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Former 'X Factor' winner Steve Brookstein 'jokes' that '5G gives you AIDS' - Attitude Skip to main content
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Home Culture Culture Film & TV

14 April 2020

Former ‘X Factor’ winner Steve Brookstein ‘jokes’ that ‘5G gives you AIDS’

'The X Factor' star-turned-Twitter troll was siding with Eamonn Holmes when he decided to bring HIV/AIDS into the conversation.

By Tim Heap

Steve Brookstein, who won the first series of The X Factor in 2004, has “jokingly” claimed on Twitter that he believes 5G technology can give people AIDS.

Brookstein, who’s made more of a name for himself for his often-controversial and offensive Twitter tirades than for his singing success, made the bizarre comment in relation to This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes bringing up a conspiracy theory that claims there’s a link between coronavirus and 5G.

In response to a viewer tweeting ITV criticising the programme for allowing potentially harmful conspiracy theories to be given a platform on national TV, Brookstein replied, “He’s allowed to have that opinion.”

He was then challenged on this by a different user, Michael Goodeve, who said that “people can think what they like” but “if someone with a huge audience is broadcasting their unsubstantiated opinions with nobody to counterbalance it, that’s not OK”.

Brookstein then suggested that Holmes was giving balance, to which Goodeve replied, “Balance to….unsubstantiated nonsense”.

“And that is fine,” tweeted Brookstein. “Personally, I think 5G gives you AIDS.”

When Goodeve pointed out that his ‘joke’ might not be seen as funny by the LGBTQ community, tagging Terrence Higgins Trust, Brookstein shot back, “Who gives a fuck?”

It’s not the first time Brookstein has used HIV in a failed attempt at humour. In 2015, he compared a gaffe made live on air by Olly Murs to a HIV diagnosis.

Murs had accidentally revealed the act who had received the lowest amount of votes that week too early.

Attempting to poke fun at the situation, Brookstein tweeted, “Dr Murs, ‘Sorry you have HIV, actually no, sorry I’m wrong. You haven’t. My mistake. Hold on, yes, sorry you have HIV. Sorry’”.

Facing a backlash for the tweet, he said that people who had been offended were “fucking stupid”.

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