It’s all over the news; contestants of the popular reality show “Big Brother” have been under fire because of their racist and homophobic comments caught on their live feed by viewers.
Fans are up in arms, calling for the removal and eviction of the three house guests from the reality show.
“Big Brother” is a reality show that puts complete strangers in the same house over the summer, with cameras rolling on the house guests [the contestants] at all times. House guests compete to stay in the house and avoid being evicted by their fellow house guests.
Not even a week into the “Big Brother” house, the house guest portrayed as the sweetheart and southern belle of the show was caught making racist and homophobic remarks against fellow players, which includes two African Americans, an Asian American and a gay house guest, along with two other contestants.
Already, two of the house guests have been fired by their respective employers, who don’t condone the use of such language. Petitions online are calling for the removal of the house guests who have made these racist and homophobic comments.
CBS, the network airing “Big Brother,” does not condone the prejudices held by their contestants, stating it was not a representation of the network’s beliefs or opinions.
In short, CBS is promoting freedom of speech, even though “Big Brother” producers warned contestants to not use the racial slurs.
Should the offending house guests be removed?
The result of one person or a group of people using racial or homophobic remarks has had a mixed track record. In the case of the University’s basketball coach Louis Orr, the teenagers who spray painted the graffiti on the coach’s driveway had to meet with the coach during their court hearings.
In April, University students were being investigated for violations of the Student Code of Conduct after racial tweets were tweeted and retweeted when some students did not like the crowd at Ziggy Zoomba’s. As a result, the University launched the “Not in Our Town” campaign meant to put a stop to such hatred in the community.
But all of these incidents were based around the University.
On a more national front, Paula Deen has received backlash for a racial comment she said 20 years ago, before such language used had been considered taboo. If Deen had said something along the same lines today as she did 20 years ago, I would expect the backlash she’s received already.
So, what should happen to these reality show contestants?
Be made examples of? Or should they take the contestants off, while pointing out what the two contestants have lost their jobs? Such languages and beliefs are frowned upon by majority of America as Americans come to term with gay rights and equality; African-Americans and Asian-Americans are just as equal. It’s time to stop letting racial and homophobic slurs happen, especially on live feeds.
To address what has happened in the house, the July 7th episode of “Big Brother” addressed the slurs, with house guests giving their thoughts. While these clips do paint a small picture of what is being said in the house, the damage has already been done and the viewers are not happy by what has been said in the house.
