Big Brother wouldn't be Big Brother without fights, drama, backstabs, and betrayal. But outside of the realm of actual gameplay, there have been some pretty big controversies surrounding the reality show. Some stem from things that happen in the house and are spotted by die-hard fans who subscribe to the live feeds.
Others involve the personal lives of houseguests outside of the series, both before and after entering the house. From racist remarks caught on camera to houseguests leaving in a huff of their own volition and host Julie Chen putting evicted houseguests on the spot, the controversies are all shocking and unforgettable.
11 Christine & Her Flirtations
Fans were disappointed in Christine Brecht when she played on season 16 and seemed to get a little too close for comfort to her housemate Cody Calafiore. It would otherwise not be an issue, since showmances are pretty common on the show. Except for one small fact: she was married.
It became headline news both during and after the show as Brecht's husband commented on her behavior and made it clear that he was not happy with it. The couple apparently got divorced just over a year later.
10 Tyler Offering Himself Up For Eviction
The controversy stemmed from the latest All-Star season over Tyler Crispen's conversations with Da'Vonne Rogers and Bayleigh Dayton, offering to volunteer himself for eviction over his guilt for getting them targeted for the Block. While some believed Crispen was being genuine in his desire to give up and go home to save their games, believing they deserved it more, others felt he was trying to gain attention.
Crispen later told Rogers in the jury house that it wasn't a strategy at all, but that after the fact, he understood how it could have been viewed that way.
9 JC's Bedtime Behavior
Fans were not comfortable with the way JC Mounduix behaved when looking at some of the live feeds, particularly at night. He was close platonic friends with Tyler Crispen and they would often cuddle together at night. But Mounduix was sometimes seen touching Tyler's face and arms and kissing his arms while Crispen was asleep.
Producers did intervene by questioning Mounduix off-camera, though Crispen always insisted that he did not feel violated in any way and that regardless of how the video looked, he "never felt negative anything towards JC."
8 Nicole Accused Of Spying For the Network
There was a lot of chatter before the All-Stars season began about who was being cast on the show and why some players fans expected to see like Dan Gheesling and Derrick Levasseur weren't among the list of names.
Theories and rumors began to fly about Nicole Franzel allegedly not initially being cast, being upset about it, then offering to spy for CBS to find out if anyone was pre-gaming before the show in an effort to get herself on. While the truth remains unknown, it tainted the game from the get-go for the once fan-favorite player.
7 Aaryn Gries & Her Racist Remarks
Houseguests getting caught on camera making remarks that can be construed as racist, misogynistic, or downright bullying is not uncommon on the show. But even when the remarks don't actually appear in the aired episodes, die-hard fans share snippets from the 24/7 live feeds to which they subscribe.
When it comes to racism, however, by far the biggest controversy came with remarks made by Aaryn Gries in season 15. The pushback was so strong that producers made the decision to air some of Gries' remarks within the weekly episodes. Forever dubbed one of the biggest female villains on the show, she remains the only houseguest to be booed by the live audience when evicted. Host Julie Chen handled the controversy well but also didn't shy away from putting her on the spot and making her answer to her hurtful words.
6 Adam Jasinski's Derogatory Comments & Later Arrest
Fans like to believe that the winners use their big prize money for something good, whether it's to pay bills, put a down payment on a house or a car, take their family on a vacation, or even to save and invest. Adam Jasinski, who won season 9, went in a completely opposite direction.
Aside from making derogatory comments about children with autism (he was later fired from his job because of the remarks), he was also arrested years later for tax evasion as well as possession of drugs with the intent to distribute and eventually sentenced to four years in prison.
5 Audrey Middleton's Alleged Exploitation
After making history on Big Brother 17 as the first transgender houseguest, Audrey Middleton spoke out about her appearance on the show. And she was not happy.
Middleton claimed that CBS told her to disclose she was transgender on the show even though she did not want to. She claims the show wanted to capitalize on the recent disclosing of Caitlyn Jenner and asked her to do the same to bring "positive representation" to the show.
4 Lack Of Diversity Casting
Discussions of racism have plagued the show since its inception, considering that a Black person has never won and only a handful of BIPOC players have even gotten to the finals. The lack of diversity was brought to light in the All-Stars season 22 and has even made producers pledge to cast a more diverse group of people in seasons going forward. But the build-up to this decision happened because of events in season 21.
After Jackson Michie immediately targeted four BIPOC players for eviction on the first night, rumblings of racism began. Former houseguest Ika Wong commented that it was almost like he was being chosen simply to fill a race quota and not because he sincerely deserved to be there.
3 Mocking Ian Terry
Another controversy from the All-Stars season 2, fans were out for blood when a conversation among Memphis Garrett, Nicole Franzel, and Dani Briones was caught on camera. As Garrett mocked Ian Terry, who has autism, and his constant rocking, both Briones and Franzel laughed heartily at the jokes.
The controversy went beyond the fact that they were making fun of Terry to the fact that Franzel was supposedly not only aligned with Ian but also good friends with him outside of the house. Franzel's Instagram was quickly flooded with negative comments while several brand sponsors cutting ties with her following the backlash.
2 Jack Matthews' Bullying
While a lot of the controversies surrounding season 21 were around race, Jack Matthews also came under fire for his bullying behavior. So much so that fans were lobbying to get him removed from the season.
The most troubling comments were directed at fellow houseguest Kemi Fakunle. He called her everything from "disgusting" to a "maggot" and at one point, said he wanted to "stomp a mudhole through [her] chest." He was never ejected from the house but was confronted by Chen once he was evicted about his hurtful words and actions, and how he presented himself in the house.
1 Justin Sebik & The Knife
Security undoubtedly got tighter for the show after this incident in season 2 when Justin Sebik held a knife up to his housemate Krista Stegall's throat. She was intoxicated at the time.
Sebik was expelled from the game after the incident, as well as uttering verbal threats throughout the show and even defacing property. He is one of just four houseguests to have ever been ejected from the show. Interestingly, the event led to a lawsuit, not against Sebik but rather against CBS for not stopping the incident from happening in the first place nor providing "adequate counseling" afterward.
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