Is Big Brother Rigged? Rousso Remains

Tempers rise as fans call into question the most recent events of popular TV show Big Brother. The allegations state that the ultimate winner of the show is fixed because a fan favorite was recently eliminated in place of the expected elimination of a less liked candidate. While one cannot discount the possibility that the accusations are made purely out of anger or disappointment, a few key coincidences based around the “saved” player imply that events have not been as clear cut as they have seemed.

Big Brother is a reality game show that puts contestants together in a specially designed house where they are recorded with audio-visual equipment around the clock. Every week, contestant face tasks and challenges they must complete in order to stay in the house and earn special privileges. Contestants are removed from the house and the game by being voted out either for their inability to complete challenges, or for political reasons among the contestants. While the players compete, viewers at home root for and sometimes help vote to keep their favorite contestants.

Is Big Brother Rigged?

Because of the contest nature of the show, there would be a huge upset if Big Brother was rigged, not only for the players, but also for the fans at home. More importantly, rigging a reality show to provide more screen time for someone that a network wants to make famous is a technique we have seen in the past. The suspicion hits a nerve here because there are rumors that the saved player, poker's own Vanessa Rousso, is getting her own CBS show, Poker Face

The incident is made more suspicious because this is not the first time in the season that Vanessa has escaped elimination. Five weeks ago, the player Shelli was eliminated although Vanessa was the more threatening player up for removal. The fan response to that first incident is likely what has helped this second event garner so much attention and speculation.

Because CBS does stand to gain something from Vanessa Rousso winning the show, it is definitely possible that the game is rigged. What the network must now consider is whether or not the price of the additional screen time has been worth the loss of a portion of the fan base. I have been told that there is no such thing as bad PR, but for Rousso and CBS, that remains to be seen.