Another summer, another season of "Big Brother" controversies.
The warhorse reality show, which kicked off its 20th season June 27 on CBS, has been plagued by several instances of bad behavior by the contestants (called "houseguests" in show parlance) seen only by viewers of the show's 24/7 online feed.
On July 2, houseguests Angela Rummans and Rachel Swindler used the term "ghetto" when talking about their skin color. "My stomach is as dark as Bay," said Swindler, comparing her tan to African-American roommate Bayleigh Dayton. "I'm looking ghetto here with the skin coloration," Rummans responded.
Around that same time, viewers of the "Big Brother" online feed saw diminutive houseguest JC Mounduix cavorting around the house with an ice cream scooper, inappropriately touching the genitals of several of the female houseguests and putting his hands on the genitals of surfer dude houseguest Tyler Crispen.
"I think it's really par for the course as far as what they're saying and doing," says Steve Beliveau, who created the Big Brother Junkies site and has blogged about the show since Season 13. "I've seen them do worse and it feels like people are kind of blowing it out of proportion.
"I don't want to make light of [the situations] because there were some controversial statements, but at the same time, it's been worse," says Beliveau. He mentions Season 14, when houseguest Willie Hantz was kicked off the show when he attacked one of his co-stars, and Season 15, when show host Julie Chen said she "took it personally" after several houseguests made racist and misogynistic comments.
"Nobody [in the house] cared," Beliveau says about the two incidents in Season 20. "Tyler said he didn't care, and the girls were like, 'Oh [JC] is harmless.' The girls typically don't look at him as a threat."
Modal TriggerJC MounduixCBS"The incidents reported will not be part of any broadcast on the CBS Television Network," CBS said in a statement. "They were seen on 'Big Brother's' 24/7 online feed, which is live, unedited and available only to paid subscribers. 'Big Brother' is a multi-platform reality show … capturing every unfiltered moment and conversation … At times, the houseguests reveal prejudices and exhibit behavior that we do not condone."
Beliveau spends around eight hours a day monitoring the 24/7 "Big Brother" feed, and says it was stopped for a bit after the Rummans/Swindler comments and the Mounduix situation while they were spoken to. "When the feed came back, Angela and Rachel looked kind of upset about what happened. JC [Mounduix] didn't seem to care."
CBS says that "in the situation involving JC, he was warned by the producers. They also spoke to each of the houseguests involved who said they found his behavior frivolous, but not a cause for concern."
"It seems like every other season someone says something stupid and people get worked up for a while and then it fades away," Beliveau says. "It's mostly just swept under the rug — it's a dirty secret of the live-feeders."
Viewership for the show hasn't suffered; "Big Brother" is averaging 5.1 million viewers so far this season, on par with last season.
"The reason there's so much controversy is the format," Beliveau says, referring to the show's online feed. "If 'Survivor' or any of the other reality shows had cameras around 24/7 they would have the same issues."
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