‘Big Brother’ Fans Freak Out As All-Stars Merch Is Leaked On CBS Website, Quickly Removed Ahead Of Season 22
Big Brother has seemingly confirmed that its upcoming season will feature returning players, but viewers had to be quick to catch the clue. On Monday, CBS’ online shop was temporarily populated with themed gear ahead of the new season of the summertime reality show, but after eagle-eyed viewers spotted it, the merchandise was promptly taken off the site.
In photos screengrabbed by the spoiler site Big Brother Network on Monday morning, the network’s online store featured Big Brother-themed items with a new, red All-Stars label on mugs, drinking glasses, a “slop” bowl, name tags and even face masks. Shortly after the items appeared in the virtual store, they were gone, but the technical faux pas provided the biggest hint yet that returning players will be in the cast when Big Brother returns for its 22nd run sometime in the near future.
Big Brother viewers have been frustrated by the lack of information about the stalled summertime series that usually takes up three nights of programming per week from late June to late September, so the shop update created quite a buzz.
On social media, fans were in a frenzy as they speculated if the premature posting was a mistake or just something dreamed up by producers to get people talking.
“[Laugh at] CBS for goofing up & putting the ‘All-Stars’ merch up then having to take it down or was it a goof up? Things that make you go hmm!” one viewer wrote.
Others wanted to know who is going to get fired for mistakenly uploading the merchandise photos.
“Who screwed up and posted the merch? #BB22,” a fan wrote on Twitter.
“CBS desperately trying to ignore All-Stars 2 rumors for weeks only for some intern to upload the merch before the official announcement,” another person tweeted.
“Looks like the intern got a talking to – the merchandise has disappeared from the online store,” a fourth individual chimed in once the items were removed.
Several other fans speculated that Big Brother 21 alum Kat Dunn must be part of the new cast because the name “Kathryn” was listed on one of the key tags in the leaked photos.
The cast for Big Brother’s 22nd season has not yet been confirmed by the Eye Network, but there have long been rumors that it will feature veteran players in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary. In addition to the houseguests, the production crew will reportedly live on-site in RVs so they can quarantine along with the contestants amid the coronavirus pandemic. The behind-the-scenes crew will reportedly be swapped out every few weeks.
