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Big Brother Africa: Scandal rocks the house
By: NATASHA UYSWHAT started as a lazy, hazy Saturday afternoon in the Big Brother house ended on a sordid and scandalous note.
The scene was a mix of crazy, drunken antics, which culminated in a
display of what can only be described as sexual abuse.
It also showed how destructive alcohol can be when it is
abused.
On a continent where alcoholism is rampant, abuse of women and
children is pervasive and HIV-AIDS cases have reached alarming
rates, what happened in the house can only be described as sad.
None of us really had the stomach to write about what some
viewers are describing as "the most scandalous day" in Big Brother
history, but because the incidents have sparked such debate and
outrage, we are left with no option.
Such has been the outrage that some BBA pundits are wondering if
there will be a BBA3.
We enjoy writing tongue-in-the cheek takes on the housemates and
house happenings, or doing breakdowns of events; writing about
Saturday's events offers no pleasure.
No matter how much we love BBA, the question has to be asked:
did what went down cross a line? Of course, there were those
gung-ho sexual cowboys on the SMS strip wanting more, urging Rich
on.
Sure, BBA is a reality show, but surely even in reality shows
there are bottom lines? If the housemates had all been sober, it
could have been seen differently: at least the dynamics of consent
would have come into play.
FISHING TASK It all started with a fishing task, which ended
with Rich fishing - uninvited - in forbidden waters.
The task saw the housemates degenerating into drunken zombies -
there was the large-scale vomiting, and what is being seen as the
sexual abuse of especially a blind-drunk Ofunneka.
Tati was also on the receiving end.
Matters got so bad that the paramedics had to be called in! And,
eventually, Richard was locked in the diary room.
Big Brother himself chose to censor viewing at one point by
switching to an empty garden for a good 30 minutes or so.
In terms of a reality show, this was also not on, one
"horrified" viewer who telephoned The Namibian said.
OK, so still hung over from the previous night, the housemates
were supposed to fish with magnetic fishing rods - they had to
catch an array of magnetised fish.
On the reverse side of each fish was a written question or task
and the housemates, in typical Simon Says fashion, had to follow
the instructions.
As is usual on a Saturday, Biggie provided housemates with an
abundance of alcohol.
The booze combined with an across-the-board hangover and the
fact that the housemates had seemingly had very little to eat led
to some of the most offensive scenes of the show.
So offensive that Biggie has remained suspiciously mum on the
whole issue, allegedly censoring snippets of the sordid ordeal and
allegedly even removing certain threads on the official BBA website
forum.
BBA viewers are also shouting the odds that their SMS messages
on the incident are not being shown, that only a limited, selective
few are being screened on the SMS strip.
None of the housemates emerged with any credit - though, if
anyone showed even a modicum of sense under the circumstances, it
was Maureen, who was tipsy but not as out of it as the others.
HOW IT WENT DOWN After only 30 minutes, the housemates were so
drunk that they could barely complete the fishing task.
As a post on the BBA Ultimate Fan Web blog said, it was like the
blind leading the blind, the blind drunk.
The housemates were falling all over the place, stumbling into
each other, holding each other, kissing ...
After a few more shots of booze all round, the day went from bad
to worse as the crazy behaviour continued.
After a while the 'Big 5's' bodies just couldn't handle it any
more and one after the other they started puking their guts
out.
Ofu and Tati were undoubtedly the two most out of it.
Don't know what was going through Richard's mind at the time but
he seemed to think that two all-but passed-out women was a sexual
invitation! WTF??!!! Lying between the two women in the bedroom,
Richard began to kiss and fondle and fiddle with Ofu, and this
while his lover - Tati - was lying right next to him.
On the same bed! You could have been forgiven for thinking you
had stumbled across a new porn channel, as one viewer who called in
said - but no, it was Big Brother Africa.
This is reality television, people - showcasing not only the
highs and lows of human behaviour but the ugliest side of people
too.
As Richard groped and abused Ofu, a dazed and confused Maureen
walked in and out of the room - babbling, seemingly at a loss over
what to do.
She had tried to lead Richard out of the room, but he was
running on rampant and eager to get back to the two women.
At one point she got him to sit on the couch, at which stage he
seemed to revel in sniffing his fingers.
As Maureen struggled with the situation, the paramedics were
sent in and Richard was eventually locked in the diary room.
This is also when Biggie decided to switch to the garden
camera.
OUTRAGE What Richard did to Ofunneka can only be described as
morally reprehensible.
There are even those on BBA forums and other BBA threads
charging that it is tantamount to rape, with many calling for the
Tanzanian to be removed from the Big Brother house for what he did
to his Nigerian housemate.
Abuse should not be tolerated in any way, shape or form, whether
it is in the form of physical or emotional violence or a sexual
affront.
Diehard Richard fans are trying to play down the incident,
shifting the blame on to Ofunneka, claiming that that she "wanted
it".
Hello people? That is like saying that women ask to be raped?!
As one message on the SMS strip said, "When is someone going to
teach Rich what NO and STOP IT mean?" But don't be surprised if
Richard fans try to paint him as a saint of sexual favours.
Any decent man would never take advantage of a woman in that
situation.
Ofunneka was unaware of what was going on around her, unaware of
what Richard was doing to her yet he continued to abuse her in the
most vile manner.
Others are trying to blame Maureen.
They say she should have hit Richard over the head with
something.
Well, imagine if she hadn't knocked him out, and he had turned
on her?!! When will this man be stopped? Viewers across Africa have
already given his adulterous relationship with Tatiana the stamp of
approval by not voting him out on numerous occasions.
And doubtless there will be those who will continue to vote for
their "Richie".
Do they really approve of his abusive and chauvinistic
behaviour? What message does this send out to men and women across
Africa? That it's okay to cheat on your wife, to sexually cheat on
live television, to intimately grope a passed-out woman? AFTERMATH
After the paramedics left, the housemates slept for a very long
period.
And when they finally surfaced, they tried to piece together the
events of the afternoon.
Tatiana and Ofunekka said they could not remember how they even
got to the bedroom.
Although Richard seemed to remember bits and pieces, he
certainly did not divulge the details.
But the man sure strutted around the house as though he owned
all the women.
He was obviously cock-a-hoop, pronouncing loudly "I have seen
the rivers and mountains of Big Brother", and then guffawing in a
very self-satisfied way.
Not only did he seem very, very pleased with himself, but he
boldly pronounced, almost shouted, that he had "changed strategy"
and "I'm going to bump all the women in the BBA house" - not once,
not twice, but a number of times.
He even shouted out a demand to Tati, in full hearing of Ofu and
Maureen, that he wanted a BJ.
It seems that with each eviction that he has survived, Rich has
become increasingly convinced that he is untouchable, and can do
whatever he wants - without fear of retribution, or
accountability.
- Additional reporting by JEAN SUTHERLAND.
Catch BBA2 on Channel 198, DStv
It also showed how destructive alcohol can be when it is abused.On
a continent where alcoholism is rampant, abuse of women and
children is pervasive and HIV-AIDS cases have reached alarming
rates, what happened in the house can only be described as sad.None
of us really had the stomach to write about what some viewers are
describing as "the most scandalous day" in Big Brother history, but
because the incidents have sparked such debate and outrage, we are
left with no option.Such has been the outrage that some BBA pundits
are wondering if there will be a BBA3.We enjoy writing
tongue-in-the cheek takes on the housemates and house happenings,
or doing breakdowns of events; writing about Saturday's events
offers no pleasure.No matter how much we love BBA, the question has
to be asked: did what went down cross a line? Of course, there were
those gung-ho sexual cowboys on the SMS strip wanting more, urging
Rich on.Sure, BBA is a reality show, but surely even in reality
shows there are bottom lines? If the housemates had all been sober,
it could have been seen differently: at least the dynamics of
consent would have come into play.FISHING TASK It all started with
a fishing task, which ended with Rich fishing - uninvited - in
forbidden waters.The task saw the housemates degenerating into
drunken zombies - there was the large-scale vomiting, and what is
being seen as the sexual abuse of especially a blind-drunk
Ofunneka.Tati was also on the receiving end.Matters got so bad that
the paramedics had to be called in! And, eventually, Richard was
locked in the diary room.Big Brother himself chose to censor
viewing at one point by switching to an empty garden for a good 30
minutes or so.In terms of a reality show, this was also not on, one
"horrified" viewer who telephoned The Namibian said.OK, so still
hung over from the previous night, the housemates were supposed to
fish with magnetic fishing rods - they had to catch an array of
magnetised fish.On the reverse side of each fish was a written
question or task and the housemates, in typical Simon Says fashion,
had to follow the instructions.As is usual on a Saturday, Biggie
provided housemates with an abundance of alcohol.The booze combined
with an across-the-board hangover and the fact that the housemates
had seemingly had very little to eat led to some of the most
offensive scenes of the show.So offensive that Biggie has remained
suspiciously mum on the whole issue, allegedly censoring snippets
of the sordid ordeal and allegedly even removing certain threads on
the official BBA website forum.BBA viewers are also shouting the
odds that their SMS messages on the incident are not being shown,
that only a limited, selective few are being screened on the SMS
strip.None of the housemates emerged with any credit - though, if
anyone showed even a modicum of sense under the circumstances, it
was Maureen, who was tipsy but not as out of it as the others. HOW
IT WENT DOWN After only 30 minutes, the housemates were so drunk
that they could barely complete the fishing task.As a post on the
BBA Ultimate Fan Web blog said, it was like the blind leading the
blind, the blind drunk.The housemates were falling all over the
place, stumbling into each other, holding each other, kissing
...After a few more shots of booze all round, the day went from bad
to worse as the crazy behaviour continued.After a while the 'Big
5's' bodies just couldn't handle it any more and one after the
other they started puking their guts out.Ofu and Tati were
undoubtedly the two most out of it.Don't know what was going
through Richard's mind at the time but he seemed to think that two
all-but passed-out women was a sexual invitation! WTF??!!! Lying
between the two women in the bedroom, Richard began to kiss and
fondle and fiddle with Ofu, and this while his lover - Tati - was
lying right next to him.On the same bed! You could have been
forgiven for thinking you had stumbled across a new porn channel,
as one viewer who called in said - but no, it was Big Brother
Africa.This is reality television, people - showcasing not only the
highs and lows of human behaviour but the ugliest side of people
too.As Richard groped and abused Ofu, a dazed and confused Maureen
walked in and out of the room - babbling, seemingly at a loss over
what to do.She had tried to lead Richard out of the room, but he
was running on rampant and eager to get back to the two women.At
one point she got him to sit on the couch, at which stage he seemed
to revel in sniffing his fingers.As Maureen struggled with the
situation, the paramedics were sent in and Richard was eventually
locked in the diary room.This is also when Biggie decided to switch
to the garden camera.OUTRAGE What Richard did to Ofunneka can only
be described as morally reprehensible.There are even those on BBA
forums and other BBA threads charging that it is tantamount to
rape, with many calling for the Tanzanian to be removed from the
Big Brother house for what he did to his Nigerian housemate.Abuse
should not be tolerated in any way, shape or form, whether it is in
the form of physical or emotional violence or a sexual
affront.Diehard Richard fans are trying to play down the incident,
shifting the blame on to Ofunneka, claiming that that she "wanted
it".Hello people? That is like saying that women ask to be raped?!
As one message on the SMS strip said, "When is someone going to
teach Rich what NO and STOP IT mean?" But don't be surprised if
Richard fans try to paint him as a saint of sexual favours.Any
decent man would never take advantage of a woman in that
situation.Ofunneka was unaware of what was going on around her,
unaware of what Richard was doing to her yet he continued to abuse
her in the most vile manner.Others are trying to blame Maureen.They
say she should have hit Richard over the head with something.Well,
imagine if she hadn't knocked him out, and he had turned on her?!!
When will this man be stopped? Viewers across Africa have already
given his adulterous relationship with Tatiana the stamp of
approval by not voting him out on numerous occasions.And doubtless
there will be those who will continue to vote for their "Richie".Do
they really approve of his abusive and chauvinistic behaviour? What
message does this send out to men and women across Africa? That
it's okay to cheat on your wife, to sexually cheat on live
television, to intimately grope a passed-out woman? AFTERMATH After
the paramedics left, the housemates slept for a very long
period.And when they finally surfaced, they tried to piece together
the events of the afternoon.Tatiana and Ofunekka said they could
not remember how they even got to the bedroom.Although Richard
seemed to remember bits and pieces, he certainly did not divulge
the details.But the man sure strutted around the house as though he
owned all the women.He was obviously cock-a-hoop, pronouncing
loudly "I have seen the rivers and mountains of Big Brother", and
then guffawing in a very self-satisfied way.Not only did he seem
very, very pleased with himself, but he boldly pronounced, almost
shouted, that he had "changed strategy" and "I'm going to bump all
the women in the BBA house" - not once, not twice, but a number of
times.He even shouted out a demand to Tati, in full hearing of Ofu
and Maureen, that he wanted a BJ.It seems that with each eviction
that he has survived, Rich has become increasingly convinced that
he is untouchable, and can do whatever he wants - without fear of
retribution, or accountability.- Additional reporting by JEAN
SUTHERLAND.Catch BBA2 on Channel 198, DStv
