Ex Big Brother star Nathan King sparks fury with anti-trans attack on Zelah Glasson: ‘It’s a mental illness’

Former Big Brother contestant Nathan King has sparked fury with a string of anti-transgender remarks aimed at current cast member Zelah Glasson.

Zelah, a South London personal trainer who is trans, is currently starring on the British staple, making history as the first trans man since its 2023 ITV reboot. In his promo, Zelah explained his motivation for appearing on Big Brother, explaining to viewers that “being transgender is not a choice”.

King, who finished fifth on 2024’s series, shared Zelah’s entrance on Instagram, writing: “She’s right, it’s not a choice, it’s a MENTAL ILLNESS.” He followed it with, “This should NOT be encouraged.” While the story has since been deleted, screenshots circulated on Reddit, drawing furious responses. Commenters branded King “a f***ing loser”, “a c on the show and he’s a c*** now” and “repulsive”.

“Why do trans-identified people make being trans-identified their whole personality? Bore off” – Nathan King

In another Instagram story, King shared a tweet reading: “Why do trans-identified people make being trans-identified their whole personality? Bore off.” Over it, he added: “They can’t ever tell me I’m wrong. They just scream insults.”

The World Health Organisation declared in 2019 that being trans “is not actually a mental health condition”.

Nathan, himself, has publicly identified as gay in the past but now chooses not to label his sexuality. In a 2024 episode of the show, he shared with fellow housemate Hannah that he previously came out as gay but later decided against labelling himself, stating, “I just go for the person, not so much the… like mind first and then everything else later.”

Zelah is a social media content creator from South London and is currently launching his own LGBTQ+ business.

Specialising in supporting transgender individuals and women through fitness, he draws on his own experiences, living as a woman for 23 years, to create inclusive fitness content.

Across social media, he has nearly 90,000 followers on TikTok and over 40,000 on Instagram, where he shares workout routines and insights into his journey as a transgender man.

Previously, on earlier broadcast channels, Nadia Almada became the first openly trans housemate and winner in 2004, Luke Anderson won in 2012, and Hallie Clarke was the first trans woman in the 2023 reboot.

He described himself as a “spaniel dog” in his VT, promising he will bring energy to this year’s house, especially if he can’t release it in the gym.

Zelah has quickly become a fan favourite

“I might get a little bit unbearable without the gym – that’s definitely my main coping mechanism,” he admitted in a news release.

“I’m very social – someone who takes on the role of the rounder-upper. I like to organise things, I like to do things in a group. I’d like to think that I’d contribute to group work in the house. And I’m really looking forward to the tasks, so I think I’d be someone who can throw themselves into that.”

Zelah expressed his desire to use the platform to “re-centre” the narrative around transgender individuals. He said he is “living proof that being transgender is not a choice.”

Two years into his transition, he joked in his introduction to the Big Brother house: “Why would I choose to go from the luxury, the sanctuary of the women’s toilets to the men’s?”

Since his debut, Zelah has quickly become a fan favourite, garnering a wave of support from viewers.