Big Brother 16: Amber Says Caleb’s Obsession “Uncomfortable”; Producers Were Not Concerned

Viewers of this season’s Big Brother 16 were witness to what was perhaps the most one-sided “showmance” in the series’ history. House guest Caleb Reynolds, taken with fellow contestant Amber Borzotra, pursued her despite her lack of interest. In recent weeks, Reynolds had shown signs of jealousy over Amber’s friendship with his alliance member Cody.

Now that Amber has been evicted, she’s revealing in several interviews how Caleb’s pursuit made her feel. She told the Big Brother Network blog:

“I felt uncomfortable. I felt very uncomfortable around him. I haven’t seen the things he has done, so I’m very nervous about watching. With me and how I am as a person, I didn’t know how to react because I’ve never had someone act like that before. It’s hard for me to get mad or upset easily or get harsh on anybody. I tried handling it as well as I could and being as nice as I could by telling him I was not interested. Even tried distancing myself, but the kid wasn’t having it.

I’m sad to be gone because of everyone else, but I definitely feel more comfortable outside of the house away from Caleb.”

Amber also told The Hollywood Reporter that “I don’t think he bought it,” when she tried to tell him it wasn’t going to happen.

Caleb made Big Brother news earlier this season for a conversation he had with Devin Shepherd, where the two discussed cuddling and Devin jokingly told his fellow heavily-muscled housemate, “I’ll cuddle with you dude.” Caleb’s later actions towards Amber, however, had some in the blogging community raising red flags. On July 18, two weeks before Amber’s departure, Reality Blurred asked show producers Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan if Amber’s safety was a concern. Both denied they should step in, and Grodner emphasized the impossibility of anything happening behind closed doors in the Big Brother house:

“I think the Big Brother house is one of the safest places to be, with all the cameras and 24-hour surveillance. I think that’s the story: She’s feeling that way and he’s being–there’s the love triangle or whatever you want to call it with Cody and him, the jealousy triangle. He’s possibly getting a little creepy, a little stalkerish. We’ll see. We’re just playing the story that’s evolving right now. … We don’t see it as anything dangerous.”

On July 28, mere days before Amber’s eviction, Matthew Boyer at Big Brother Network suggested in a blog post that perhaps it was time for producers to step in when Caleb hit Amber with a pillow while she was sleeping.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if Caleb would be her target if she were to re-enter the Big Brother house, Amber answered: “For sure. Hands down.”

[Image: Big Brother/CBS]