Evander Holyfield reprimanded for saying being gay can be 'fixed'

LONDON (AP) — Former world heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield has been reprimanded by the bosses of a British reality TV show for saying being gay “ain’t normal.”

Holyfield compared being homosexual to being born with a deformed leg, saying “you go to a doctor and get it fixed back right.” He also said it was “a choice” to be gay.

The 50-year-old American made the comments during a conversation with a fellow contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in an episode that was aired Sunday in Britain.

Program officials told Holyfield these “aren’t the views that are held by a large section of society, and expressing these views will be extremely offensive to many people.”

Holyfield was warned to “consider very carefully the effects expressing such views may have.”