Controversies are nothing new for Big Brother.
The show has been criticized for racism and discrimination over the years, making major waves with an incident that occurred in season 15. During the 2013 season, Aaryn Gries referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black roommate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and asked her Korean housemate Helen Kim to “go make some rice.”
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GinaMarie Zimmerman and Spencer Clawson were also accused of insensitive comments during the season, so much so that host Julie Chen Moonves spoke about it on The Talk.
“I took it personally,” the host said at the time. The really sad part was it took me back to the ’70s when I was growing up in Queens, when I was 7, being bullied … Then I felt ignorant. There are still people who feel that way? Yes, there is.”
Scroll through the gallery below for some of the biggest controversies from the show.
Credit: CBS
Controversies are nothing new for Big Brother. The show has been criticized for racism and discrimination over the years, making major waves with an incident that occurred in season 15. During the 2013 season, Aaryn Gries referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black roommate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and asked her Korean housemate Helen Kim to “go make some rice.” GinaMarie Zimmerman and Spencer Clawson were also accused of insensitive comments during the season, so much so that host Julie Chen Moonves spoke about it on The Talk. “I took it personally,” the host said at the time. The really sad part was it took me back to the ’70s when I was growing up in Queens, when I was 7, being bullied … Then I felt ignorant. There are still people who feel that way? Yes, there is.” Scroll through the gallery below for some of the biggest controversies from the show.
Credit: CBS
Controversies are nothing new for Big Brother. The show has been criticized for racism and discrimination over the years, making major waves with an incident that occurred in season 15. During the 2013 season, Aaryn Gries referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black roommate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and asked her Korean housemate Helen Kim to “go make some rice.” GinaMarie Zimmerman and Spencer Clawson were also accused of insensitive comments during the season, so much so that host Julie Chen Moonves spoke about it on The Talk. “I took it personally,” the host said at the time. The really sad part was it took me back to the ’70s when I was growing up in Queens, when I was 7, being bullied … Then I felt ignorant. There are still people who feel that way? Yes, there is.” Scroll through the gallery below for some of the biggest controversies from the show.
Credit: Photo by Matthew Taplinger/CBS via Getty Images
Live feed viewers grew concerned as Rylie’s showmance with Katherine Woodman began to appear controlling and, at times, verbally abusive. Though the incidents were not shown in the episodes, feeders saw Rylie attempt to pressure Katherine to sleep in the same bed as him, chastise her for not wanting to kiss him and tell her, “I’m being with you outside of this, whether you like it or not.”
Rylie defended his actions in the days after his eviction, saying they “always come from a place of care and loyalty, not control.”
“I understand how things may have come across, but I speak with passion,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I love with my whole heart, and maybe that intensity was misunderstood. I would never intentionally disrespect anyone, especially Katherine.”
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
Jared called fellow houseguest America Lopez the R-word during an August 2023 conversation with his allies that was captured on the live feeds. After the clip began circulating online, fans took to social media to call for Jared’s removal from the game, citing CBS’ zero-tolerance policy for hate speech directed at specific groups of people.
Jared later told Cory Wurtenberger — who is in a showmance with America — that he “slipped up” by using the slur. “I don’t think she’s the R-word,” he said, per social media recordings. “Obviously, I was angry about it [and] I’m willing to admit that.”
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2023 CBS
After Luke used the N-word during a week one conversation with fellow houseguests Cory, Hisam Goueli and Jared in August 2023, Big Brother fans called for his removal from the game.
Big Brother 15 winner Andy Herren was among those who voiced his support for Luke’s expulsion.
“Production should remove Luke. Set an example. Show current and future players that language like that will not be tolerated. #BB25,” Andy wrote via Twitter on August 9.
Later that Day, CBS announced that Luke had been expelled from the game, marking the first time a Big Brother contestant was removed for racially charged language.
“Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur,” the network said in a statement to Us Weekly. “He has been removed from the house. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
Andy subsequently celebrated the decision via Twitter.
“YEARS of problematic behavior and language in the Big Brother house going unpunished led to fans and former houseguests speaking up, and today CBS *finally* listened and did the right thing instead of covering it up. This is huge and will change things moving forward! #BB25,” he wrote.
Credit: CBS
The hashtag #StopProtectingKyle began trending on social media in August 2022 as Big Brother viewers felt that CBS was editing out the TikTok influencer’s comments about race on the live feeds.
“I’m sorry, but after the Cookout uniting under one common cause, which was race … it has to play into my thought process moving forward in the game,” Kyle told fellow contestants Michael Bruner and Brittany Hoopes, referring to the all-Black Cookout alliance that made it to the final six together during season 23.
Michael and Brittany later told the other houseguests about Kyle’s comments, leading Matt Turner to nominate him for eviction despite previously making a final two deal with the Utah native.
Before being unanimously voted out of the house, Kyle had difficult conversations with the other contestants, acknowledging his alleged unconscious racial bias.
“At the time, it didn’t click in my mind. … I now realize how terrible that was, and I should have realized it from the start,” the social media influencer told Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves of his comments after his eviction. “I apologize to everyone watching, and everyone in the house.”
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS
After fans took note of several season 24 houseguests targeting contestant Taylor Hale, season 23 winner Xavier Prather showed his support for the reality star outside the house. “The treatment of Taylor in #BB24 is a prime example of why The Cookout was formed,” the Challenge: USA contestant tweeted in July 2022, referring to the all-Black alliance he helped build during his season. “Members of the black community (especially black women) and other people of color stand no chance in the Big Brother House due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society.”
The TV personality continued: “I acknowledge my shortcomings during my time on Big Brother and can’t help but feel partially responsible for some of the reprehensible behavior I see being exhibited by current houseguests who consider me one of their ‘favorites.’ For that, I’d like to apologize for being an accessory to any ongoing issues.”
Credit: CBS
The jewelry designer raised eyebrows when he offered to self-evict to help his housemates Da’Vonne Rogers and Bayleigh Dayton amid the Black Lives Matter movement but then changed his mind. Crispen later had a chance to clear the air with Rogers during an emotional conversation in the jury house, telling her, “I understood after a little bit that [you] might think that was strategy. … I felt so terrible.”
Credit: CBS
The Big Brother: All-Stars castmates received heat on social media for mocking their costar Ian Terry, who revealed earlier in the season that he is on the autism spectrum. “I can’t even look at him sometimes because [of] his constant movement. It stresses me out,” Briones said. Garrett, meanwhile, compared Terry’s demeanor to a horror movie and joked about having nightmares of the season 14 winner standing over him. Franzel laughed at Garrett’s remark, which ultimately cost her sponsorships with Olay and the Washington-based winery Chateau Ste. Michelle. After the season ended, Briones apologized to Terry via Twitter, writing in part, “I don’t see Ian as different, I see him as an equal or even as someone who is above me as he has an intelligence that I cannot completely grasp on his level.”
Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS
Matthews came under fire for making comments that live-feed viewers deemed racist and aggressive. He told his alliance members that he wanted to “stomp a mud hole through [Kemi Fakunle’s] chest.” The fitness trainer also called Fakunle “disgusting” and a “maggot,” in addition to reprimanding her for leaving her shaker bottle in the fridge. Later in the season, he referred to Isabella Wang, who is Asian American, as “rice pudding.” In a statement to Us, CBS and Big Brother producers said, “There is absolutely no truth that the casting of the show is racially motivated, that the houseguests’ behavior is predetermined or that the outcome is controlled in any way.” Chen grilled Matthews about his comments after his eviction later in the season. He apologized to Fakunle and denied his “rice pudding” remark had anything “to do with [Wang’s] ethnicity.”
Credit: CBS
Monduix was accused of sexual harassment on social media after he used an ice cream scooper on the genitals of fellow houseguests including Kaitlyn Herman. He also instructed Kaycee Clark to “open up” her vagina, saying it “feels good.” Later in the season, he created controversy again when he used the N-word during a conversation with Bayleigh Dayton and asked Rachel Swindler whether she was transgender. He made headlines again when he made light of the #MeToo movement, prompting his housemates to call him out. He was accused of misconduct again after he was spotted on the live feeds lying in bed with Tyler Crispin, touching his face and arms and kissing his armpit while Tyler was asleep.
Credit: CBS
Swindler and Rummans made controversial comments about their skin tones. Swindler compared her tan to her Black roommate Bayleigh Dayton (“My stomach is as dark as Bay”), to which Rummans replied, “I’m looking ghetto here with the skin coloration.” CBS said in a statement to Us Weekly that “those involved have been warned about their inappropriate behavior and offensive comments, as well as future consequences.”
Credit: CBS
Herman faced backlash for two separate incidents: using the N-word while quoting Drake’s “0 to 100” and flirting with Tyler Crispen, Brett Robinson and Faysal Shafaat. Her boyfriend back home, Joe Pincus (a.k.a. Aire Atlantica), later tweeted that he asked CBS to pull his “show release,” meaning he could no longer be mentioned on air. The network also blurred a framed photo of Pincus in Herman’s HOH bedroom. In response, CBS released a statement that said in part: “Big Brother is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 — and capturing every unfiltered moment and conversation in their lives. At times, the houseguests reveal prejudices and exhibit behavior that we do not condone.”
Credit: CBS
Abrahamian applied Black facial cosmetics while targeting his Black housemate Dominique Cooper for eviction. He referred to his makeup as “blackface.” His mom later told TMZ that he is not racist and was simply poking fun at Cooper.
Credit: CBS
Dent made a disturbing joke about raping the wife of his housemate Kevin Schlehuber after tying up “all your daughters” and making them “f–king watch.” Kevin’s wife, Deborah, told TMZ that the comments were “the worst thing” she’s ever heard. Dent also joked about raping women at a nursing home.
Credit: CBS
Eudy groped Da’Vonne Rogers’ butt without consent and called her a “slut.” She broke down in tears in the diary room and responded: “I don’t want my daughter to see that and think it’s OK for guys to hit girls on their butts and guys to call girls sluts.”
Credit: CBS
Gries was condemned by viewers and host Julie Chen for her racist and homophobic remarks. She referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black housemate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and told Korean houseguest Helen Kim to “go make some rice.” Zimmerman and Clawson also came under fire for their bigoted comments, with Clawson once praising Adolf Hitler’s speaking abilities. Chen spoke out against the racism in the house on her CBS show The Talk: “I took it personally. The really sad part was it took me back to the ‘70s when I was growing up in Queens, when I was 7 being bullied and being called a ‘chink.’”
Credit: CBS
Hartz was expelled from the house for throwing food at houseguests, calling them names and head-butting Joe Arvin.
Credit: CBS
Schroeder was appalled when his fellow houseguests told him that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling considered Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore to be gay. “I don’t think it’s the right thing to have a little kids’ book and have the headmaster that you’re locked away with in a magical land be gay,” he said. Schroeder then accused housemate Kalia Booker of being politically correct for TV when she defended the fictional character.
Credit: CBS
Bacha made multiple racist and derogatory comments toward houseguests Kevin Campbell and Lydia Tavera during an argument that CBS edited during the first live-eviction show. He later told Reality TV World, “It was out of no malice whatsoever.”
Credit: CBS
Jasinski told his fellow houseguests that he worked for an autism foundation and planned to spend his potential winnings on a hair salon “so retards can get it together and get their hair done.” After winning the season, Jasinski pledged to donate $100,000 to Autism United. He was subsequently fired from his job.
Credit: CBS
Siyavus faced widespread backlash for calling Jewish people “bad” and claiming, “You can tell by their last name, you can tell by their nose.”
Credit: CBS
Sebik was expelled from the game for holding a knife to his intoxicated housemate Krista Stegall’s throat.
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