‘Big Brother’ Fans Criticize ‘Pressure Cooker’ Challenge for Not Accommodating Matt Klotz

The return of the "Pressure Cooker" competition has sparked controversy among Big Brother enthusiasts, with many expressing concerns about the fairness of the competition for deaf houseguest Matt Klotz.

Towards the conclusion of the episode that aired on Friday, August 25th, host Julie Chen Moonves announced to the contestants of season 25 that they would be vying for the Head of Household (HOH) title in a revamped rendition of the competition from season 6, per US Weekly.

The 10-hour challenge unfolded on the live feeds, accessible through Pluto TV. According to the rules, the houseguests were required to determine who could maintain continuous pressure on a button amidst numerous distractions in their vicinity. They were permitted to stand or squat, as long as they maintained their grip on the button. Shortly after the challenge began, Big Brother extinguished the lights. According to clips shared on social media, Matt, who is 27 years old, was heard saying, "I can’t see or hear now," during the competition.

Fans quickly turned to online platforms and asserted that CBS had failed to make accommodations for Matt, a world record-holding deaf athlete in swimming. They criticized the decision to conduct the game in darkness. "This is so cruel because he is missing out on much-needed conversations that all the other houseguests are getting to have,” a social media user commented on a Friday TikTok video while they were watching the live feeds, adding: “A deaf person in the dark, um?”

On TikTok, other users expressed their dissatisfaction, stating that it was unjust for CBS to essentially deprive him of one of his senses, making it impossible for him to read lips in the absence of adequate lighting. Another fan shared their disappointment, saying, “As someone with 2 deaf parents & a big BB fan — I am so disappointed in the lack of accessibility he has had this season."

As reported by US Weekly, CBS has not yet responded to the concerns raised by fans. The challenge is set to conclude in the episode airing on Sunday, August 27th. However, it's worth noting that CBS did make accommodations for Matt prior to turning off the lights.

In an earlier stage of the challenge, former contestant Kaysar Ridha appeared via video to provide additional instructions to the houseguests. Following Kaysar's address, a closed-captioned version of his speech was played by Big Brother specifically for Matt. Matt is the first ever deaf participant on Big Brother, which led to fan outcry earlier this month when he was required to take part in a Veto competition that primarily relied on audio cues. US Weekly later verified that a hearing-impaired game tester had conducted preliminary tests for all competitions to ensure Matt's ability to participate.