Big Brother Cast Members Fired for Slurs

Season 15 of Big Brother looks to be shaping up to something that’s actually watchable!

In the event you’ve never turned on a TV in the last 15 years, Big Brother is a show on CBS that brings strangers to live in a house together that is monitored 24/7 by cameras, effectively erasing all opportunities for privacy.  Big Brother has made it a mission to bring in cast members of various race, gender, sexuality, and creed.  In other words, they ensure that they’ll never be sued for discrimination in the hiring process.

Two of this season’s cast members, Aaryn Gries and GinaMarie Zimmerman, have both been filmed and viewed on the Big Brother live feed on the Internet (accessible by paying a subscription) expressing racial, sexist, and homophobic tendencies.  Both Gries and Zimmerman have verbally attacked at least two other cast members of different ethnic backgrounds, with Zimmerman expressing her dissatisfaction with a Korean-American housemate by exclaiming, “I’m gonna punch her in the face. I’m, like, ‘Oh, maybe it’ll make her eyes straight.’ ”  Gries was observed warning Zimmerman about an African-American housemate and to watch what she says in the dark, because Zimmerman “might not be able to see the bitch.”

CBS has still not expelled either cast member from the house for the comments made.

However, neither Aaryn Gries or GinaMarie Zimmerman were able to withstand the wrath of their employers and modeling agencies.  Gries was dropped by her talent agency, Zephyr Talent, by releasing the following statement on their Facebook page, “Aaryn, season 15 cast member of Big Brother, revealed prejudices and other beliefs that we (Zephyr Talent) do not condone. 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.”

Zimmerman has lost her job with East Coast USA Pageant, Inc., where she worked as a pageant coordinator for the last five years.  CEO Lauren Handler released the following statement for East Coast USA Pageant, Inc.,”We have never known this side of GinaMarie or have ever witnessed such acts of racism in the past. We are actually thankful that this show let us see GinaMarie for who she truly is as we would never want her to be a role model to our future contestants.  We are unable to contact her at this time but when she returns from the ‘Big Brother’ house we will be terminating her employment for her unforgivable behavior. In a business where we are surrounded by beauty every day we are saddened to see something so ugly come from someone we put on a very high pedestal.”

At least someone held these two accountable.  With the recent Paula Deen fallout, it comes as a real surprise that CBS has not taken further action on this subject.  While freedom of speech is still alive and well (for now), there’s a clear dichotomy between how these events are perceived in the public eyes.  Get a couple of hot nobody’s on a TV show that no one cares about anymore and have them spew hate, and they’ll get fired by their employer, but not by the program that has them as contestants.  Get an older Southern white lady to admit to using racial slurs almost three decades ago while under oath, and watch her business crumble around her in a matter of hours.

Whatever gets you the ratings, right?