GinaMarie Zimmerman, a beauty pageant coordinator, became the second 2013 "Big Brother" contestant to lose her job for racist comments while still on the show.
E! Online reported that East Coast USA Pageant Inc. made the announcement this week in a statement. The pageant took offense to Zimmerman's use of racial slurs, including the N-word, during the reality series' live feed on CBS.com. E! said Zimmerman had been employed with the company for five years.
Urgent: Is Obamacare Hurting Your Wallet? Vote in Poll
"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," Lauren Handler, the national director and CEO of East Coast USA Pageant, said in the statement obtained by E! "We believe and teach our contestants that beauty comes from within. We celebrate the diversity of our participants as all ethnicities are beautiful. We have never known this side of GinaMarie or have ever witnessed such acts of racism in the past."
Earlier this week,
Aaryn Gries, who also used racial slurs on the show, was canned by modeling agency Zephyr Talent. On the live "Big Brother" feed, Gries could be heard making racial and homophobic comments, telling an Asian contestant to "shut up and go make some rice" and referring to a gay contestant as a "queer."
CBS released a statement stated it does not condone the actions of Zimmerman and Gries and their actions do not represent the views of the show's producers.
"At times, the Houseguests reveal prejudices and other beliefs that we do not condone," the statement said, according to The Huffington Post. "We certainly find the statements made by several of the Houseguests on the live Internet feed to be offensive."
In an open letter to "Big Brother" producers on her blog,
former contestant Ragan Fox took the show to task for not airing the comments during prime time, stating viewers should examine how houseguests are acting even in their worst state.
"What’s the point of casting racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities if production’s going to edit out the racism, ethnic discrimination, and homophobia that these people encounter inside the house," Fox wrote on her blog. "Moreover, why do historically marginalized players have the exclusive burden of narrating past acts of racial, ethnic, and sexual brutalization when we see this sort of discrimination enacted INSIDE THE HOUSE?"
Editor's Note: Get the Navy SEALs Cap – Celebrate Our Heroes
Related stories:
'Big Brother' 2013 the TV Show , not NSA – Starts 15th Season
Vanilla Ice 'Goes Amish' on New DIY Network Reality TV Series
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.