‘Big Brother’: Danielle Reyes Calls Former Champ Andy Herren for Not ‘Owning’ His Part in ‘BB15’ Racism
Due to the controversy from Big Brother 15, no one has returned for another season. Winner Andy Herren takes issue with this as he considers himself one of the best players and doesn’t think he deserved to deal with the backlash. Big Brother 3 runner-up and legendary player Danielle Reyes called Herren out for playing the victim and not “owning” his part in the controversy.
‘Big Brother 15’ known for racism
During Big Brother 15, several houseguests, including Aaryn Gries, GinaMarie Zimmerman, Spencer Clawson, and winner Andy Herren made several racist, sexist, and inappropriate comments resulting in the loss of their jobs.
Gries made the most overtly racist comments on multiple occasions, and Zimmerman used the n-word as well as made racially insensitive remarks about her co-stars throughout the season. Herren called another houseguest a racially charged nickname.
When Zimmerman and Gries were evicted, both were greeted by boos from the audience for the first time in the series’ history. Even though Herren didn’t partake in many racially charged situations, he also received hate from the BB fandom for not standing up for his marginalized co-stars.
Additionally, he aligned with Gries later in the competition after knowing the insulting comments she made. Because of the houseguests’ behavior, CBS placed a disclaimer on the Live Feeds warning the viewers that the competitors might say offensive things that aren’t a reflection of the show. Additionally, no one from BB15 has ever returned to the series.
Andy Herren admittedly ‘bitter’ he hasn’t returned since ‘Big Brother 15’
Herren considers himself “one of the best players” to have ever played Big Brother and believes he’s better than legends Dan Gheesling and Derrick Levasseur. However, he blames his edit for not portraying all angles of his game.
Therefore, the former champ and self-proclaimed “super fan” believes he should have returned, at least to host a competition. Herren thinks it’s the network’s fault for casting racists and has become vocal on supporting POC houseguests on future seasons.
Additionally, he’s called the show out for not casting more non-white and LGBTQ players.
When insiders began leaking information about the current All-Stars season, Herren continued vocalizing his frustrations about not returning because he believes he deserves a spot on the all-returning cast.
Danielle Reyes calls Andy Herren out for not ‘owning’ his part in the racism
During All-Stars, Herren has frequently tweeted about how he doesn’t think the treatment of the Black houseguests are fair, causing people to bring up the way he didn’t stand up for anyone on his season.
In a now-deleted tweet, the BB15 winner explained he believes it’s not fair that he and his fellow former houseguests “had to endure relentless internet hate” and nearly lost their jobs when “casting didn’t get in trouble at all.”
Big Brother 3 and 7 star Danielle Reyes responded to Herren and explained, “the problem is that you didn’t speak up.” She pointed out that the BB15 champ “remained silent” about the racism for his game but recently began “screaming justice and equal opportunity.”
The Big Brother legend questioned why Herren didn’t bring up the issue earlier and asked if it’s because he didn’t receive an invite for All-Stars. Herren responded and admitted he “will forever regret not speaking up more.”
The BB15 winner clarified that his “issue” lies with the BB fandom getting angry with him and his co-stars when they “should have never been in that situation.”
The BB3 runner-up shot back that “it takes courage to fight for what is right” and advised Herren to “stop blaming production for human behavior.”
She also told him he “had the opportunity to make a difference” and encouraged him to “own” his behavior and stop playing “the victim.” Many fans agreed with Reyes and believe Herren should “take responsibility” for his actions. Big Brother 22: All-Stars airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
Follow Tamara Grant on Twitter.
