Big Brother's Team Addressed Bullying in the House—and Fans Aren't Happy

From Oprah Magazine

At the end of a long day, sometimes the best way to feel like you're living your best life is with some comfy PJ's, a glass of wine, and gratuitous reality television. In our series "Not-So-Guilty Pleasures," we remove the "guilt" and break down the latest happenings in your favorite TV indulgences.

• Big Brother executive producer Alison Grodner has finally responded to the season's bullying allegations in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

• However, in light of BB21's near-constant controversy, fans were not satisfied with her remarks.

Guys, it's no exaggeration to say that so far, Big Brother 21 has been messy. The Camp Comeback twist, for example, resulted in absolutely terrible optics (three people of color were banished from the game), and viewers have witnessed racist and prejudicial remarks made by houseguests like the season's designated "villain" Jack, and members of his "Gr8tful" alliance. Many viewers feel that same group has also bullied the people they deemed "outsiders:" Nicole, and the now-evicted Kemi and Ovi.

But a top executive of the show has finally opened up about the drama...or has she?

Fans—specifically live feed watchers—are not happy with how the network has handled these revelations, even calling for BB producers to expel Jack during the first week of the show. So far CBS has not issued any formal statements addressing the controversy, and has barely shown any of the cast's inflammatory behavior in the edits of the broadcasted show.

But with BB21 being on for four weeks now, the reality show's executive producer Allison Grodner seemed like she was finally going to address to controversy in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. When asked if she she felt that the houseguests were partaking in bullying behavior, she told the publication:

Twitter users were not impressed with Grodner's apparent non-answer, feeling that she didn't directly address the issue or make it clear whether the houseguests actions were condoned or not.

"She didn’t really say anything at all," said one user.

"Lol so the producer even downplays the bullying. Unreal," said another.

And there was this: "Of course they side-stepped the question... #BB21"

EW also spoke to Kemi, Ovi, and David after they left the game and questioned them about if they ever felt the houseguests crossed a line in their attacks. While not explicitly using the wordy "bully," David described the dynamics as "a natural mob mentality." Kemi followed suit.

"I think bullying is a very strong word," said the 26-year-old marketing strategist. "I do think that, and I’ve expressed this in the house, that there are ways that people have talked to and treated some people in the house that they view as being weaker than them, that they would never treat other people in the house."

Keep in mind that these responses came before the three houseguests had a chance to see the behavior live feeders have observed. While talking about Jack, Kemi said, "I don’t want to be the one to call him a bully"—but that's before she got the chance to review the evidence that fans (and we here at OprahMag.com) have collected. She's since responded with this statement via Twitter.

As for Ovi?

"It’s so hard to say ‘cause I was in that house and I don’t know the other conversations going on," the college student said. "But I’ve experienced isolation and things like that my whole life, and it made me uncomfortable. And in that moment I did feel really uncomfortable."

We still have two-and-a-half months left of Big Brother. And with this cast, the motto "expect the unexpected" has never been so true.

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