royal family

Kate Middleton’s Uncle Has Gone Rogue

Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images

In a week filled with cryptic news about Kate Middleton, a development even weirder than BBL conspiracy theories has emerged: Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith is wreaking havoc on the 23rd season of Celebrity Big Brother U.K.

Goldsmith, who’s known as an IT-recruitment entrepreneur in England, has referred to himself as the “black sheep” of his family, and based on the sizzle reel Big Brother released this week, he is still leaning into that. “I often read that people think I’m a bit of a bad boy,” he said between several cheeky winks. “It’d be lovely to put the record straight, but winding people up is probably my favorite hobby.” Alongside clips of him shaking his butt around and performing a jarring dab, he added that he is “riddled with mischief and danger” and is also “an absolute nightmare to live with.” “There’s a reason why I’ve had four wives,” he quipped before concluding with a sudden “Ka-kaw!”

Goldsmith didn’t specify what he wants to “set the record straight” about, but there are a lot of options. A few years before Kate and William’s wedding, an undercover reporter released footage of Goldsmith ostensibly cutting lines of cocaine at his villa in Ibiza, which was apparently called the Maison de Bang Bang. He made headlines again in 2017 after he was arrested for assaulting his fourth and current wife, Julie-Ann Goldsmith, outside their home in London. Prosecutors said Goldsmith had called her “a nothing and whore” in a taxi ride on the way home, and then, after she slapped him in the face, he punched her, causing her to fall and hit her head. Goldsmith pleaded guilty and was fined £5,000 along with a year of community service and mandatory rehabilitation.

Already, Goldsmith has managed to bring what seems to be a similar attitude to Big Brother — during this week’s season premiere, he claimed Meghan Markle put “a stick in the spokes” of the Sussex family dynamic when she married Prince Harry. He was also accused of fat-shaming one of the other contestants, referring to himself as “not the big lad in the room.”

If this turn of events weren’t insane enough, Goldsmith is also sharing a house with Love Island alum Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, who did us all the noble service of confronting him about his niece’s mysterious absence. In Wednesday’s episode, Cülcüloğlu said to Goldsmith point-blank, and seemingly out of nowhere, “Can I ask you a question? Where’s Kate?” After some hesitation and mention of a “code of etiquette,” Goldsmith told her, “If it’s announced, I’ll give you an opinion.” He added that he’s in touch with Kate’s mother, his sister, and knows “she’s getting the best care in the world.”

Though Goldsmith technically seems to be toeing the palace line, British tabloids are anticipating a royal meltdown over his presence on the show — and the fact that he is already fielding questions on Kate’s very secretive situation does not bode well. I guess Markle is not the only royal with PR-nightmare relatives?

Kate Middleton’s Uncle Has Gone Rogue