(JTA) — A British actor who was removed from that country’s “Celebrity Big Brother” has apologized for a Holocaust joke directed at a Jewish contestant and said that he will visit Auschwitz during a visit to Poland.
Christopher Biggins was removed from the popular reality television show on Friday after three warnings about tasteless remarks about bisexuals and the Holocaust, according to British news reports.
During his time on the program, Biggins, who is homosexual and has a civil union with a same-sex partner, blamed bisexuals for the spread of AIDS.
Britain’s Channel 5 also released the footage of an incident from last Monday for which he was also reprimanded.
Biggins said to fellow housemate Katie Waissel, who is Jewish, while she was waiting to use the bathroom in the Big Brother house: “You better be careful or they’ll be putting you in a shower and taking you to a room.”
He later admitted in interviews that he was referring to the Nazi gas chambers.
He said he apologized to Waissel and “Big Brother” for the”trite, ridiculous remark.”
He and his partner are scheduled to visit Poland in October.
“Before I went into the house, my partner Neil (Sinclair) and I were talking about it because we just feel the whole scenario of the Jewish annihilation is so horrific that we wanted to experience it for ourselves. We’re going for five days in October. I’m really looking forward to it. Especially now after this incident,” he told the British newspaper The Sun.
