‘Big Brother’ Rolls Out The Disclaimers As Season 20 Houseguests Issue Slurs, Slut-Shaming

It was bound to happen in this season’s Big Brother. The houseguests on the 20th season of the CBS summertime show have been blowing up the live feeds, and up until now, the network didn’t address it on air. But on Sunday’s episode of the long-running reality show, CBS put up the dreaded “viewer discretion” warning, distancing the network from the houseguests’ controversial views.

Big Brother fans, some who had been in the dark about the behind the scenes behavior of the Season 20 stars, got a full hour of controversial content. In an extended blowout, Big Brother houseguests Bayleigh Dayton and JC Mounduix got into a heated exchange over racial slurs when he compared a derogatory word to describe short people to the N-word.

“You’re not allowed to say that,” Dayton told Mounduix after he said the full uncensored word. “Don’t do that again.”

While the two Big Brother contestants later hashed things out—Mounduix contended he only used the banned word as an example—the houseguests couldn’t have been prepared for the later wrath that was to come when household “sweetheart” Sam Bledsoe won the Head of Household competition.

The Southern belle was anything but charming when she unleashed a damning speech at the nominations ceremony. Bledsoe previously warned the other houseguests not to campaign or approach her HoH bedroom without her permission because she already knew exactly who she was planning to put up.

Most HOH winners are cool with sharing their space, but Sam made it clear it’s her room. And at the nominations ceremony, she made it clear as to why she nominated Kaitlyn Herman and Haleigh Broucher for eviction. In fact, Sam’s speech was one for the Big Brother history books.

“I don’t care for how the two of you treat the young men in the house. I think that they deserve more respect, and I think that it is the opposite of female empowerment. And I think that you should both respect yourselves more.”

Sam’s apparent slut-shaming is a Big Brother first, at least in such a high profile setting.

This week’s antics on Big Brother come after CBS issued a previous statement that hinted at the houseguests’ bad behavior. According to E! News, CBS issued a statement that confirmed Big Brother’s producers addressed two disturbing incidents that were seen on the 24/7 online feeds. The incidents are presumed to be Kaitlyn Herman’s use of the N-word when repeating a Drake lyric, and an incident involving JC Mounduix, an ice cream scooper, and female genitalia.

In a statement, the network warned against “future consequences” for ill-behaving houseguests, but revealed they would not be including the questionable incidents in the TV broadcast.

“In both cases, those involved have been warned about their inappropriate behavior and offensive comments, as well as future consequences. These events will not be part of any future Big Brother broadcast on CBS.”

Big Brother has a long history with inappropriate contestants, most notably during the show’s 15th season back in 2013. The controversial season featured several contestants who were caught making homophobic and racist comments about gay, African American, and Asian housemates. The entire back half of the season featured a disclaimer at the top of each episode.

CBS President and CEO Les Moonves addressed the network’s decision to air a disclaimer at the beginning of each Big Brother episode in 2013, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “I think we’ve handled it properly. It makes us uncomfortable.”

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on CBS.