Three people were medically evacuated from Survivor 32, the season of the CBS show that filmed this spring and will air next spring. (Season 31, Survivor Second Chance, is currently filming.) That’s according to executive producer Mark Burnett, who said that during The Hollywood Reporter’s Emmy roundtable. In a question about contestants are ever pushed… continue reading
Big Brother 15
Big Brother 15 houseguest tweeting awfulness, pictures of his penis
The first person voted off of last summer’s Big Brother 15 now regularly tweets photos of his erect penis and naked body, and was recently been banned from Vine for his explicit videos. Lifeguard David Girton, who left after contributing at least one comment to last summer’s awfulness (he himself identified it as “totally racist”) has continued to say stupid things via Twitter that objectify… continue reading
CBS boss “thrilled with” Survivor; nothing will ever change on Big Brother
CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler was asked yesterday during a press conference with TV critics about Survivor and Big Brother, and challenged repeatedly about how the casting and producing on the latter, which led to last summer’s parade of bigotry. First, Tassler was asked why “with each subsequent season, the contestants on the show get… continue reading
Big Brother’s Aaryn: depressed, not racist, confronting bigotry, wants to travel, looking for a job in TV
It’s been just over a month since Aaryn Gries left the Big Brother bubble and discovered how the world felt about her words and actions and Aaryn says she is a changed person. In an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Aaryn said she wants “to travel around the world, experience different cultures,” but that’s… continue reading
CBS’ shameful, no-longer-fun Big Brother ends ironically with its first gay winner
Big Brother has concluded its 15th season, and also decidedly ended its run as a show that could be dismissed as just silly fun with challenges that ejaculate foam onto contestants. Instead, it was finally revealed publicly to be a vile, indefensible, ugly monster fed, nurtured, and defended by CBS–all the way to its CEO–because… continue reading
Julie Chen’s plastic surgery secret: not a secret since 2004
As part of The Talk’s premiere week stunt, during which each host revealed a never-before-revealed secret, Big Brother host Julie Chen confessed to having plastic surgery. That’s been rumored and speculated about for years, except she already already confessed to plastic surgery in 2004. On Wednesday’s episode, Julie said that she had plastic surgery as… continue reading
Aaryn Gries’ mother, prom date defend her: “Aaryn truly loves all people equally”
After being evicted last week and torn apart by Julie Chen, Aaryn Gries is still locked inside the Big Brother jury house, but people who know her in real life are defending her–and apologizing for her bigoted comments. First, in a story that reads like it was fed by a publicist, Aaryn’s mother, Elizabeth Owens,… continue reading
Big Brother’s racism scapegoat Aaryn evicted, eviscerated
Aaryn Gries was unanimously evicted from the Big Brother house last night, and the producers welcomed her with the gift of an entire segment for Julie Chen to confront her on the bigoted things she said and did in the house. The interview segment was completely fair and justified, but it was also very problematic… continue reading
Big Brother erases a human being from a scene
Big Brother‘s editing has been better than in past seasons this year, according to those who watch both the live feeds and the broadcast episodes, but Sunday’s episode did something shocking and new: it erased a person. Last Wednesday, Aaryn accidentally drank nail polish remover, confusing it for water. She spit most of it out… continue reading
Along with the Big Brother MVP, Candice, and Judd, I’m out
Big Brother aired its annual fast-forward episode last night, losing two players to its newly expanded jury. (How convenient that Julie Chen will no longer be able to talk to evicted houseguests about anything of consequence.) While Candice’s exit was no surprise, Judd’s eviction was a shocking blindside, I guess, but I was too busy… continue reading
BB15 Spencer’s child porn “tasteless joke” leads his employer to report him to law enforcement
The latest awful comments to come out of a Big Brother 15‘s cast member’s mouth involved child pornography, prompting CBS to again distance itself from the cast that is fueling its ratings growth this summer–and prompting his employer to report him to law enforcement officials. According to E! News’ story, Spencer Clawson said these things:… continue reading
CBS CEO Moonves on Big Brother: “it’s what our show is”
CBS president and CEO Les Moonves said today that he found Big Brother cast members’ behavior “absolutely appalling, personally,” but thinks CBS has “handled it properly” and that “a social experiment” is “what our show is.” Moonves–who is married to the show’s host, Julie Chen–also confirmed that he still approves the cast for CBS’ reality… continue reading
Big Brother rewards people whose ideas and behavior CBS doesn’t “condone”
Here’s what happened at the end of Big Brother 15 last night: The house of morons decided to keep Aaryn, because she said she’d throw the HOH competition and/or be their HOH puppet all week. Aaryn won HOH. Julie Chen interviewed “fan favorite Jeff Schroeder.” Yes, within a few minutes, two people whose behavior prompted… continue reading
Big Brother ratings are up; my interest is down
Big Brother 15‘s ratings reached series lows as the show got increasing attention in the media for its cast members’ awful statements, but ratings have rebounded to season highs, and the show keeps easily winning its timeslot and/or night. That’s probably all that matters to the network, which said in an announcement this morning that… continue reading
CBS warns viewers before showing Big Brother’s racially-charged fight
For the first time in its 15-season history, Big Brother began with a disclaimer that warned “Viewer discretion is advised” because of “prejudices and other beliefs that CBS does not condone.” What followed was the most interesting episode of the season so far, and an illustration of the show at its best (power and alliance… continue reading