Politics
Big Brother 2026 Cast: Meet The New Housemates
The Big Brother house has reopened its doors to a brand new bunch of wacky and wonderful new housemates.
On Sunday night, 16 new contestants took up residence in reality TV’s most famous house, representing an eclectic mix of different ages, backgrounds and walks of life.
In a series that’s promised a new shake-up every week, Big Brother has already got things off to a chaotic start, warning the housemates that one of them is actually a “mole” who has been deliberately chosen to ruffle feathers and cause havoc from the inside.
Here’s your quick guide to this year’s Big Brother housemates ahead of what promises to be a series packed with twists…
Yasmin
She says: “I have a very bubbly personality. I’m very straightforward – what you see is what you get with me.
“You’ll never be left wondering what you think about me. You will always know exactly where you stand with me.”
Harry
Occupation: Personal trainer
He says: “I’m so used to living on my own and doing my own thing; I like my own space. But then when it’s my time I will come out.
“I wouldn’t say I dictate the mood, but when I want to be alone, I will be alone. And when I want to see people, I will.”
Chelsey
Occupation: Social worker
She says: “I feel like when people meet me they think ‘oh, look at her she’s come from a big house with all this money.’ But I haven’t. I fled to live in a women’s refuge and grew up in there for a few years with my sister and my mum. It’s been quite difficult, but it’s made me the person I am today.
“I had a social worker myself when I was younger which inspired me to become a social worker.”
Philip
Occupation: Content creator
He says: “There will never be a dull moment when I’m there. I’ll always put a smile on everyone’s faces. If I see anyone unhappy, no matter what, I’ll be there for them – whether I like them or not.
“You’re better being a friend to me than an enemy. I’m a very good friend, but I’m a very bad enemy.”
Lynx
Occupation: Property developer
He says: “I’m looking forward to not having my phone – it will be really cool to have a full detox. And to get to know different people of different ages, from different walks of life.”
Charlotte
She says: “As a quadruple amputee, people are surprised at anything I do, even normal things like cooking, doing my makeup, getting dressed, stuff like that. And obviously they’re going to be watching me 24 hours a day so they’re going to see me do all those things.
“They’re probably going to be surprised at the most normal things for me, those are going to be the most shocking for everybody watching.”
Pauline
She says: “The last three years of my life I’ve spent caring for my mother. And I also lost my father in March. So, I thought, ‘let me try and do something, that if the world was ending tomorrow, what would you do?’.
“I like to take on new opportunities because life is short.”
Occupation: Content creator
He says: “I’m very confident I can keep a secret, and I think I’ll play the role well. I’m confident I can throw them off my track.”
Rochelle
She says: “I met [my husband] when I was 18 and married at 22. And I have never, ever done anything for myself. As in, I never bought a property. I left home and was married, and this is the first time ever that I’m actually going to be not having him there or anyone with me. And I’m quite looking forward to it.”
Millie
She says: “I think I’ll bring the house character. I feel like people would probably come to me for things because I’m very loyal. But at the same time, I’m very… you’d know if I was in a room.”
Frankie
Occupation: Marketing manager
He says: “I’m looking forward to spending time in the hot tub. And to be fair, for all the single mums that end up fancying me when I come out.”
Samuel
Occupation: Administrative assistant
He says: “[I’m looking forward to] getting my thoughts out there and also building bonds with real genuine people.
“My fellow housemates are probably people I would never normally meet or even see in the real world – so talking to people and making friends.”
Rob
Occupation: Radio presenter
He says: “One evening the casting advert came up on my Facebook and I just clicked ‘apply’ on a whim – and here we are; it’s crazy. I’m looking forward to doing all the tasks and challenges – it just looks really fun.”
Rhianna
Occupation: ‘Stay-at-home daughter’
She says: “I think I could surprise some people – I’ve always grown up with a stereotype. People think I’m a certain way before they get to know me. I am such an open book. I’m a really big softie inside and that’s the type of energy I’ll bring.”
Omar
Occupation: Jewellery seller
He says: “I don’t fit the prejudice that people have in their minds when they first see me. I’m not what I look like.”
Johanne
From: Salford (via Los Angeles)
She says: “I love meeting new people. I love talking with people. But I think that I do a good job operating as a mirror for people and saying the things that people are afraid to say.
“I consider myself to be a really good judge of character and to be very direct with people. And I think that people will see that in my personality. I’m not afraid of confrontation. I go into every situation hoping for the best, but I don’t shy away from confrontation.”
Big Brother airs nightly on ITV2 and ITVX.
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo is set to return to our screens later this year in her new movie Prima Facie.
Based on the one-woman play of the same name, Cynthia takes the lead as a barrister, Tessa, a character originally played by Jodie Comer on both the West End and Broadway, who represents herself in a troubling sexual assault case.
Following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday night, the movie sparked a range of different opinions – but the British actor’s leading performance has been repeatedly singled out for praise.
Deadline’s review said that Prima Facie once again shows Cynthia as a “fine dramatic actor” who “does what she can with the ambiguity of a role where the legal chairs are suddenly shuffled”, but lamented that “in this more literal film version something may have gotten lost in translation” compared to the critically-lauded source material.
The Hollywood Reporter agreed that the adaptation was a “misfire” and “a near-total muddle”, even if Cynthia “eloquently displays” her character’s complicated feelings at different points in the story.
Meanwhile, The Guardian’s two-star review claimed the “pointless” film adaptation had “flattened” the script of the play. The Oscar nominee was said to have approached “the role with a focused rigour”, even if she “oddly doesn’t have all that much to play”.
A review in The Playlist was similarly critical of the film, hailing Cynthia’s “captivating” and “very, very good” work as Tessa, but concluded that “when even the talents of Erivo can’t overcome” its shortcomings, “the verdict is grim”.
Critic Rendy Jones even went as far as claiming that the Wicked star “carries” her new film, writing: “Cynthia Erivo gives a fantastic performance in Susanna White’s film adaptation, but its focus on the wrong thing saps the potential of what could have been a damning critique of the protection of assault and predators within the court of law.”
More positive was TheWrap’s take, singling out Cynthia’s “layered” and “admirable” performance in the “complex” and “fascinating” film (even if it ultimately conceded that it “doesn’t have the same impact as the play”).
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Cynthia recently opened up about throwing herself into her latest role, admitting there were times she’d feel “sick”, “angry” or “betrayed”.
“It was hard to come away from that sometimes,” she shared.
A cinema release date for Prima Facie is yet to be announced.
Sydney Sweeney has once again found herself at the centre of controversy over an ad campaign.
This time around, the backlash relates to her new advert for the sports betting app Novig, in which she appears in different scenes completely nude, save for various items like American footballs, basketballs and protective equipment.
“Novig is just sports,” she explained. “So, they wanted to show… just sports.”
Following its debut last week, Sydney’s latest video has sparked criticism from many women in the sports world, including some Olympians, who accused the Euphoria star of “sexualising” women’s sports.
Swimmer and gold medallist Ariarne Titmus wrote on Instagram: “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this.
“Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity … the list goes on.
“How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
“To take the mickey like this. I thought we were genuinely moving past this bullshit,” she wrote, per Australia’s News.
Diver Kassidy Cook also showed her support for Ariarne’s comments on Instagram, while fellow silver medallist Tilly Kearns, an Australian Olympic water polo player, agreed that she “absolutely fucking hates” the ad.
World champion boxer Skye Nicolson also had her say, stating that “these companies need to do better” and “stop sexualising women in sport”.
Per The Guardian, she told her Instagram followers that the advert served as a “mockery” of women in sports, claiming: “There’s a big difference between looking ‘sexy’ because you do sport compared to [using] sex to sell ‘sport’. There is nothing wrong with looking good and doing sport and there’s nothing wrong with embracing your femininity while also being a badass athlete.”
HuffPost UK has contacted reps for Novig and Sydney Sweeney for comment.
While Sydney has not addressed the backlash directly, she did appear to allude to it on Sunday evening, when she posted a string of nude photo-shoots which leading sports figures had taken part in, including Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Megan Rapinoe, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Kelce, to her Instagram story.
Last year, Sydney landed in hot water over a very different ad campaign, when it was suggested her promo video for American Eagle had mirrored the language of white supremacists and eugenicists.
The Emmy nominee later said she had been left “surprised by the reaction” to the advert, after spending months mostly swerving questions about the media storm.
American Eagle, meanwhile, said their ad “is and always was about the jeans”.
“Her jeans. Her story,” a spokesperson said. “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their American Eagle jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The pair clashed amid claims Reform may have to hand the money back because Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have not been living in the UK long enough.
Delo has moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, while Harborne is now registered to vote in Hampshire, although it is unclear whether he still lives in Thailand.
Donations from people based overseas are impermissible under UK law.
Nigel Farage said he was “humbled and honoured” when each man donated £36m to his party in the space of 24 hours at the weekend.
Reform have insisted that neither man has asked for anything in return for the cash.
But on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, presenter Robinson asked Tice: “What do you think first attracted two cryptocurrency billionaires to give tens of millions of pounds to a party promising to cut their taxes, to limit regulation of their business and limit competition for them as well?”
Tice replied: “Their patriotic love for a fantastic country that is being ruined under a bunch of socialists.”
Later in the interview, Robinson told Tice that Delo and Harborne have “already got everything they want” from Reform.
He said: “These men who are giving £72m have already got Reform UK agreeing to lobby the Bank of England to change its policy – threatening to sack the governor because of his attitude to this – threatening to cut taxes on cryptocurrency and change the regulatory approach.
“So far from getting nothing, they’ve already got a lot from you, haven’t they?”
Tice replied: “If you look at the timelines, you’ll realise your analysis is completely wrong because we met the governor of the Bank of England exactly a year ago. These donations have been made very recently.”
Housing secretary Angela Rayner yesterday suggested Reform may have to give at least some of the money back because Christopher Harborne has not been based in the UK long enough to be a permissible donor.
But a Reform source told HuffPost UK: “We wouldn’t be putting out extremely confident statements if we didn’t know their personal circumstances.”
A party spokesman said: “We are 100% confident both [donations] are legal and won’t ever have to be handed back.”
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
Rich’s Monday Morning View
For so many children, going into hospital carries connotations of fear and a lack of autonomy, and even trauma that can carry through to adulthood. It can mean unfamiliar rooms, scary equipment, painful procedures, and adults using words that they neither understand nor are explained to them. With the right support, we can help make this experience less frightening, and play is one of the most effective and efficient ways to make that happen.
The argument for health play is increasingly being won. Across the NHS, more clinicians and leaders recognise that play is not an optional extra, but a vital part of good practice in children’s healthcare. The challenge now is making sure every child benefits from it, and that this happens consistently.
In 2025, Starlight, the UK’s leading charity transforming children’s healthcare through play, and NHS England jointly produced the Play Well Toolkit. Since the launch of this guide for healthcare professionals on how to design, plan, and deliver high-quality health play services, the government has committed to the adoption and implementation of the Toolkit across ICBs and NHS trusts by 2027. This is a hugely significant step in the right direction, and we now need this progress to continue.
We now need to see delivery. Starlight’s recent freedom of information research found that 80% of Integrated care boards (ICBs) are not yet committed to adopting the Toolkit, none has a dedicated health play budget, and only 5% include health play in their children and young people’s strategies. We can surely do better than this.
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It should be impossible to ignore the benefits. At University College London Hospitals, an MRI programme supported by a health play specialist enabled 38 out of 42 children aged four to eight to complete scans while awake, reducing waiting times for MRI scans under general anaesthetic by 24%. Elsewhere across the country, 3D scanner models, preparation sessions and distraction techniques have helped children cope with procedures that might otherwise have required clinical restraint, sedation or avoidable distress.
Few interventions can reduce trauma for children, improve outcomes, and save the NHS money, yet health play delivers on all three. That’s why last week in Westminster, I hosted a drop-in event alongside Starlight which brought together MPs, Peers, NHS leaders, clinicians, health play specialists, advocates, young people, and families to discuss how to make the government’s commitment a reality.
At the drop-in, Nailah (a member of Starlight’s youth panel) spoke powerfully about her experience of therapeutic play in healthcare. She said, “I grew up in hospital, I have had so many surgeries, and the play specialist really got me through it and supported me through all these difficult times”.
Powerful comments like these reiterated that no child should have to experience unnecessary fear or trauma as part of their healthcare. Every child should have access to care that recognises their right to play, their need to understand, and their ability to cope when they are properly supported.
None of us could fail to be moved by such testimony, and no policy-maker should fail to be moved by the evidence. Consistent access to play provision on the NHS can reduce trauma, improve outcomes, and ease pressures. There’s not a moment to lose in ensuring 2027 is the year we make this vision a reality.
Prime minister Andy Burnham has called Brexit one of the “wrong turns” taken in recent decades. His government will seek closer links between Britain and the European Union – rescheduling this November’s summit. New research from British Future finds public support for that direction of travel, but uncertainty about quite how far that should go. It also shows how re-opening Britain’s debate on Europe will require both sides to overturn their assumptions and take a fresh approach if they wish to prevail.
Burnham’s own post-Brexit journey reflects the cross-pressures of the British debate. A decade ago, he worried that calls for a second referendum before leaving the EU would only deepen public disdain for an out-of-touch political class. As mayor of Greater Manchester, he wanted the government to be more open about the damage – and aspired to see the UK rejoin again in his lifetime. He put that on the back burner when running to return for parliament in Leave-voting Makerfield. Now, as prime minister, Burnham must determine what direction to take and negotiate with his EU counterparts.
A new youth mobility deal should be achievable and has public support. But the new research finds Burnham could also go further too – though it does not find a consensus on where people would like to end up.
Two fifths of the public are at the poles of this debate: an “all in” group of 22% who would like a referendum as soon as possible to overturn the 2016 result, and another fifth who are against closer links. But most lie in between or are undecided: a quarter of the public are contingent pro-Europeans, who would like to join the single market at least, but retain doubts about free movement. A similar-sized group of pragmatic sceptics favour practical cooperation on many issues, without rejoining the single market or the EU itself. There is also a large group, often younger, who are disengaged from the whole debate.
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As Burnham arrived in Downing Street through an internal party coronation, his government is constrained, at least for this parliament, by the ‘Red lines’ of the 2024 Labour manifesto: no bid to rejoin, and no membership of the single market, customs union or freedom of movement. Yet the new research shows that most of the public do now support a closer relationship than these ‘red lines’ would allow.
For the government, getting practical may be part of the solution. Increasing pragmatic cooperation with the EU in this parliament, especially on youth mobility, defence and asylum, will be popular with voters. Beyond November’s summit, Burnham will need a strategy to dissolve or redraw his red lines, while being clear that the Brexit decision itself could not be undone without a future referendum.
Yet for a decade, Britain’s two Brexit tribes have mostly been refighting the last referendum. They often sound happiest to carry on doing so. Dominic Cummings, the strategist behind the Leave victory, believes “tell them again” would be the winning slogan in a new vote. Those who lost in 2016 believe the tide has turned in their favour. The research shows that both tribes may need to look beyond the 2016 referendum trenches to persuade the public about the choices in the decade to come.
Generational change is a challenge for both sides. Leave won most strongly among over-65s, and its voters were significantly older than those for Remain. Demographic change has removed the Leave majority of 2016, even if nobody had changed their minds. By the time of the next general election, one in five of the public – everybody under 30 – will have been too young to vote in that referendum. Few believe there have been benefits from Brexit, but nor can pro-Europeans take their support for granted. We found the under-30s least aware of the issues or invested in the arguments. Complaints about how the public were misled a decade ago will leave cold those who may have been in primary school at the time.
So those pushing to go further and closer should not be complacent that young people’s dissatisfaction with Brexit, and demographic changes as older Leave voters pass away, will give them a winning hand.
Supporters of Brexit need a forward vision too, of how the UK charts a course through global uncertainty and an unreliable ally in the US. And with most of the public supporting pragmatic alignment with Europe on trade, defence and other issues, blanket opposition will win few friends beyond a shrinking core.
The popularity of Boris Johnson’s “Get Brexit Done” reflected a public exhaustion with the divisions of this subject. So there are mixed views about future referendums. But we are going to have to talk about Europe again – and both sides of the debate may need to move on if they hope to connect with voters in 2026 and beyond.
Gary Oldman has backpedalled somewhat after his recent comments about the future of the James Bond franchise.
Earlier this month, the Oscar winner was being interviewed on Canadian TV when the rumours about his Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden potentially being in line to play 007 were raised.
“It’s been rumoured that he’s on the shortlist” Gary noted, before suggesting that we’re “going to find out pretty soon” if there’s any truth to it.
“[Producers] have made their choice,” he then alleged. “But they have not announced it yet. So, my fingers are crossed for Jack.”
Last week, Gary took part in a Q&A session at TIFF, where he mentioned the recent report that there are now “six people on a shortlist” to play Bond.
“I heard a rumor that they’ve picked James Bond, but they haven’t announced it yet, which is their prerogative,” he continued, before clarifying: “So I do not know [who has got the part].”
“But I’m hoping it’s Jack,” he added.
Back in August, The Rest Is Entertainment host Richard Osman claimed to have inside knowledge that Jack had been picked to succeed Daniel Craig as the next 007, praising the idea and calling the actor “an incredible Bond”.
Shortly after this, the US outlet Page Six reported that there were now six actors still in contention, with Jack among them.
However, they said that the top pick for the job was Heartstopper and SAS Rogue Heroes actor Jack Barton, with Callum Turner and Jacob Elordi’s names also mentioned, alongside Harris Dickinson and Paul Mescal.
Movie producer Amy Pascal previously shared that the film studio Amazon MGM was looking for “something really different” when it comes to the next James Bond, and was keeping an eye out for someone “stirring and exciting and different”.
Little else is known about the upcoming 26th instalment in the James Bond film series, other than that it will be written by Peaky Blinders and House Of Guinness creator Steven Knight and directed by Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve.
Senior Labour sources have denied that a victory in a crunch by-election next month could trigger a snap general election.
Voters in Holborn and St Pancras will go to the polls on October 8 to choose a successor to Keir Starmer.
The former prime minister retained the seat with a majority of around 11,500 at the 2024 election, and the constituency has been held by Labour since it was created in 1983.
However, the Greens are hopeful of pulling off a major upset after choosing party leader Zack Polanski as their candidate last week.
It has been reported that Labour see the by-election as a “dry run” for a possible early general election.
A Labour win, it has been claimed, would show that under Andy Burnham’s leadership, the party is no longer losing the support of left-of-centre voters to the Greens.
“If we can beat Polanski in a by-election it will show that Labour is in good shape to fight a general election,” one source told The Independent.
However, a senior Labour source told HuffPost UK that was “utter utter horsegrade manure”.
A second Labour insider said: “It’s utter nonsense. The party is about to have a new general secretary in three weeks. Nobody is even talking about prepping for a general election.”
Labour has enjoyed an increase in support since Burnham became PM in July, and is now ahead of Reform UK and the Conservatives in most opinion polls.
But an analysis by Election Maps UK forecast Labour would lose its 166-seat majority if an election were held now.
It suggested that Labour would comfortably be the largest party with 253 MPs, but would probably need the support of the Lib Dems to govern.
Burnham himself has repeatedly ruled out the prospect on an early election.
Speaking to the BBC in July, he said: “There’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it.”
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
You don’t have to be an open-borders fanatic to want writers and others to be able to cross frontiers to exchange views with like-minded people abroad. Unfortunately, this is not the view of the UK Home Office, which increasingly prefers to keep out anyone whose views offend the progressive establishment.
Since last year, anyone seeking to visit the UK visa-free has had to get an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). A consequence is that apparatchiks can now keep out anyone officialdom disapproves of at the click of a mouse.
Home Office officials have relished their new powers. Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński, who wanted to attend the first Unite the Kingdom rally, was banned from entering the UK in May. Two critics of Israel who had been invited to speak at the Oxford Union, Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur, were denied in June. Dutch right-wing lawyer and anti-immigration activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek had her ETA rejected in January. Most recently, the Christian Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen was prevented from addressing a conference in Northern Ireland on religious freedom when her ETA was pulled at the last minute, apparently owing to a conviction in Finland over a pamphlet attacking homosexuality she had written more than 20 years ago.
This isn’t exactly new. Senior members of the Westboro Baptist Church, which notoriously claims that God hates gays, have been excluded for some time. So too have a few inflammatory critics of Islam like Robert Spencer (and, to be fair, have many Islamist fanatics as well). In 2018, three prominent anti-Islam activists were denied entry to the UK.
This is very worrying. True, we must always have the right to control who comes to the UK. And we must be able to take into account what they might say if admitted. There is nothing immoral about shutting out the loud-mouthed Islamist bigot who publicly demands the end of democracy, and the subjection of everyone to some dark Sharia code. Equally, while free speech means our police must, however awkwardly, hold the ring between our own home-grown firebrands and their opponents, this does not mean we must admit any foreign rabble-rousers who want to come here and make their life even more difficult.
But that’s not really what’s going on her. Attending a demo is not the same as whipping up a frenzied mob of rioters. Speaking at the Oxford Union is hardly dangerous rabble-rousing. And it’s hard to see any harm whatsoever in allowing a venerable Finnish politician to address an obscure Northern Irish conference on religious liberty. It’s hard to avoid concluding that the Home Office has simply decided that its job description includes policing the opinions that can be heard in Britain, with a particular focus on any views that offend the lanyard class.
If the aim of these visa bans is to prevent such views gaining ground in Britain, then it’s not going to work. After all, even if a speech can’t be given in Britain, the internet means it can still be made to Britain. Indeed, trying to stop views being expressed here by publicly keeping out the person wanting to express them almost certainly gives them much more publicity than they otherwise would have got.
More to the point, it sets a dreadful example for free speech. If we believe in the free flow of intellectual discussion, there is something very odd in saying the same speech can be given at the Oxford Union by a British citizen but not a foreign commentator, or that a religious meeting should be prevented from hearing a particular view on sexual ethics if delivered by a Finn, but allowed to hear it from a Brit.
In short, it should not be the role of immigration officials to decide which temporary visitors’ views are acceptable and which aren’t. Those who come may be scumbags with views that make people sick. So be it. Let them come and speak. If you don’t like what they say, the answer is to shout it from the rooftops, not to create some genteel cordon sanitaire and enforce it with the power of the state.
Andrew Tettenborn is a professor of commercial law and a former Cambridge admissions officer.
Prominent Texas Republicans are denouncing Bo French, a Republican nominee to join the state’s railroad commission, after he made a xenophobic post describing a group of Asian American students attending a University of Texas football game as a “problem.”
French posted a photo on X of UT students celebrating in the crowd and wrote: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
Sen. John Cornyn immediately condemned the post as racist and called on other Republican officials to speak out.
“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office,” Cornyn wrote on X. “Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also rejected French’s message in a statement shared with POLITICO, saying the picture instead showed Texans united behind their college football team, which had just defeated top-ranked Ohio State.
“That is not my message,” Abbott said. “A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory-ever-actually shows a way that Texans unite. We all support our college football teams.”
“The way we win the state is the same way we win football games,” Abbott added. “We unite under the brand of Texas.”
Abbott also defended Texas’ hard-line immigration policies, saying unity “doesn’t mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H1B visas at our universities.”
Several Republican members of the Texas House also joined in the backlash. State Rep. Lacey Hull urged French to remove the post, writing: “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.”
State Rep. Jared Patterson called the post “racist” and said it demeaned students because of their race or ethnicity.
“There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin, and declaring that they are a ‘problem,’” Patterson wrote on X. “These are 20-year-old kids cheering for their university — not political props and not targets for racial attacks.”
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows similarly wrote that opposing immigration policy does not justify “demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity,” adding that French’s post has “crossed the line” and should be deleted. State Rep. Jeff Leach offered a more succinct request: “Delete this, Bo.”
But French also drew support from some Republicans who attacked Cornyn for condemning him. Former Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi accused Cornyn and other Republicans of mortgaging “our children’s future for government handouts and cheap labor,” while state Rep. Andy Hopper called Cornyn a “smug globalist” who had brought the policies at issue to Texas.
French has repeatedly engaged in inflammatory rhetoric. Earlier this year, he suggested Republicans should fear Islam and advocated for deporting 100 million people.
Representatives for French and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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