Big Brother Controversy: Racial Comments by Housemates "Not Condoned" by CBS

Big Brother Controversy: Racial Comments by Housemates "Not Condoned" by CBS

Could some Big Brother contestants find themselves in big trouble?

It seems several of the housemates participating in the 15th season of the popular CBS reality show have been overheard using racial and homophobic slurs during the program's 24-hour live feeds on CBS.com.
Not surprising, the questionable remarks have created a bit of outrage, with some fans even starting a petition asking CBS to expel contestant Aaryn Gries, in particular, for some of the negative things she has said.

Speaking of Gries, her modeling agency, Zephyr Talent, just announced on its Facebook page on Wednesday morning that it is dropping the 22-year-old in the wake of her racial and homophobic comments such as telling an Asian contestant to "shut up and go make some rice" and referring to a gay contestant as a "queer."

"Aaryn, season 15 cast member of Big Brother, revealed prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone," reads the statement by Zephyr Talent. "We certainly find the statements made by Aaryn on the live Internet feed to be offensive. Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by Aaryn, either on any live feed from the House or during the broadcast, are hers alone and do not represent the views or opinions of Zephyr Talent. Upon much consideration, we have decided to release Aaryn from her contract with Zephyr Talent."

Meanwhile, CBS released a statement to the Hollywood Reporter addressing the comments being made by houseguests on the whole.

"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," the statement reads. "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. Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a houseguest appearing on Big Brother, either on any live feed from the House or during the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program."

So far, none of the slurs have made their way to the primetime TV episodes of Big Brother that began airing last week.