...And been making sexual innuendos about one of the female judges throughout his time on the show, would the public reaction have been different?

As it is, he was just deemed as a hilarious queen, pretty much. However to be honest I sort of think the public perceptions might be slightly different if it a straight male had made some of the comments he did about a woman.

For example, I have seen negative comments about Derry and his 'pulling the birds' routine, as well as the obvious Frankie comments. Just something I was thinking about, anyone else got any thoughts?

Maybe Frankie Teacosey would have been out sooner.

Don't go there.

If Johnny had been straight he'd have been written off as a creep and possible nonse and banished at audition. People would have felt very uncomfortable with Johhny. The fact that he was over-the-top camp made him bearable and even likeable. He looked stereotype camp - gay rather than just an oddball weirdo who probably lives with his old mam and has numerous solitary vices. People are generally comfortable with stereotypical camp gay performers.

Difference is that everyone involved expected that Gary wouldn't be interested, and Johnny probably isn't actually drawn to Gary himself, just camping it up. Luke/Tulisa and Derry/Kelly were distinctly more cringe-inducing to me, as claiming and probably confessing to crushes on people they'd never met. Could Johnny have gotten away with making comments of the sort he did to a woman judge? probably not. Even if say Sandi Toksvig was guesting on the panel.

Ermm... wasn't it Gary who got up on stage to give Johnny a hug?

I found Johnny totally creepy - I felt uncomfortable watching him talking and singing. And the way he played up to Gary - yuk!

Thing was Johnny was a 'comedy gay'. Unthreatening, funny and harmless.

Again, it's not what you say it's how it is said, in what context and who says it.

By the way Sharon 'slimy' Osbourne often made dodgy remarks to young good looking male contestants. She got away with it somehow.

I may be remembering it wrong but did she say to a teenage contestant something about wanting to rub her hands over his chest?

It might take me a while to find the clip. Does anyone remember the occasion?

I disagree with this.

Sure, it was Shayne Ward. She used to make hand movements as if she was fondling his chest.

Imagine Louis or Simon doing that to Leona a year later.

I agree it's a bit cringey of Sharon to do it, but it wasn't offensive. Had Simon or Louis ever done it - whoooaaa!

Are you going to elaborate why?

I said further up this thread that I find him totally creepy - just feel uncomfortable watching him speak and sing. I'm not homophobic by the way - some of the loveliest people I know are gay. But everything about Johnny just makes my skin crawl.

However from comments about him on this forum I accept that I am probably in the minority. But we all have different opinions

It might be more about you and your own feelings than to do with Johnny then. And I say that without sarcasm or spite by the way. I have felt like that about older gay men but my opinion changed as I grew older.

I am genuinely interested in why you don't think it was offensive.

I remember being really disgusted at the time. It was what finally put me off her for good.

Seriously, why do you believe it is okay for an old woman like Sharon Osbourne to slime up to a young man but not vice versa?

I'm 47 so hardly a spring chicken. And as I said, some of the loveliest people I know are gay. In fact a couple of years ago the sister of one of the males said that he and I would be an ideal couple if he was straight!

Simon has been suggestive with some female contestants - Ruth Lorenzo, for instance, who looked a lot like his endless stream of clones/exs.

Louis wouldn't say anything like that though, for obvious reasons - he's as gay as a baton twirling flamingo.

i found the remarks to be a bit crass to be honest

nothing against a bit of harmless banter, but it was just tedious 2nd rate sexual innuendo

LOLOL frankie cokeupthenozza

um na i loved johnny, and i think he was so popular because he was what he was... i didnt think much of his inuendos to be honest, let them pass me by

I doesn't require much analysis. You may as well ask why are Loose Woman allowed to be sexist and a similar programme about men would not be (in this day and age).

Why in an advert about chocolate are women allowed to put two sleeping men in a sexual and compromising position and if the roles were reversed it would be shocking.

I don't have the answer but it does not offend me. It should but it doesn't.

Maybe in the 70s when only gay role models were Larry Grayson and John Inman I could understand how a gay man might be confused about what sort of image or personality to project.
However, today I'm quite baffled why Johnny (or anyone) would find it necessary to act like a a character from a Carry-On film. Maybe that's just who he is? All I can say is that I suspect that I was not alone in finding him quite irritating.

The point about Johnny was that he was being criticised by Barlow. He needed a good comeback and so he naturally drew on his stock of gay jokes.

Barlow: It was a pantomime, it was like watching Aladdin
Johnny: You can rub my lamp any time!

That's a brilliant put down and it was perfectly justified in the face of Barlow's crass criticism. The young kids watching the program wouldn't understand it either.

You're not on your own, I felt the same.

That was one of the highlights of this years series.

What do you mean "if"?

Has Johnny ever confirmed he is gay?