Just in case you missed the Big Brother racism story last week, you could have caught a sample of it on Sunday night’s episode. Despite condemning the offensive remarks of some of the show’s contestants, CBS aired them anyway during the show’s most recent episode.
Big Brother is unique among reality TV programs in that anyone who wants to follow the show can log on to the Internet and watch live 24/7 feeds of the contestants. The “highlights” of each week are then condensed into an episode that airs on national television.
During the live feed this week, Aaryn Gries and GinaMarie Zimmerman were caught making offensive racist and homophobic comments directly against black contestants and another of Asian descent.
These comments included labeling one contestant a “queer,” saying of the Asian contestant, “shut up and go make some rice” and “she is the first Asian I know who doesn’t do nails,” and calling welfare “n***er insurance.”
Both Gries and Zimmerman lost their real-world jobs over the comments, and CBS issued a statement condemning them.
“ 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. At times, the Houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone. We certainly find the statements made by several of the Houseguests on the live Internet feed to be offensive.”
But despite condemning the situation, CBS still chose to air those comments on the televised episode Sunday night. Adding insult to injury, perhaps, they aired the overt racism of some of the contestants in a montage .
What do you think of CBS’ decision to air the racist comments made by Big Brother contestants?