Big Brother contestant GinaMarie Zimmerman has already been fired from her job as pageant coordinator for East Coast USA Pageant, Inc.
Both she and Aaryn Gries have been let go from their day jobs in the last 48 hours due to their use of racial and gay slurs on the BB15 live feeds.
The reality show is edited before it appears on CBS, but the feeds airing online 24/7 captured some serious racial and gay slurs used by both women.
About fellow contestants, no less.
Zimmerman had been employed for the past five years, but East Coast USA Pageant was “left in disbelief and shock” at her “acts of hate and racism.”
“We have never known this side of Ginamarie or have ever witnessed such acts of racism in the past,” Lauren Handler, the National Director and CEO, said.
“The East Coast USA Pageant is an outlet for girls and women to gain self-confidence announce their platform and most importantly celebrate who they are.”
“We believe and teach our contestants that beauty comes from within. We celebrate the diversity of our participants as all ethnicities are beautiful.”
“We are actually thankful that this show let us see Ginamarie for who she truly is as we would never want her to be a role model to our future contestants.”
“It is unfortunate that her hateful words were able to be witnessed by so many thousands of Big Brother fans as they were rightfully so deeply offended.”
“We are unable to contact her at this time but when she returns from the Big Brother house we will be terminating her employment for her unforgivable behavior.”
“In a business where we are surrounded by beauty every day we are saddened to see something so ugly come from someone we put on a very high pedestal.”
CBS has addressed the recent use of racial and homophobic slurs on Big Brother 15, insisting that the network does not condone such behavior.
“Big Brother is a reality show about watching a group of people who have no privacy 24/7, and seeing every moment of their lives,” the network said.
“At times, the houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone.”