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Will ‘Big Brother’ Air Jack Matthews’ Racist Rice Pudding Remark? CBS Has Put Contestants On Blast In The Past

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 11:51 PST, Jul 25, 2019

Big Brother 21 live feed viewers have not been happy with the “edit” Jack Matthews has received this season. Matthews has been accused of racism and bullying, and his questionable behavior had not been shown on the edited CBS reality show until last week when he was shown berating now-evicted houseguest Kemi Fakunle over a water bottle.

But Matthews’ alleged behavior seen on the CBS live feeds has been so bad that some viewers have started a petition to kick him off of the show, as previously shared by The Inquisitr. Now, on the heels of an official statement from CBS about racist behavior in the Big Brother house, fans wonder if Matthews will be called out on camera by the network — or by host Julie Chen.

Longtime Big Brother fans may recall back in 2013 when rampant racism rocked the CBS summertime house. At the time, fans also started a petition to ask CBS to expel contestant Aaryn Gries, according to E! News. The live feed venom against Gries was so intense that CBS finally exposed her negative remarks to all viewers by airing a shocking montage of the former model’s worst comments.

During the episode, Gries was overheard making racist comments about fellow contestant Helen Kim, saying she should shut up and “go make rice,” and later saying, “I probably look like a squinty Asian right now.” Gries also mocked Asian nail salon workers, made fun of an African American houseguest’s speech, and made homophobic remarks about a gay houseguest.

At the time, CBS released a statement saying the Season 15 contestants’ remarks were “not condoned” by the network. When Gries was finally evicted from the game, Big Brother host Julie Chen called her out for her racist comments during her live exit interview.

When confronted about the statements she made in the house, Gries denied remembering those things being said or then blamed it on a misunderstanding of cultural differences. The Texas houseguest also claimed that some of her comments may have been taken out of context, per Big Brother Network. Chen advised Gries to go home and watch the footage for herself.

Six years later, Big Brother has released a nearly identical statement distancing the network from this season’s contestants’ bad behavior by noting that it is “not condoned” by CBS.

This time, the statement comes a few days after Jack Matthews made a joke about “rice pudding” when talking about fellow houseguest Isabella Wang, who is Asian. After houseguest Tommy Bracco said “the proof is in the pudding” during a conversation about Bella with several white houseguests, Matthews cracked, “the rice pudding.”

CBS seemingly stepped in as the live feeds cut off and Matthews was later shown talking about how his joke was “misconstrued,” according to Entertainment Tonight. In the statement, the network confirmed that Big Brother producers addressed specific incidents with the houseguests involved.

It remains to be seen if CBS will show the incidents, or if Julie Chen will confront Matthews once she has him in her hot seat. But Matthews is already being compared to Aaryn Gries, as can be seen from the viewer reaction below.

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on CBS.

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