TORONTO — The U.S. network behind Big Brother is distancing itself from racist, sexist and homophobic comments made by some of this season’s houseguests.
“Big Brother is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 — and seeing every moment of their lives,” CBS explained in a statement. “At times, the houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone.”
Fans are hearing the remarks while watching the online live feed from inside the Big Brother house. None have been broadcast on television.
GinaMarie Zimmerman, a 32-year-old pageant coordinator from New York, was caught whispering the N-word and said of African-American houseguests Howard Overby and Candice Stewart: “You know two blacks stick together. They’re like tokens.”
Zimmerman also suggested Helen Kim, who is Asian-American, serve the houseguests rice — a comment echoed by Aaryn Gries, a 22-year-old college student from Texas.
Gries was also heard using anti-gay slurs while talking about houseguest Andy Herren, who is openly gay. Spencer Clawson, a 31-year-old railroad conductor from Arkansas, referred to Herren as “Kermit the f**.”
Jeremy McGuire, a 23-year-old boat shop associate from Texas, repeatedly refers to female houseguests in derogatory terms and was overheard talking to houseguest David Girton in a crude way about a part of Kaitlin Barnaby’s anatomy.
The CBS statement said: “We certainly find the statements made by several of the houseguests on the live Internet feed to be offensive,” it said. “Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a houseguest appearing on Big Brother, either on any live feed from the House or during the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program.”
Ragan Fox, a Big Brother 12 competitor, posted an open letter to the show’s producers urging them to show “how some straight, white people talk about gays, Asian-Americans and African-Americans.”
“What’s the point of casting racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities if production’s going to edit out the racism, ethnic discrimination, and homophobia that these people encounter inside the house?,” he wrote. “Moreover, why do historically marginalized players have the exclusive burden of narrating past acts of racial, ethnic, and sexual brutalization when we see this sort of discrimination enacted INSIDE THE HOUSE?”
In Canada, Big Brother airs on Global.
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