Hall of Shame Moment: Big Brother 9’s Chelsia and Joshuah Show the Poorest of Taste

Very early in the morning of Monday, February 18, I found myself unable to sleep. Since the day was a holiday for me, I flipped through my digital cable guide to find something to watch and ended up at Showtime’s nightly live show, Big Brother After Dark. Although I’m having trouble finding anyone to like among this current crop of houseguests, I decided to see what was going on in the house.

It was immediately apparent that I had stumbled upon a very heated argument, which I can only describe as “The House v. Amanda.” I didn’t know what caused the argument, but it had exploded into drama the likes of which reality TV producers pray for. THIS was great TV! We learned on Wednesday’s show that it started with – what else – gossip about housemates.

Eventually everyone began to calm down – and quiet down – and things seemed to be resolving themselves. It was at that moment that Joshuah tried to make a joke, and Chelsia turned it into something very different.

We had previously learned that Amanda’s father committed suicide by hanging himself, and that Amanda is still struggling to deal with it. She obviously blames herself and even if she didn’t, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the suicide of a parent is a very painful and difficult thing for someone to deal with.

As the fight wound down on Sunday night Big Brother time, Joshuah made the sarcastic comment that Amanda should be given a halo. Chelsia, knowing Amanda’s history, added, “or a noose.”

Now, we here at the Reality TV Hall of Shame realize that people make jokes about death all the time. But to do so in this manner, when referring to someone whose father committed suicide by hanging himself, is not the least bit funny. Chelsia said it knowing Amanda’s situation, and she said it to create a sting. It’s unforgiveable.

As if Chelsia’s comment wasn’t bad enough, Joshuah added to it. As he walked into the house, he added, “just like her father,” to Chelsia’s comment. Not that there was any real doubt that everyone in the house knew what Chelsia was referring to, but if there was any, Joshuah erased it with his comment.

It wasn’t enough for Chelsia to stick the knife in with her comment, Joshuah had to twist it with his. And for what purpose? The fight was dying down. Everyone had said (or rather, yelled) whatever it was they wanted to say, and Amanda was essentially put in her place. Her own partner was begging her to be quiet.

Even if Amanda was still carrying on, Chelsia and Joshuah should not have gone where they did. Using a painful memory to do nothing but hurt someone, no matter how disliked that person is, is no joking matter. It was a low blow, completely uncalled for, and in about as poor taste as you can get.

The original ending to this article noted that, to their credit, I believe it had been established that both Chelsia and Joshuah did apologize for their comments. And I was going to say that even so, it wouldn’t mean they would get out of their Hall of Shame Moment. But then they made things even worse. In Saturday’s live feeds, we found out that no matter what they might have said to Amanda, they apparently still think it’s hilarious to joke about her father’s suicide. As they and a few others were discussing the possible veto competition, Chelsia suggested it might be trying to get out of a noose. Once again, as if that weren’t bad enough, Joshuah jumped in to add that Amanda (referred to much more nastily than just by her name) might die just like her dad. Luckily, Amanda wasn’t there to hear it this time, but that hardly made it any better.

The events in the house on Sunday necessitated yet another addition. As several houseguests were discussing the next HOH competition, Chelsia suggested that since they don't want Amanda & Alex to win, if they were doing well, Chelsia would take her HOH keychain and make a hanging motion with it to throw her off. Classy as ever.

None of these comments should ever have been made. They weren’t made in the dark – both Chelsia and Joshuah knew how much their comments would hurt, and that’s why they made them. Despite their apologies, they obviously were not really sorry. And that’s why they’ve landed here in the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

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Sandy Lamparello is an Associate Editor for Reality News Online and a Legal Editor/Correspondent for a publishing company in Crystal City, VA. She is currently training with Team In Training for the National Marathon. Read more about that here. Sandy welcomes your comments at realitytvjunkie@gmail.com. Ciao!

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