US: CBS condemns homophobic language used by Big Brother housemates
US television network CBS has condemned abusive language, including homophobia, used by housemates in the Big Brother House, but has not suggested that anyone will be evicted for using such language.
One housemate, Aaryn Gries, was dropped by her modelling agency after she referred to a gay housemate as “queer”, and said to an Asian-American housemate to “shut up and go and make some rice”.
Talking about housemate Andy’s nominations, she said: “No one’s going to vote for whoever that queer puts up”.
A second housemate, Spencer, also reportedly referred to the gay housemate as a “fag”.
The comments were not aired on the edited version of the show, but were reported by several sites after watching the live feed.
CBS has now issued a statement condemning the comments as “offensive”.
It said: “‘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.
“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.”
The first live eviction took place on Wednesday evening, but those involved in the alleged abusive comments have all remained in the house.
