Big Brother icon Lateysha Grace was a fan fave before being stabbed in the back and evicted by a housemate back in 2016. The star learnt a lot from her time in the show and has plenty to say about this year’s most controversial housemate, Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke.
Lateysha had reality TV experience even before entering the house, having debuted on our screens in The Valleys when she was just nineteen. Now, she’s just welcomed her third child and has her eye on Celebrity Big Brother as her next major goal, but is keeping an eye on the current season in the meantime.
Mickey, 72, sparked a wave of Ofcom complaints before he even stepped foot into the house on night one thanks to his treatment of host AJ Odudu, and very soon after his first outrageous moment got a warning on Wednesday night for his homophobic language towards Jojo Siwa.
Countless fans are calling for the boxing star to be booted out of the house, but Lateysha told the Mirror that she doesn’t agree with the outcry – despite branding Mickey as “disgusting.”
“Do you know what’s weird? I really want to like Mickey, because I like the fact that he’s so raw and doesn’t really give a s**t – but at the same time he needs to be careful,” she said during an exclusive chat with the Mirror and Heart Bingo.
Lateysha slammed: “He can’t go and be throwing around derogatory and homophobic comments. I know a lot of people are saying, ‘Oh, he’s not from this age,’ but he is. He lives in 2025, he should know what’s right and what’s wrong – especially at his age. He can’t go around speaking to or treating women like that, it’s actually disgusting.”
The Celebrity Ex on the Beach alum said that she didn’t know if he’d “get further” in the ITV show, predicting that his celebrity housemates “aren’t going to stand for” his outrageous behaviour for too long.
“I hope to God he can learn from his mistakes and pick up on what’s right and what’s wrong from the people that surround him, because they seem very level-headed and they’ve got their heads switched on,” Lateysha shared.
Imagining herself in the same situation as Jojo or AJ, Lateysha couldn’t imagine getting over his comments so quickly. “I just think it’s disgusting and I hope he’s not going to be like this throughout the whole series because it’s just not nice to watch,” she said.
“I really felt sorry for Jojo and I feel like she handled it amazingly considering her age, she acted really mature towards the situation. Because if that was me, I would literally be going crazy, like there would be an argument one hundred percent. There would be screaming back and forth, I wouldn’t take that, so it was really nice to see how she handled it.”
Despite making it clear how little patience she had for Mickey’s behaviour, Lateysha doesn’t agree with fans demanding he be chucked out of the house less than a week in – and says the best way for him to grow is to learn from the show.
“I think it’s understandable that people feel that way, because his behaviour is not acceptable,” the Welsh beauty said of petitions for Mickey to be carted out. “But I do believe that people should have second chances, and like I said, I hope to God that if he does stay he learns from the housemates that he’s living with, and he changes his views and opinions and sees things from their point of view.”
If Mickey can live and learn from his new pals, Lateysha predicts that he could thrive in the intense CBB experience – and show a softer side alongside being “fun to watch.”
“I don’t think he’s watched Big Brother once, and I think he’s underestimated what it can do for you as a person,” she said.
“He just needs to tread really carefully, and hopefully he learns from the housemates in there. Because I do see a vulnerable, sweet side to him, but then I also see a nasty side to him. It’s a strange one,” Lateysha mused of the outspoken star.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
