Controversy and criticism of Big Brother (U.S.)

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Since its beginning in 2000, the concept and implementation of the American reality television show Big Brother has regularly been the subject of controversy and criticism among the American public and news media, including reports of "HIB" (harassment, intimidation, and bullying).

Big Brother 1

Copyright Infringement

After the premiere of the first season Chicago attorney Marvin Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against CBS, then corporate parent Viacom, and the production company Orwell Productions for alleged copyright infringement. Rosenblum, a producer of the film 1984, owns the film and TV rights to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and claimed the show "illegally borrows from it."[1] Rosenblum accused the network of illegally using the Big Brother moniker from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and "deceiving the public into thinking the author's classic novel was the origin of the show." CBS, Viacom, and Orwell Productions filed a motion to dismiss the $20 million lawsuit.[2] The dismissal was denied on January 4, 2001. In 2001 Rosenblum, CBS and Viacom settled the lawsuit under undisclosed terms.[3]

Big Brother 2

Violence in the house

Season 2 HouseGuest Justin Sebik was expelled on Day 10 for breaking Big Brother rules. Justin threatened his fellow HouseGuests with physical violence and intimidation, a violation of one of the most serious House rules.

Julie Chen, host of Big Brother, explained that Justin was given an official warning that such behavior was not appropriate in the Big Brother house. Justin repeated the warning, proving that he understood the rule. His behavior included destruction of house property, culminating in a final incident during which he and Krista were kissing on the kitchen table. He picked up a metal carpet sweeper and asked her, "Would you get mad if I cracked you over the head with this?" He swung the carpet sweeper towards Krista but put it down and kissed her. He walked away from her in the kitchen and asked, "Would you get mad if I killed you?" He then picked up a large knife, returned to Krista and, while they kissed, placed the knife against her throat. He briefly took the knife away from her throat but, with Krista's encouragement, returned the knife to her throat and they began kissing again. As the kiss ended he put the knife down.[4]

After a confrontation with the show's psychologist, it was decided that Justin would be expelled from the Big Brother house.[5] Krista Stegall later sued CBS over the incident.[6][7]

Big Brother 3

There were no major issues reported in that season.

Big Brother 4

Violence in the house

Season 4 HouseGuest Scott Weintraub was expelled on Day 8 after having a violent outburst in the house, related to the season twist, X-Factor. Scott tossed furniture around the House, delivered an expletive-laden rant, and refused to go to the Diary Room when called. He later apologized to his fellow HouseGuests who were uncomfortable with his actions in the house. Once Scott went to the Diary Room he was removed from the house and expelled.[8]

Big Brother 5

There were no major issues reported in that season.

Big Brother 6

Violence in the house

In season 6, HouseGuests Eric Littman and Michael Donnellan got into a confrontation regarding comments Michael made about Eric's family. Earlier in the evening, Rachel who was eavesdropping on Janelle and Michael in the Gold Room overheard Michael make a poor joke about Eric's grandparents to Janelle. Rachel told Eric that she heard them badmouthing his family. Later that night Eric and Ivette were outside discussing the incident when Michael went outside. Eric provoked Michael who retorted, calling Eric "a midget with a small penis." Eric lost all control going after Michael. The other HouseGuests blocked Eric's attack at Michael. Big Brother intervened, telling Eric to leave the backyard and go to the Diary Room, and telling Michael to go to the storage room. Shortly afterwards, Ivette told Kaysar he had no respect for women, attacked Kaysar's beliefs and made racial remarks. Big Brother intervened again giving warnings to all HouseGuests. Eric apologized to his fellow HouseGuests, saying he would never hurt anyone.[9]

Big Brother 7

There were no major issues reported in that season.

Big Brother 8

"HIB"

Several HouseGuests during the eighth season made controversial remarks regarding religion and women during the course of the program. Richard "Evel Dick" Donato, the eventual winner of the season, was known for his loud abusive behavior towards HouseGuests with Jen Johnson as his most notable target. Fans of the program and the National Organization for Women called for his expulsion from the house after an incident where Evel Dick poured iced tea over Johnson's head. He's also known for making anti-religious and homophobic remarks and joking about rape to his fellow houseguests.[10]

Big Brother 9

"HIB"

HouseGuest Adam Jasinski made disparaging remarks during the first episode of the season, causing Autism United to demand an apology from CBS.[11] During the first Wednesday episode, after the Power Couple Competition, Adam stated he worked for an autism foundation and would spend his winnings on a hair salon for people with developmental disabilities "so retards can get it together and get their hair done." His partner in the House, Sheila, told him not to "call them that," to which he said he "can call them whatever I want" because he "work[s] with them all day."[12][13] In a letter obtained by TMZ from John Gilmore, Executive Director of Autism United to Sumner Redstone, Chairman of CBS Corporation, Gilmore demanded action be taken after the Wednesday episode. Gilmore claimed that the network chose to air the segment for "their own personal goals." The organization also called for the show to be canceled and the organization has contacted advertisers over the issue.[14] Due to the controversy, Lowe's has decided not to advertise during future Big Brother episodes, but it was unclear whether or not they were currently advertising during the program. Autism United has also contacted other advertisers, such as Campbell's Soup, Claritin, Geico, McDonald's and Taco Bell.[15] Autism United and various parents in South Florida are calling for an investigation into Adam Jasinski and the United Autism Foundation. The organization claims to be a 501 c3 charity (donations made to the organization would be considered tax deductible under current IRS regulations).[16] The website for United Autism Foundation has an apology regarding Adam's behavior and states he will no longer be working for the company.[17][18]

Obscene language

On Day 31 of the ninth season Matt McDonald used the "n-word" when referring to another (white) HouseGuest. The incident in question was aired on both the live Internet feeds and the spin-off show Big Brother: After Dark on Showtime 2.[19] The actual phrase was, "What up, nigga?"

Breach of integrity

A controversial Head of Household competition was held during the ninth season on Day 70. In the competition, Adam, Sharon and Ryan were read a series of seven statements relating to events in the game. The HouseGuests were to determine if each statement was "fact" by stepping forward or "fiction" by stepping backward. Each HouseGuest had their own section, so they could not see the answers of other HouseGuests. Many fans of the show, including House Calls co-host Dick Donato, were displeased with the final "fact or fiction" statement.[20] The controversial statement -- "Everybody knows that Jacob/Sharon and Ryan/Jen were two pre-existing relationships in the Big Brother house, but there is a third pre-existing relationship still in the house"—was considered "fact" due to the guinea pigs knowing each other prior to entering.[21] Many fans considered this question unfair because the guinea pigs are not actual players and just house pets. While many other fans considered the statement not only unfair but deceptive on the part of Big Brother producers as the relationship between guinea pigs is not equivalent or comparable to players of the game. If the question had pertained to only human relationships, Sharon would have become the new Head of Household. Ryan won, however, and Sharon ended up being evicted that week.[20]

Big Brother 10

Obscene language

The tenth season of the program came under fire from critics such as the Parents Television Council for airing the term "fucking" uncensored during the Tuesday, August 5 episode of the show. The event in question was aired during an argument between Libra Thompson and Jessie Godderz in which Libra said: "Memphis was in the fucking room!"[22]

Big Brother 11

Breach of integrity

The editing process came under controversy during the first week of the 11th season where several HouseGuests made controversial remarks. Viewing figures for the first two weeks entered a decline with each episode during the weeks of the controversies. A homophobic comment made by Jeff Schroeder was censored during the television broadcast while it remained uncensored online.[23][24][25] Racist and derogatory comments made by Braden Bacha in an argument with Kevin Campbell and Lydia Tavera were also censored during the television broadcast while unedited online. Bacha was nominated for eviction with Chima Simone who brought up the comments made by Bacha including a sexually insulting word to describe Julie Chen, host of the program, that was aired on the spin-off program Big Brother: After Dark. Simone's final plea speech that contained the comments was censored during the live broadcast.[24][26]

The editing of the events in question during the broadcast episodes created controversy for the show and CBS, the broadcaster of Big Brother. While the comments couldn't air due to FCC regulations the way the events were edited caused critics and fans of the show to claim the show was being edited to make the HouseGuests look good to the viewing public. One critic suggests the recent decline in ratings is due to the editing process of the show.[26] Simone revealed to her fellow HouseGuests that she was informed in the Diary Room by Big Brother, the producers, that her comments were censored during the live broadcast.

I said, I don't think it's fair because I don't think they showed when it first was said, and I was like, "If someone's a racist, they should be portrayed as one. You shouldn't edit it to make them look good."[24][26]

CBS released a statement on July 17, 2009 regarding the censoring of the controversial statements saying the statements in question were offensive and did not meet the network's standards and the views or opinions of the contestants appearing on the program are the views of the individual not the network.[24][26] National Public Radio's pop culture correspondent Linda Holmes noted that CBS officially disavowing such statements while allowing them to continue amounts to a publicity grab for the show and for the network:

This show is meant to get a good part of its attention from the difference between what you see online and what you see on the show. If it manages to cast a hard-charging racist whose work only appears online, it can seize all the attention of a scandal while claiming that it's tastefully trying to protect viewers from anything 'offensive.'[27]

"HIB"

During the 11th season the program came under fire with accusations of homophobia and racism from several contestants. In the first week Jeff Schroeder made a homophobic comment during an argument with Russell Kairouz regarding the Power of Veto competition.[23][24][25] Braden Bacha made several racist and derogatory comments after the first Power of Veto ceremony to fellow house guests Kevin Campbell and Lydia Tavera in an argument. Bacha also used a sexually insulting word to describe Julie Chen, host of the program, at the conclusion of a "Julie Says" game played by the HouseGuests a couple of nights earlier as viewed on Big Brother After Dark.[24][26]

Violence in the house

In season 11, Chima Simone was expelled from the Big Brother House for destruction of production property (her microphone, which she threw into a jacuzzi), refusing to put on her microphone, bad-mouthing the producers and refusing to go to the diary room.[28]

Big Brother 12

There were no major issues reported in that season.

Big Brother 13

Breach of integrity

During week 8, a controversial Pandora's Box twist left fans questioning the authenticity of Big Brother and left many wondering if production was rigging the game for certain players. Jeff Schroeder had just been evicted from the house, leaving Rachel Reilly and Jordan Lloyd as the only veterans left in the game. As HoH, Porsche Briggs was clearly targeting Rachel and Jordan for eviction. But when she opened Pandora's Box, she unleashed the duos twist back into the game, thereby making Rachel and Jordan a duo. If one of them were to win the PoV, they would both be safe from eviction. The Pandora's Box twist seemed very last minute after Porsche won HoH with it coming out of nowhere and the editing of the episode, and fans wondered if this was a plot by production to keep Rachel and Jordan back in the game. These questions heightened after some of the houseguests remarked that the PoV competition seemed like it was thrown together last minute without it being tested well and also because it seemed like a competition geared for Rachel, who ended up winning the competition and saving her and Jordan from eviction.[29]

Big Brother 14

Violence in the house

In season 14, an argument between HouseGuests Willie Hantz and Joe Arvin escalated into a physical confrontation between the two men. After being commanded to break up the fight, Hantz was seen giving Arvin a headbutt. Hantz was then sent to the Diary Room, and the HouseGuests were later informed that due to the violent outburst, Hantz had been expelled from the game.[30]

Big Brother 15

Severe controversy

The show's fifteenth season became controversial when racist, homophobic, and misogynistic comments were thrown around the house by multiple houseguests, including Aaryn, GinaMarie, Spencer, and others.

Big Brother 16

Sexual harassment

HouseGuest Frankie Grande came under significant fire for saying that fellow HouseGuests Caleb Reynolds and Cody Calafiore should "double team" HouseGuest Victoria Rafaeli and "take all her virginities", followed by Grande making several extremely sexual gestures. Rafaeli's family took Frankie's comments as a "rape joke" and feel Rafaeli is now a "target for rape" because of the extreme wealth of the Grande family, and have demanded an apology from the Grande family.[31] Shortly after coming out of the house Grande apologized to Buzzfeed about the joke saying “One of my strategies was to be one of the guys of the house, to bro it out, In that moment, they were finding me extremely funny. Obviously, I’m a very colorful and effervescent person, so I take things a little too far. Of course, there was no malintent. You know how much I love Victoria. She’s a wonderful person, so if I did offend anyone, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. It was not my intention.”[32]

Big Brother 17

Sexual harassment

Houseguest Jeff Weldon was accused by many fans and the media for having sexual conduct with fellow houseguest Julia Nolan who was at the time posing as her sister Liz as part of the twin twist. Jeff confirmed this was false and the reason was that he was getting something off her neck.[33]

References

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  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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