“Big Brother” Season 24 contestant Paloma Aguilar exited the show during Thursday night’s live episode.
“An unexpected turn of events has now changed everything,” host Julie Chen Moonves said at the top of the show. During the episode, Aguilar revealed that she wasn’t sleeping at all and was struggling with her anxiety. Eventually, she entered the diary room and Head of Household Daniel Durston called everyone to the living room to read a note from production.
“Due to a personal matter, Paloma will no longer be continuing in the ‘Big Brother’ game,” he read to the other houseguests. “She wanted to pass along that she loves you all and wishes you all the best.”
Chen then told the house that originally, the nominees, Taylor Hale and Terrence Higgins, would have been competing against the three “Backstage Pass” holders, and the loser would be sent home. However, since Aguilar was one of the “Backstage Pass” holders — and only one houseguest was set to go home for week one — Chen announced no one would be going home.
Since the new season began on CBS on July 6, the cast has been shown on the live feeds turning against contestant Hale and using microaggressions in conversations about her.
In one discussion, Durston admitted to Aguilar that he was worried about how it would look to have “two Black people on the block at the end of my week.” Aguilar responded, “We need to put that aside, and America needs to put that aside … It can be explained afterwards. We need to play this game.”
In turn, an outcry happened on social media, as both fans and former contestants alike urged for a change to happen.
“The treatment of Taylor in #BB24 is a prime example of why The Cookout was formed,” Season 23 winner Xavier Prather began, referencing his all-Black alliance. “Members of the black community (especially black women) and other people of color stand no chance in the Big Brother House due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society.”
He then apologized for his own “shortcomings” during the show, adding that he “can’t help but feel partially responsible for some of the reprehensible behavior I see being exhibited by current houseguests who consider me one of their ‘favorites.’”
At the time, Variety confirmed that the houseguests had been spoken to about microaggressions and that the entire cast went through the sensitivity training before filming began.
