X Factor star recalls moment Dannii Minogue addressed his sexuality live on air
X Factor star Danyl Johnson has reflected on the moment Dannii Minogue discussed his sexuality live on the TV programme in 2009.
Long-standing LGBTQ ally Dannii was a judge on series six of the hit ITV show, which was eventually won by Joe McElderry.
The ‘Put the Needle On It’ singer made an infamous reference to pronouns after Danyl’s performance of Jennifer Holliday’s ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’.
“If we’re to believe everything we read in the paper, maybe you didn’t need to change the gender reference in it,” Dannii told the then-27-year-old to stunned silence from he studio audience.
It moment meant Danyl felt he “didn’t have a choice” put to then come out publicly.
“She apologised more times than you could ever imagine” – Danyl on Dannii
Discussing the moment on a recent podcast interview with All Out with Jon Dean, the 42-year-old said he had forgiven Dannii for the cringe-inducing moment.
“[Judge Simon Cowell] was fricking furious about this whole situation with Dannii,” he said. “It was 15 years ago, she apologised more times than you could ever imagine. It’s done and dusted.”
He then pointed out that there is no “gayer way to be outed on national TV than by a Minogue”.
No matter how many times I watch this video I am still stunned like where did she think she was going with this 😭 pic.twitter.com/NRl9odI4OI
— Blue Aloud (@bluealoud) September 29, 2024
Danyl went on: “If I don’t forgive her, what’s the point of her apologising? [Should you] never apologise ever again then? That’s what happens. So you have to accept people’s apologies so they’re worth something.”
At the time of the controversy, Dannii offered “sincere apologies” for the gaffe. “I made a comment about Danyl changing the lyrics of his song,” the star said. “It was meant to be a humorous moment about the fact he has an opportunity to have fun with his song.”
Dannii explained how “Danyl and I were joking about the very same thing in rehearsals on Friday, so it carried on to the show. I’d like to apologise to anyone that was offended by my comments, it was never my intention”.
Like her sister Kylie, Dannii is a long-time friend of the LGBTQ community. The star, known for hits like ‘I Begin To Wonder’ and ‘All I Wanna Do’, now fronts the same-sex BBC dating shows I Kissed a Boy and I Kissed a Girl.
“She was just trying to be funny”
On the podcast, Danyl offered further context, saying: “Dannii wasn’t just making things up, it was written in the paper. She was just trying to be funny.”
He added: “The reason why I know Dannii didn’t mean it is because, like a child, when they swear and you go ‘What did you say’, they say ‘Um nothing’. She said it word for word. She missed what was funny. Some people are just not funny… And it just went crazy.”
Danyl eventually finished fourth on the show, with Olly Murs finishing in second place.
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