Rylan Clark has spoken about 'cancel culture' for the first time since his former colleague Scott Mills was sacked by the BBC over historical allegations of serious sexual offences. The Radio 2 star, 36, was questioned on ITV's new show The Assembly, where interviewers are autistic and neurodivergent.
When asked by an interviewer named Jacob how he copes when a celebrity friend is 'cancelled', Rylan appeared stunned before responding. He said: 'It's really tough... Especially because some of them are not just my work friends – they're genuinely, like, close friends. At the end of the day, if someone's done something wrong, then I understand why they can't carry on doing what they're doing.'
Without naming names, Rylan added: 'But I do feel today that we live in a world where people will wanna go for you and cancel you for the sake of just doing it, because they can.' He urged people to look beyond what they 'hear or read' and not be 'frightened to ask why' certain decisions are made.
Scott Mills, 53, was dismissed by the BBC earlier this year after allegations of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy were reported in 2016. Mills has stated he co-operated with the police investigation and plans to sue the BBC for unfair dismissal. Rylan, who previously presented the Eurovision Song Contest with Mills, has made no direct comment about his friend's dismissal.
Rylan's comments come amid reports that other colleagues of Mills were left 'shell-shocked' by his sacking. The Assembly also saw Rylan questioned about his ex-husband Dan Neal, whom he admitted to cheating on before their divorce.
