Julie Chen Talks About The Big Brother Controversy On The Talk!

Julie Chen, host of CBS’ Big Brother, opened up to the other ladies who help her co-host The Talk about the racist and homophobic comments that have been made on Big Brother.

To put it simply, she was “stung,” and has taken it “personally.”

On contestant Aryn Gries‘ remarks towards Asians, specifically one of the other contestants Helen, she had this to say:

“When I first found out that Aaryn, who’s a 22-year-old girl, made anti-gay, anti-black and anti-Asian comments, I have to be honest. The Asian ones hit me the most.”

She then went on to talk about how the comments made on Big Brother reminded her of her own personal experiences with racism:

“The really sad part was it took me back to the ’70s when I was growing up in Queens, and when I was 7 years old getting bullied, being called a chink and people pulling their eyes. But it took me back so many years and I thought to myself wow, I haven’t heard comments like that – the year is 2013! And then I felt ignorant. I felt like, wow, there’s still people who live in this country who feel that way and act that way? Yes, there is. Yes, there is. And afterwards it just made me sad, because she’s 22, and she’s college-educated.”

Co-host Aisha Tyler and Jule agreed with each other about how The Talk tries to use humorous comments about race to break down its barriers, whereas Aryn’s remarks were just “mean spirited.”

Likewise, we have to agree with The Talk‘s Sara Gilbert who had this to say about CBS’ decision to keep the racial remarks in the episode’s final cut:

“I’m happy that CBS and ‘Big Brother’ aired the comments because I feel like it’s good for people to see it, and let those people deal with the consequences when they get out of the house.”

Overall, what a great job the ladies of The Talk did on tackling the controversy in a very frank and open dialogue! Racist and homophobic remarks can hurt many deep, but it’s shows like The Talk that give hope that maybe by talking about race and sexuality, we can prevent such hateful comments being made in the first place.