Big Brother Season 25 will reference the previous 24 in what's being called an anniversary season. Viewers who watch should expect a lot of callbacks to iconic moments, blindsides, and wild twists. The CBS reality series has made headlines countless times over the course of its run, though not always for the most positive of reasons. There will be many iconic moments mentioned during the season, but these problematic moments will likely be excluded.
I'm here to talk less about "Dan's Funeral" and more about the moments from Big Brother's past that maybe the show would rather forget. These moments are some of the wildest and most bizarre moments from the show's run, and in some cases, it's a shame they won't get a spotlight.
Justin Is Expelled For Using A Knife During Kitchen Foreplay (Season 2)
The early seasons of Big Brother are some of the wildest, mainly because reality television was a fairly fresh concept and social media wasn't a thing. A lot happened in these early seasons that wouldn't be tolerated today, but Justin Sebik crossed a line that not even the year 2001 could let slide.
Sebik was getting cozy with fellow Houseguest Krista Stegall one night in the house kitchen, and while talking dirty to her, held a knife to her throat while they made out. This, paired with some previous aggressive actions and a conversation with a on-site therapist, resulted in production making the decision to expel Sebik from the house.
Friendship Alliance Calling Big Brother Fans “Pieces Of Shit” After Realizing Fans Preferred Janelle (Season 6)
Big Brother has had its fair share of alliances the fans don't like, but the Friendship alliance has to be in the Top 2 of most hated. The Friendship alliance members incorrectly thought they were the heroes of the season, when in reality, the fans gravitated more to those outside of their ranks, like future Big Brother legend Janelle Pierzina.
It was only toward the middle of the game that Friendship realized they might not be as beloved as they thought when America was given a chance to give one Houseguest a phone call, and they chose Janelle over them. April Lewis, mad they were all denied their chances to make a call, said that Big Brother fans were "pieces of shit" if they really liked Janelle over them. In 2023, Janelle is one of the most beloved Big Brother Houseguests who ever played, and we don't see much from anyone in Friendship these days.
Chima Is Booted From The Game After Refusing To Follow The Rules (Season 11)
In one of the most bizarre moments in Big Brother, a Houseguest was removed from the game simply because they wouldn't follow the basic rules to play. After close to half the season in the house, Chima Simone was removed after thinking she could do what she wanted in the house without penalty.
Chima refused to go to the Diary Room, did not put on her microphone, and was finally expelled after deliberately breaking her mic by throwing it in the pool. Production decided to evict her rather than try to deal with her further.
Willie Fights Joe (Season 14)
Big Brother can get heated, but it's rare that Houseguests come to blows. That's because actually fighting in the game will get you expelled, but apparently Willie Hantz didn't care about that when he got heated two weeks into Season 14.
Once he realized he was at risk of leaving, Willie decided he was going to do anything he could to try and get expelled in advance. After throwing food and cursing at Houseguests, he decided he didn't like what Joe Arvin had to say about his tantrum. Hantz headbutted Joe and was swiftly removed from the game on Day 14.
Houseguests Get So Offensive A Disclaimer Is Added (Season 15)
Big Brother typically has at least one controversy a season for something said or done by a Houseguest, but nothing holds a candle to the nastiness that occurred in Season 15. Several Houseguests made bigoted and racist remarks in the house, and it got so offensive that CBS ultimately had to start running a disclaimer ahead of episodes to warn viewers about the content featured in episodes.
The season's reputation was so bad that some Houseguests, like GinaMarie Zimmerman, even lost their jobs after the show because of what occurred. Readers can binge it now with a Paramount+ subscription, but be warned that it is pretty shocking how nasty it gets.
Julie Chen Refers To Herself As Her Full Married Name During Husband’s Controversy (Season 20)
It's rare that Julie Chen becomes the focal point of a Big Brother moment, but such was the case when the host made headlines when she referred to herself as "Julie Chen Moonves" for the first time during a live episode in Season 20. The move was a show of support to her husband Les Moonves, then the CEO of CBS. Moonves was facing multiple allegations of sexual assault at the time, which obviously made her gesture a little more controversial.
Moonves ultimately left the network, though his last name lives on at Big Brother. His wife has continued to say her name the same way ever since. Julie Chen Moonves plans to stay with Big Brother for a long time, so it's possible his name will live on via the show for a while.
Kaitlyn Herman Fails Relatively Easy Puzzle Challenge To Stay In The Game (Season 20)
This is probably one of the lighter moments of the list, but still iconic and something Big Brother probably wouldn't highlight. Kaitlyn Herman was evicted, but thanks to Sam Bledsoe not using her power, she was given a challenge to re-enter the game.
All Kaitlyn had to do was construct a simple cartoon puzzle of herself after transferring it to the other side of a room. The challenge seemed like an easy win for the Houseguest, but despite having two minutes to do it, she failed. Some fans would later speculate the production team deliberately made the challenge easy in order to save Kaitlyn and shake up drama in the house, but she let them down in a tremendous way.
Jackson Michie Is Asked If He's Racist Shortly Before Winning Big Brother (Season 21)
Big Brother will undoubtedly honor a lot of winners during its anniversary season, but there are some who will undoubtedly go unrecognized and unmentioned. One is Season 21 winner Jackson Michie, who faced scrutiny from fans after making moves that seemingly targeted minority Houseguests. He also found criticism due to his close association with Houseguest Jack Matthews, who engaged in more direct racist behavior.
It all led to the finale night when Julie Chen Moonves directly asked Jackson about racist remarks during the question period. Jackson was so rattled by the remarks he didn't smile when it was announced he won, nor when he exited the house to greet others. Jackson has since apologized for his behavior after initially denying any wrongdoing shortly after winning.
Cody Blindsides Nicole F. On Finale Night (Season 22)
Cody Calafiore lost Big Brother Season 16 when he took his Final Two partner Derrick Levasseur to the end with him. It was the honorable thing to do, but ultimately the jury felt he was the pawn to Derrick's mastermind decisions, and he came in second place.
Cody seemingly learned from that mistake in Season 22 when he betrayed his Final Two partner Nicole Franzel at the absolute last minute and sent her out of the house with tears in her eyes. Calafiore ended up being a unanimous winner due to that decision, and fans were given a thrilling moment in an otherwise lackluster season.
Big Brother Season 25 kicks off on Wednesday, August 2nd on CBS. Tune into Paramount+ to see what's happening on the live feeds, and stick with CinemaBlend all season long for updates and analysis on some of the biggest game moves being made all season.
