Aaryn Gries evicted, blames racism on Texas upbringing.
The latest eviction from the Big Brother house has been the most highly anticipated one, as Aaryn Gries left the reality show dwelling. The 22-year-old Texan outraged Big Brother viewers with her repeated racist and homophobic slurs on camera. She made derogatory comments against African Americans, Asian Americans and LGBT contestants on the reality program, which turned her into one of the most talked about and reviled contestants in Big Brother history.
However, upon exiting the BB house, Gries claimed in her interview with Julie Chen that she had been wrongly accused of racism: "Being Southern is a stereotype, and I have said some things that have been taken completely out of context. I do not mean ever to come off racist -- that's not me, and I apologize to everyone I've offended for that."
Her sort-of apology went largely unnoticed in a rather tense and awkward interview with host Julie Chen, who has objected to Gries’ racist remarks. And rightly so, considering that Gries called out an Asian American contestant at one point, telling her to “shut up and go make some rice.” Gries also said to a black houseguest at one point: "Be careful what you say in the dark, might not get to see the b***h."
Aaryn Gries is the biggest joke ever. It's scary to think a 22 year old college educated woman can be so racist and not even realize it
— Kristin Holden (@kristin_leigh) August 30, 2013
Gries' behavior has created a lot of social media buzz.
After Chen read back some of Gries’ most unsavoury remarks, the former contestant defended herself by saying: "I feel horrible. In Texas, we say things that ... sometimes we joke and we don't mean it. And I really feel bad that this is how it's being seen and how I've come across to people. I don't want to be seen like that."
Gries, who is currently a university student, has already been fired from her modeling job over the racist slurs and she has faced considerable backlash from the public. She will return to Big Brother for one last time after her eviction, as part of the jury, which will pick the final winner of the reality program. At the end of the interview, Chen gave Aaryn a few parting words: "I hope, and think you might have a new perspective on things."
Big Brother host Julie Chen felt personally offended by the remarks.