Twelve years have passed since the summer of 2013, whenone of the most controversialBig Brotherseasons of all time aired and changed things for the houseguests forever. The success ofBig Brotheras a franchise has always been a spectrum. Casual viewers, who don’t typically partake in online discourse or live feeds, watch episodes when they’re able to.
Casual viewers enjoy specific styles of gameplay, twists, and players thatdon’t always necessitate the same level of intensity as aBig Brothersuperfan. The more intense viewership, superfans, watchBig Brotherepisodes but are more actively involved with the live feeds, a unique piece of theBBenvironment. While superfans enjoy the show, they’re often critical of gameplay.
While it’s common knowledge thatBig Brotherfeatures 24-hour live feedsthat show off the houseguests non-stop, revealing parts of the game that could never fit into an episode, their history is often swept under the rug. During the summer of 2013, withBig Brother15 airing an intense season, the live feeds became one of the most publicly discussed, shameful parts of the game.
Big Brother15 featured brand-new houseguests who were hopeful to get a chance to play the popular game, but when a group of those houseguests engaged in some inexplicably inappropriate behavior shown on the live feeds, the show became part of a much larger cultural conversation. Now,Big Brother15’s become a marker of a significant shift in the show’s history.
Big Brother 15 Featured A Group Of Houseguests Who Became Controversial
Their Behavior Wasn’t Acceptable On Or Off Screen
AlthoughBig Brotherwas always known to feature people from all walks of life and, in the past, frequently featured segments where houseguests of different races, religions, and sexualities clashed because of their belief systems,BB15 changed the game entirely. A group of houseguests, notably including Aaryn Gries, GinaMarie Zimmerman, Spencer Clawson, and Amanda Zuckerman, were consistently insensitive, some more loudly than others.
Aaryn went into the game with a modeling contract that she lost due to her consistent racist and homophobic remarks against houseguests like Helen Kim, Candice Stewart, andAndy Herren, who won the season. While Aaryn’s remarks were the most publicized, others in the house got in on the hateful commentary throughout the game.Their poor behavior put a media spotlight on the long-running series.
While the majority of the comments made throughoutBig Brother15 weren’t aired on the weekly episodes, live feed viewers were appalled at the way Aaryn was speaking about and to her fellow houseguests. Some, likeBig Brotherwinner Rachel Reilly’syounger sister, Elissa Slater, were bold enough to stand up to Aaryn, while others stood by while she consistently spoke ill of others.
Big Brother Host Julie Chen Spoke Out About The Massive Controversy
As the media attention surroundingBig Brother15 swirled outside the house, the houseguests were sequestered within the house walls and had no idea what was happening in the court of public opinion. With CBS facing backlash against their decisions to cast houseguests who were using bigoted language,news outlets discussed the developments in the house almost daily, and viewers chimed in consistently.
Big Brotherhad faced backlash for their choices in houseguests before, but with viewers watching Aaryn and the rest of the cast on live feeds,it was clear that their behavior wasn’t a one-time instance. Instead, the group isolated the cast members of minority in many situations, targeting them and creating hateful tension that ran rampant throughout the contentious season.
WhenAaryn was evicted during week 9, she was met with boo’s as she walked out onto theBig Brotherstage and a difficult interview with host Julie to get through. Julie herself, who was on the panel of CBS’The Talkat the time, read back many of Aaryn’s remarks, presented to her plainly. Embarrassed, Aaryn scrambled to answer for her behavior, but struggled.
CBS Issued Statements & Added Warnings To The BB Live Feeds
The Controversy Changed The Feeds Forever
As the season aired and the backlash remained consistent,CBS' higher-ups understood that it was their responsibility to make it clear that the views the houseguests were sharing on the live feeds weren’t beliefs they condoned. As a network, CBS tends to be more conservative, but the bigotry displayed throughout the season wasn’t something they felt compelled or interested in defending.
Putting out statements, CBS alsoworked withBig Brotherproducers to develop a blanket statement that would change the live feed viewing experience forever. Rather than having another full-blown PR crisis again,BBbegan showing a warning message each time viewers logged into the live feeds page. This warning, explaining that the houseguests may express views that are not shared by the network, is infamous.
According to a statement issued toThe Hollywood Reporter, CBS shared"at times, the houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone,“and added a similar warning to air before episodes ofBB15.The live feeds have, sinceBig Brother15, featured a warning messageprior to viewers getting the chance to see what the houseguests are doing.
Backlash Against BB Houseguests For Insensitive Remarks Is Taken Seriously
Things Have Changed Completely With The Show’s Outlook
WhileBig Brother15 was a difficult season that revealed the prejudices of several houseguests, it quickly became clear that viewers weren’t going to stop watching the show due to a specific group’s ignorant and hateful commentary. Instead, in the past decade, viewers have spoken up more about hate within theBBhouse. Now,racist language isn’t tolerated fromBBhouseguests.
As the houseguests have moved through the current seasons, they’ve received warnings and rules regarding the type of language that they’re explicitly not allowed to use in the house. Now,if a houseguest uses bigoted language, they’re removed from the game. Most notably,Luke Valentine fromBig Brother25’s castwas removed in the first days ofBig Brotherfor using a slur.
AlthoughBig Brother15 had notable moments of gameplay and its winner, Andy, had a top-tier social strategy to move through the competition,it’s most known for the culture shift that came from some of its most hateful houseguests. AsBig Brother’sbecome more modern and embraced the idea of punishing poor behavior,BB15’s gone down in history for encouraging the change.
Big Brotherairs Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Sundays at 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.
