Today's News: Our Take - Big Brother Contestant GinaMarie Fired From Job After Offensive Comments
Big Brother contestant GinaMarie Zimmerman was fired from her day job after making offensive comments on the show, TMZ.com reports.
Zimmerman, who worked as a pageant coordinator with East Coast USA Pageant, Inc., referred to welfare as "n---er insurance." The company said it was shocked Zimmerman could "display such acts of hate and racism."
Big Brother Contestant Aaryn fired from modeling agency for offensive comments
"We have never known this side of GinaMarie or have ever witnessed such acts of racism in the past," the company told the site. "We are actually thankful that this show let us see GinaMarie for who she truly is. We would never want her to be a role model to our future contestants."
The news comes hours after reports that fellow contestant Aaryn Gries had been fired from her modeling agency for her homophobic and racist remarks -- calling a gay houseguest "queer," telling Asian-American Helen to "shut up and go make some rice," and saying, "Be careful what you say in the dark, you might not be able to see that b----," in reference to African-American contestant Candice.
Big Brother Exclusive: Take a look at the new have-not room
In response to the controversy, CBS told TVGuide.com in a statement, "Big Brother is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7 - and seeing every moment of their lives. At times, the Houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone. We certainly find the statements made by several of the Houseguests on the live Internet feed to be offensive. Any views or opinions expressed in personal commentary by a Houseguest appearing on Big Brother, either on any live feed from the House or during the broadcast, are those of the individual(s) speaking and do not represent the views or opinions of CBS or the producers of the program."
Big Brother: Meet the new houseguests!
This isn't the first time a houseguest has been under fire for comments he or she has made. In Season 9, eventual winner Adam Jasinski was fired from the United Autism Foundation for calling the children "retards."
(Full disclosure: TVGuide.com is owned by CBS.)
View original <i>Big Brother</i> Contestant GinaMarie Fired From Job After Offensive Comments at TVGuide.com
<strong>Related Articles on TVGuide.com</strong><ul>
<li><i>Big Brother</i> Contestant Aaryn fired from modeling agency for offensive comments </li><li><i>Big Brother</i> Exclusive: Take a look at the new have-not room</li><li><i>Big Brother</i>: Meet the new houseguests!</li>
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<strong>Other Links From TVGuide.com</strong><ul>
<li>Adam Jasinski</li><li>Big Brother</li><li>Aaryn Gries</li><li>Candice Stewart</li><li>Gina Marie Zimmerman</li><li>Helen Kim</li>
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