Ahead of her appearance at G-A-Y Porn Idol (yes, really) Cliff Joannou chats to the media’s Queen of Mean, Katie Hopkins…
G-A-Y big boss Jeremy Joseph called me last month to ask: “I’m booking Katie Hopkins as guest judge for the re-launch of Porn Idol. Would you interview her?” My initial reaction was a bit mixed. Before Celebrity Big Brother, the only thing I knew about the Hop’ was that she had a disdain for certain kids’ names and thought fat people were lazy. I dug a little deeper to find the Twitter-verse full of disapproving vitriol about things she’d (allegedly) said concerning lesbian parents, Tom Daley’s coming out being ‘lame’ and how she believed her son was gay. There seemed to be plenty that needed addressing. And what better way to interview one of the media’s most voracious voices than by asking our readers to Tweet us what they’d like me to ask her? So, here we go…
First question: Celebrity Big Brother. What we saw was an hour of edited highlights. Was it like that all day?
It was like it all day long. It was continuous, endless, relentless shouting and arguing. You’d go to bed hoping that tomorrow would start alright, but, for example, one day by 5.30 Perez would be leaning over Alexander’s face and coughing just to annoy the chap. So, yes, relentless fighting.
I think people were surprised you and Michelle got on so well.
Somebody like Michelle is brilliant. They’ve got a massive personality, she’s really true to who she is and she wasn’t afraid have her opinion, and if an argument kicked off she would take that position and defend it.
If you were applying for a job what would you put on your CV?
I would put columnist. Journalist would be an aggrandizement of what I do, but I love my column in The Sun, it’s one of the things I’m most proud of. I know people think The Sun is a comic sometimes, or they call it a rag, but it is read by 4.2million people and it allows me to say everything I like to all those people, and that’s a real gift. I love working with them and they’re really fun. The Sun that people used to know is really nothing like it used to be. It’s fierce to work for, if they don’t like something they tell you straight away.
Leon Fleming asks, ‘Where does one obtain the kind of arrogance needed to proclaim themself a gay icon?’
Most of my Tweets are intended to be funny. I find myself funny. Not many people, including my Editor at The Sun, do. But I find myself quite hilarious. I’ve always said I wanted to be a taller, uglier Kylie and that was always meant in jest, but it referenced the fact that most of the mates I get on better with are gay. My ideal flat mate would be someone gay and fabulous, I always get on better with that type of person. The joke was that I know I’m a forty year old hag bag so the idea of me being a gay icon is ridiculous, but that’s what I aspire to be in my own little head. That’s all that was about, and that whole thing has become massive, but it’s kind of a good thing, because people are talking.
So, you don’t mind the negativity that comes your way?
I always say if people are talking then that’s a positive thing. They may not like what stuff I’ve said, but I always re-tweet stuff that’s negative about me because I think that’s part of the debate and I think it’s important. I don’t ask people to agree with me, I don’t ask for consensus, that’s not what I’m aiming to do. I’m not aiming to change the world, I’m aiming to have a laugh.
Danny E wants to know why you think some people love you and others hate you?
I think some people don’t get me, or they’ve seen some stuff I’ve written and they think it’s quite tough and they don’t share the same views as me. But ultimately I think other people like me because they see the funny side, and they accept that we don’t all have to agree and I don’t take myself too seriously, or actually wish anybody harm, and see I’m a softy underneath. When I meet people in person they often say ‘I came here because I thought you’d be a complete cow, and as it goes you’re not so bad after all’.
Do you sometimes say things that you regret at a later date?
No, I stand by everything I said. I guess what happens on Twitter is people reach right back into history and bring it way forward into now, and taken out of context it can look a bit weird, but you have to accept the ebb and flow of Twitter. I don’t expect everybody to like me. That is absolutely fine. There aren’t many people that get that in life, but I certainly feel like that.
Ceri asks, ‘Would you like to explain the comment about lesbians as parents?’
This is related to a specific news story that I was commenting on for radio that NHS funds were being diverted to an IVF clinic to help women who hadn’t found a bloke or lesbians who want to have a baby. I was arguing that in a time when we can’t get cancer treatments for certain individuals, I wasn’t in favour of public funds being diverted to IVF clinics, so that’s where that debate sat. As I said, things taken out of context sound a bit weird at the time.
Kurtoise tweets ‘How do you intend to aid the gay community, if at all?’
That isn’t my gig at all. Like I said, I’m not here to heal the world. This isn’t a beauty pageant, so I’m not here to give the beauty pageant answer. I’m just showing that somebody that is a little bit in the public eye can be quite opinionated, can be supportive of everything LGBT, can be quite funny, and also as an epileptic can be out there and doing stuff. I’m not here to save the planet. I’ll leave that to other people.
Caption Monkey wants to know, ‘If you had to choose between being lesbian and being transgender, which would it be?’
I’d probably go lesbian. Only on the basis that Rachel Johnson has written a lesbian novel recently and she bore me in mind when she wrote it. And also I was at a speaking engagement and people were saying they could imagine me as a lesbian, so I’m guessing I give off that vibe. I don’t see it myself, but maybe I do.
Do you think you’d make a convincing drag queen?
I don’t know. I do look to be fair, from a drag perspective, like one of the White Chicks.
You’ve been criticized for saying you think your son is gay.
I’ll be criticized for anything I say or do, whether I’m promoting LGBT or anything else. Is my son gay? I kinda hope he is. Everybody with a gay son is much more savvy, the son tells them exactly what they think. My son really loves stuff to do with dancing, and fashion and he couldn’t give a toss about boys’ things like football.
One of our tweets asked you to explain why skipping makes you suspect he is gay?
You see what I mean? People want to find a way of criticizing. It’s because all the best gay guys I know are the best dancers and all the straight guys tend to be shit dancers. The fact is, when I put music on, my son can dance. You can call that prejudice, you can label that with whatever other issues. All I’m trying to do is celebrate the fact I think my son might be gay. I don’t offend people, you choose to be offended. You’re trying to make something out of nothing.
How would you feel if your son was being bullied at school because he was gay?
I walk my children to school and the key thing about doing that is your kids talk to you about what’s going on. The kids took the piss out of my daughter because she had boys shoes because she wanted boys shoes. But she said to the other kids, ‘These are my feet, these are my shoes, you don’t have to wear them.’ And that’s what I hope my kids are going to be like. I’d hope that I’m around enough to know if they were being bullied for being gay.
Do you feel LGBT relationships should be taught in schools?
Of course. When I go to schools to talk now, it’s increasingly the gay guys and the girls that come up to me because they know I am on side. If the school’s a bit stuffy I am going to go up there and say what I am going to say. I am a modern forty year old mum as opposed to some other forty or fifty year olds that are in a different generation – I don’t understand them at all. But certainly talking about everything early, letting kids know that everything is acceptable, nothing is actually ‘wrong’. I don’t understand this definition of ‘wrong’ at that age especially not from a sexual perspective. Right and wrong from a legal perspective, yeah, maybe, but right and wrong from a sexual perspective then no. The earlier the better for me.
‘What is one piece of advice you would give to young fans who look up to you?’ asks Helen Lovato…
We tend to be quite British about stuff. I do speak my mind, and I honestly don’t care what people say. I’m one person that it’s impossible to offend. I know people can’t always get that far and social media does upset a lot of people, but try to get to a point where you’re stronger, you’re tougher, you’re wiser and it’s just words. It’s really liberating to be at that point. I like it.
Shona Spurtkle wants to know why do you think it’s OK to be prejudiced against ‘gingers’ and ‘chubsters’ but not against blacks or gays?
Ginger is a little bit harder to defend. That was a slight joke at one point, ‘ginger babies are harder to love’. And the truth of that is, when mothers are having babies loads of them say, ‘Ooh, I don’t know if it’s going to be ginger’ and there is a whole ‘thing’ about that. I always said if you’re with a bloke, get him to grow his beard because that’s where it shows. That was supposed to be funny. The chubster thing – I don’t have time for chubsters. Can you do something about being black? No. Can you do something about being gay? No. Are either of those two things wrong? Absolutely not. Is being fat wrong? Yes it is. Sort it out. Get a grip on your life. Eat less and live more. The reason that some of these things get 16 or 17 million views isn’t that everybody disagrees, it is because it kind of resonates with us somewhere.
Adam-Marc Kelly tweeted to ask ‘What law would you introduce if you were PM and what law would you remove?’
All the anti-gay laws, all that stuff going on in Ireland, is all a load of bollocks. I’d get rid of that in a heartbeat. I’d certainly increase laws against terrorists. This country’s gone to hell in terms of where we are with our terrorists. Oh – and this relates to my family as well – but old people on the road do my head in. At sixty I’d get everybody re-tested to see if they can actually drive or not, and if they can’t I’d get them off the road. And this applies because my 98 year old granddad just got a new car!
‘Boiled Onions’ – odd name – asked if you have you ever licked a fuse box until your eyes turned bloodshot?
[Laughs] I like that. There are similar expressions I have: makes my teeth itch; I want to get in the bath and put a toaster in it that’s plugged in at the socket. I may use that one next week in the column. I like that. That is good.
Greg asks what events in life made you so horrible about things!
I don’t think life has made me horrible. I think I’m really blunt, and really frank. I’m frightened of this idea of consensus and people wanting consensus. And whoever that gentleman is that asked the question is I’m really happy to be in the same room with them with completely opposite views. That’s really interesting to me. Sitting next to someone that agrees with everything you say – not so interesting to me. They need to look at themselves and wonder why they want everyone to agree with them. Life is more interesting when we’re opposites.
Fair enough. Next tweet: When did you first realise your gob could get you cash?
Wangling tips out of punters at the Wimpy when I was 14, serving burger and chips to the downtrodden… for £1.40 an hour. I am a classy bird.
What have you got to say to Denise Welch who says we shouldn’t interview you?
I think Ms Welch needs a hobby and psychiatric help.
Dominic asks you to explain your comments about Tom Daley.
I thought Tom Daley’s coming out was lame. No straight man looks that good in Speedos, and if other people don’t like who you are – they need to deal with their issues.
Here’s one from me: you say you can tell a lot by a person’s name. What does the name ‘Katie’ say to you given that you share it with Pricey?
When Tyler-gate started, I didn’t really think about the name Katie! I think it means ballsy. Though Pricey is quite the opposite of her name. She is cheap as chips.
Speaking of Tyler, what’s wrong with that name?
That got 16-odd-million views. We all think what name would we give our kids? When there’s a kid biting an old person on the bus, he’s always called Tyler. You can either deal with that as the truth or you can reject that, but I advise against it.
Don Raju messaged us to ask you ‘Why are you such a c*nt?’
[Laughs] I think I’m not. Such a… but I am fairly fierce. I don’t take any crap from anyone. If you’ve got issues, own them. If you’ve problems, own them. I’m pretty happy, I’m pretty liberal, I’m pretty willing to accept a lot of views. I don’t have a problem with people’s opinions that are opposite of mine. Don sounds like a small-minded, ignorant little… what shall we call him… numpty that has problems with people. You need to own your issues.
Another reader asks, do you think your kids will be proud of you when they grow up?
People always use the kids tool. Actually, my kids have a really good laugh. They get on really well together. They don’t own iPads, they don’t own phones, they don’t care about that stuff. They just like sitting around having chats and that’s my kind of kids. They’re ten, nine and six. One day they might hate me, one day I might have to have go and pick them up from a police station when they’ve done something wrong, but at the moment we’re a good family, and we have a good giggle together. I appreciate some people might like to use my kids as an emotional tool against me, but I’m alright with them, thank you.
Here’s a random reader question: Can you sing? Is there a hi-NRG classics diva download coming soon?
Oh, that would be brilliant. Yes, yes, that is definitely happening, but obviously only in Lycra, and leggings, and a leg-warmer and a high-lace boot. I like a high-laced boot. And a reinforced gusset, I like a reinforced gusset.
Let’s end on G-A-Y Porn Idol. Of all the nights you could have appeared at you chose the rudest!
I thought it’d be a really good laugh. I have this slight fear now of exactly what I have actually let myself in for, but the drag queens that I’m on with I understand are brilliant, and I think if you’re going to do anything, go big, and Porn Idol is going big!
• G-A-Y Porn Idol with Katie Hopkins is at Heaven (Villiers Street, Charing Cross, WC2N 6NG) on Thursday 12th March, 10.30pm-5am.