the problem with the pink pound and pandering to the LGBT+ community for further promotion. However, the article does not acknowledge how uncomfortable the audience felt towards the Good Morning Britain interview and the subsequent backlash. Rather his article justifies questioning a person on their sexuality if they are in the spotlight. 

Through all the media attention, Curtis Pritchard has constantly stayed true to the affirmation, “I don’t feel like I need to label anything.”