‘Big Brother’ Racist Houseguests Strike Again

Despite losing their jobs, Aaryn Gries and GinaMarie Zimmerman were at it again, raising the racial tension in the “Big Brother” house to another level. Their inappropriate comments on the show’s live feed landed them at the center of a whirlwind of negative press.

Gries and  Zimmerman taunted Candice Stewart, an African-American contestant, to the point of emotional distress. A racially charged altercation erupted after Stewart complained about someone flipping over her mattress and throwing her pillows on the floor as a prank.

“I know somebody got one more time to flip my bed one more time and it’s going to be all hell in this house,” Stewart said.

Gries, who was fired from her modeling agency after her racist comments, escalated the taunting— mocking Stewart with finger-snapping and neck-rolling gestures indicative of her stereotypical view of the contestant.

“Whatcha gonna do, girl?” Gries razzed. “I want to see it raaaght now!”

Stewart responded by trying to convince herself to keep calm, but Gries taunted on, “Whatchu gonna do, class girl? Where’s yo’ class?”

Zimmerman, who was also let go from her day job at East Coast USA Pageant after she was accused of using the N-word while taping “Big Brother,” escalated things further by getting right in Stewart’s face and yelling, “Whatcha gonna say? Whatcha gonna say? … You want the black to come out?”

Things looked like they were to about explode, but fortunately, Howard, another Black contestant, removed Candice from the situation. The two had an emotional heart-to-heart, where Candice cried and expressed, “I can’t take it anymore.”

Watch the dramatic racial confrontation on “Big Brother” below…

 

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top