ITV2 viewers witnessed 50-year-old Farida ask a number of questions to Hallie, 18, about her transition journey during Tuesday's episode of Big Brother.
Hallie, who openly shared with her housemates that she was trans during their first morning in the house, had said prior to the chat with Farida that she was open to discussing her journey should any cast mates have any questions.
Taking part in a task in Tuesday's episode where contestants were tasked with staying on a bed for as long as possible, Farida took the opportunity to try and educate herself on the topic of trans issues.
"Can I ask you a few questions, I'm not being rude, I just want educating," Farida prefaced her enquiry. "You know when you get into relationships-"
"I've never been in one," Hallie cut her off before Farida continued: "I know you said you've never been in one but imagine you did, right, so you know the men that are attracted to you...
"Would they be classed as gay?" she asked, which prompted Hallie to reply: "I'm a woman. I don't see them as gay, I see them as liking a woman.
WATCH HERE: Big Brother contestant Hallie enters house
"There's different types of sexualities - I just think, nowadays, people don't like putting labels on things. They just like what they like. But at the end of the day, I am a woman.
"So if a guy was to get with me and be gay, that's calling me a man, do you know what I mean?" Hallie answered.
Hallie and Farida then discussed when the 18-year-old would be ready to enter a sexual relationship, with the teenager admitting she wouldn't until she's "fully transitioned".
The conversation was praised by a number of fans, with several branding Hallie "mature" for her response to Farida's line of questioning, but things soon took a turn for viewers when the 18-year-old discussed the conversation with a handful of her other housemates.
"When she said to me, 'If a man was to be with you would that make them gay?', when she said that to me, I was like, 'No because then that would be calling me a man if they're gay! I am a woman, they're not gay if they like me, I'm a woman.' She was all confused," she said to her cast mates.
After some branded the conversation "frustrating", Hallie agreed: "It was, because usually, that's when I'm like, 'Okay, you need to chill out babe!'"
Despite expressing her frustration to other housemates, when Hallie came face to face with Farida later in the day, she claimed she "didn't take offence" and "tried not to jump to conclusions".
The reaction to Farida's probes by her housemates led to a number of ITV2 viewers rushing to her defence, insisting she wasn't trying to be "disrespectful".
One fan fumed at the fallout on X, formerly known as Twitter: "I don’t think it’s fair to spread hate about Farida. The point of Big Brother is for ALL walks of life and to have discussions about things they wouldn’t usually discuss. It’s a social experiment. She got educated and it ended on a positive note #bbuk."
Meanwhile, another said: "I'm sorry, it might have been clumsy or not well articulated but it was pretty obvious Farida meant no offence by those questions. #BBUK."
A third weighed in: "Sorry, Hallie #BBUK - she says to housemates that she's happy to explain her journey as a transgender woman, yet when Farida genuinely wants to learn and asks her questions with care you - behind her back - s**t on her because... she doesn't understand and wants to? #BBLL."
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Farida asked Hallie a number of questions
ITV
And a fourth also was perturbed by the treatment of Farida following the chat: "I do think Hallie handled herself in the conversation so well! She gave a lot of grace in the moment. I just wish she didn’t present the convo to others as if Farida was asking those questions with ill-intent."
Elsewhere, a fifth agreed: "Very awkward convo, but I don't see any ill intent in Farida asking Hallie questions she clearly stated she'd like to be educated and Hallie said she was open to discussing it!"
A sixth concurred: "#Hallie making an inordinate fuss over a simple, innocent question from #Farida. The intolerance of 'tolerance'. #BBUK."
There was still plenty of support for Hallie, however, despite her reaction to Farida's line of questioning.
"Fair play to Hallie for answering Farida’s barrage of questions in such a mature and calm manner #BBUK," one said while a separate viewer added: "So much respect to hallie for having a mature convo with farida and not go off at someone who’s trying to learn but saying the wrong thing #bbuk." (sic)
It's not the first time the Big Brother reboot has come under in the past few days following its launch on Sunday.
A number of viewers ended up "switching off" the series altogether due to the "woke" discussions taking place within minutes of the first episode.
