‘Big Brother’: Derek Frazier Thinks ‘The Challenge’ Overlooks Him Due to His Weight
Big Brother 23 runner-up Derek “Big D” Frazier believes his weight plays a part in why he hasn’t appeared on other competition shows, as several of his castmates recently returned to reality TV for The Challenge and The Amazing Race.
Derek Frazier thinks competition shows won’t cast him due to his weight
Several Big Brother alumni have become recurring cast members on the MTV competition series The Challenge, including Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat, Josh Martinez, Amber Borzotra, and Kaycee Clark, with the latter two winning a season. Additionally, season 20’s Angela Rummans and season 23’s Alyssa Lopez and Derek Xiao, and Cookout members Azah Awasum, Kyland Young, Tiffany Mitchell, and winner Xavier Prather joined the first season of CBS competitive spinoff The Challenge: USA.
Shortly after casting for USA Season 2 and The Challenge 39 reportedly began in late February 2023, BB23 runner-up Derek “Big D” Frazier tweeted his belief about not getting called for the series. He stated he thought competition shows weren’t casting him because he’s a “big guy,” adding, “it’s sad because nothing has changed in this reality TV world.” Additionally, he pointed out that The Challenge veteran Eric “Big Easy” Banks is probably the only competitor weighing over 300 pounds who has appeared on the MTV series.
Responding to a fan who claimed the runner-up could be a better addition, Big D noted he thought the producers prefer to cast their “favorites.” The Big Brother also pointed to assumptions that bigger contestants won’t do well because ‘big people can’t do stuff,’ explaining that he wanted to change the misconception with his presence on reality TV.
In other tweets, the BB23 runner-up promised to “bring the entertainment” and noted he thought he could perform better in competition shows because the challenges require the players to use “body, weight, and strength.” Big D didn’t win any physical competitions on Big Brother. When asked if producers ever considered him, the CBS personality promised to answer “a later time.” After his time on Big Brother, Derek has posted videos of himself working out to Twitter as he’s gotten into CrossFit.
Is Derek F from ‘Big Brother 23’ Joe Frazier’s son?
Joe “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, an Olympic gold medalist and the first boxer to defeat Muhammed Ali, is Derek’s father.
In 2013, then-20-year-old Derek appeared on MTV’s self-improvement reality series Made Season 12 Episode 16, where he wanted to follow in his father’s boxing footsteps.
Filmed a year after his dad died, Big D explained that none of his 10 half-siblings told him about their ailing father, preventing him from seeing the famous boxer in his last days.
Therefore, Derek admitted he felt “stuck” as he didn’t have closure and wanted to get in shape to pursue boxing. After four months, he lost over 50 pounds.
How much did Derek Frazier win on ‘Big Brother?’
Derek, who went by Big D or Derek F. to avoid confusion with another houseguest with the same name, joined the ill-fated Jokers team on the first night.
However, he also had a hand in creating the six-person alliance The Cookout, which wanted to guarantee the show’s first Black winner, that protected him.
Big D was closest to Jokers’ ally Azah and made final deals with members Xavier and Kyland to secure his spot in the final.
Despite his blowups with other Cookout members Tiffany and Azah, he made it to the end, where he argued about his importance in the game. However, the Jury disagreed and unanimously handed Xavier the win.
