Australians have known and loved Shane Jenek, who performs as drag queen, Courtney Act, ever since the early days of Australian Idol.
Then in 2014, Jenek/Act captured an international audience on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Over the weekend, Jenek was announced as the winner of the UK's celebrity edition of Big Brother. And needless to say, people were absolutely bloody thrilled.
Drag queens winning Drag Race is annual. A drag queen winning Big Brother is historical.
CONGRATULATIONS @courtneyact @bbuk #CBB Intelligence, beauty, forward thinking, and acceptance. You are an amazin… https://t.co/vXHHyN0WRP
Faith in humanity restored. @courtneyact you did all us fancy queers and queens and snowflakes so goddamn proud 😘 #CBB
YAAAAAASSSSS @courtneyact crowned queen finally!! The public voted right and voted for not just courtney but for eq… https://t.co/bcdZ533pMT
I’ve never quite had the level of respect or praise for any #CBB housemate as I do Shane/Courtney. He represents wh… https://t.co/Q6adxYGCnN
Jenek was applauded for his candid way of discussing sexuality and gender fluidity while on the show.
THIS is why visibility, open discussion, representation, challenging people & sticking to your beliefs are importan… https://t.co/vmYP0Uorzd
"[Courtney] is more than an act. She's part of my gender expression. I used to think Courtney was just an act, but that was because I felt uncomfortable, I thought it was wrong," Jenek explained to his fellow housemates in an episode.
"I used to think there was something wrong with admitting that you enjoy dressing as a woman. And now I'm like 'oh, I actually really love it!'."
Jenek was also praised for the empathetic conversation he had with India Willoughby regarding gender identity.
.@IndiaWilloughby and Shane J @courtneyact get to the bottom of the gender debate. Don't miss tonight's #CBB, 9pm… https://t.co/V8NpVq3KhY
Willoughby made history as the first transgender woman to read the news in Britain. Willoughby faced being misgendered in the house, and told Jenek at one point she felt drag queens made life more difficult for trans women.
People were quick to highlight how important the conversation was, and how the situation was handled in an eloquent way.
We need more televised conversations and debates like this because that's how we change hearts and minds. https://t.co/V5edlXPG7K
@bbuk thank you @courtneyact for always being so well-spoken & sweet, for taking time to explain these things and e… https://t.co/yndRVdU7SD
Congrats!
