cynical tease

TV judge accuses Curtis Pritchard of being “disingenuous” in scathing criticism of his coming out

Everyone’s been talking about reality star/professional dancer Curtis Pritchard lately.

Earlier this month, the 23-year-old Love Island contestant told the Sun that he didn’t feel comfortable labeling his sexuality and “wouldn’t rule out” being in a relationship with a guy.

“You can never put a label on anything,” he said. “It’s a cliche to say, but love is blind. I can never ever say what will happen in the future.”

Later, he went on Good Morning Britain, where he doubled down on his comments, even as the hosts pressured him to do what he expressly said he didn’t want to do: label his sexuality.

“I’m not labeling anything,” he reiterated, “because I don’t feel like I need to label anything.”

The exchange prompted plenty of criticism online, with many people feeling the line of questioning was disrespectful given the fact that Pritchard clearly stated that he wasn’t going to label himself.

But, evidently, Judge Robert Rinder, the openly gay star of the U.K. reality courtroom series Judge Rinder, is not one of those people.

In a new op-ed published by the Evening Standard, the 41-year-old judge has quite a few opinions about how Pritchard has handled his own coming out.

“I am all for privacy, but if you are the one to start a public discussion about your sexuality, you can reasonably be asked to see that conversation through,” Rinder writes, adding that he was “hugely underwhelmed” by Pritchard’s dodging the question on Good Morning Britain regarding his sexuality.

Rinder added, “Appearing on Love Island is an invitation to have your sex life discussed–suggesting afterwards that you might be bisexual is a guarantee that someone is going to want to know more.”

Rinder goes on to accuse Pritchard of exploiting his sexuality for attention, writing that he believes “that the pink pound can be a useful market to tap” but that there is a difference between “appealing to a gay audience” and “being all-out disingenuous.”

“People who know they’re straight, but refuse to label themselves in order to appeal to a broader audience, are at best indulging in financially motivated, crass flirtation and, at worst, being a cynical tease,” he opines.

We’re pretty sure Pritchard couldn’t care less what Rinder has to say, however. He’s been living his best life on Instagram while partying with Channing Tatum at male strip shows.

Related: PHOTOS: Reality star Curtis Pritchard spotted partying at a male strip club

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