australian 'big brother' controversy

[jess20882]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:07am

i was listening to the radio this morning and they were discussing a story in recent news.
on australia's 'big brother' reality tv show, a girl named emma has not been notified of her father's death since contestants are completely closed-off from the outside world while competing on the show. apparently her father, before his death, expressed his wishes that emma not be bothered by outside business while she's on the show, and the family also agreed to similar guidelines. not to mention the contestants sign contracts before participating, agreeing to be cut-off from society while in the house. but still...
does anyone else find that SO wrong??? i think a death in the immediate family should absolutely be an exception to that rule...
Updated On: 5/31/07 at 11:07 AM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:13am

That is HORRIBLE!

[polly2]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:15am

I have to agree with you. If that was me, I'd be suing when I did find out. A death in the family should definitely be the exception.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:17am

polly, she won't have a case. They sign contracts when they go in. These people agreed that under no circumstances would they leave or get news from the outside world.

It's horrible, but that's the risk she took.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:19am

It was also her family's wish that she not be told. They are only following what the family has asked them to do.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:19am

Okay, that is just weird.

[RobbO]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:19am

i know in the US they informed one of the cast when her family member (cousin?) died in the WTC on 9/11. they did not explain what happened with the attacks but told her that a family member died and gave her the option of leaving. she stayed.

[Calvin]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:20am

Wasn't one of the U.S. Big Brothers going on when Sept. 11 happened, and they told them about it?

eta: This has been "Jeopardy!" with RobbO and Calvin. Updated On: 5/31/07 at 11:20 AM

[sweetiedarlinmia]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:20am

I know when 9/11 happened they told the cast in the American House. Showed cnn video and everything, as well as made sure they found out if any family or friends who might have been affected were ok.

[RobbO]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:23am

^ i think that was mtv's the real world where they did that. i remember specifically that they did not tell the woman (monica from brooklyn(?), i think) about the events that led to her cousin's death just that he died suddenly.

Updated On: 5/31/07 at 11:23 AM

[paradox_error]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:24am

I wish they'd tell her and she'd leave, 'cause she's a total bitch.

BUT, she knew of her father's illness before going into the house, and her family agreed that she wasn't to be notified. Her father stipulated on his deathbed for her not to be told, and her family wanted his wishes upheld.

As far as I know, BB had intended on at least telling her of the incident...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:29am

I love it when people post about something they find morally outrageous before they find out more facts.

[RobbO]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:30am

from wikipedia's account of that season of big brother with monica bailey ( either i remembered it wrong or wiki is wrong. there's 50/50 odds on either.)

"About two weeks before the end of the second season, the September 11 attacks pre-empted television for an entire week. In a move away from the rule of not letting the houseguests in on information from the outside world, the three remaining houseguests were told of the news. The Big Brother voice asked Monica to enter the diary room, and she was told that her cousin Tamitha was as yet not located at the World Trade Center. The week after the attacks, the game continued as normal. On finale night, the audience was updated....that Monica's cousin Tamitha had died at the World Trade Center."

[paradox_error]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:33am

Lizzie, it has been a pretty huge controversy over here, though...
Our crazy right-wing government (which does this at least twice a Bib Brother season) has once again called for it to be pulled off the air...
I don't agree with HER FAMILY'S behaviour, mostly...
I can't imagine anything worse than missing the funeral, and the opportunity to grieve my father's passing...

[Calvin]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:36am

Hey, I saw "Xanadu" last night, so that makes me as Australian as one of those blow-pipey-buzzy things.

[RobbO]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:38am

it sounds like it was her and her family's wish so who are we to judge? apparently the money is more important to them than grieving. (whoops, was that a judgment?)

[polly2]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 11:42am

Well, I'm sure you are right about the lawsuit. I think the whole thing is weird though. If I knew my dad was sick & might die, I wouldn't have even done the show. (Not that I personally would anyway). I also think it's weird that her family doesn't want her to know, but I guess they might think it might cause her to want to leave or distress her to the point where she might lose.

If it was me though, I'd want to know.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 12:56pm

I didn't have a muffin this morning, so this is my dose of sweetness!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 1:08pm

LOL, Kringas. One day we'll find out if there's a character limit on that thing.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 2:34pm

paradox, I remember last season hearing from an Aussie friend something about a p*nis being shown on air? Is that what caused the government meltdown? Because it almost caused my friend to have one (she's much older).

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 2:35pm

It's too bad Jess has his PM system turned off. Otherwise, I would gladly explain to him the meaning of irony.

Oh, well.

[jess20882]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 2:37pm

i know what irony means, thank you very much.

perfectly marvelous? really? stop kidding yourself...

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 2:49pm

Meee-OW!

I think we'd have a great cast for Big Brother right here!

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 2:55pm

I'd rather be on the Real World, actually.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/31/07 at 3:22pm

I loves me some PM.