I knew it would happen because it's happened before and now here were are, five days into the fourth season of Big Brother Mzansi and women are being threatened with rape by men under the influence of alcohol, spurred on by the show and its producers Red Pepper Pictures who plied the housemates with liquor at the pool party on Thursday night.
By the early hours housemate Bravo "Lottostar" B was going off about how they should f#ck Liema first because "she's drunk".
"Let's f*ck her tonight," - his exact words.
I didn't see it live but here's a video from Twitter user
Yellow:
Disgusting and violent!
One of the replies in the thread of the video claims that Bravo B wasn't referring to Liema sexually but wanted to cause chaos between Liema, Sinaye and Jareed - which is beside the point if that was the case because even speaking about a woman in those terms is threatening and disrespectful.
And the entire situation is severely exploitative of viewers and the contestants.
What makes it even worse is that it's creating hype for the show, which means it's actually working in favour of the production - they can report "good numbers trending" back to Lottostar who'll no doubt be hoping that people will now spend their January salaries on gambling.
This is what Big Brother's become and there are no words to express how heartbreaking, insulting and unethical it is.
The way the producers push contestants into sexual "ships" as if it's what Big Brother's about when it isn't. The incessant, relentless promotion of alcohol and gambling which has gone on for many seasons now with the intent to sell-sell-sell these to viewers.
Of course the show's made a statement saying "We are currently investigating this matter," but Lottostar hasn't said anything on Twitter or Facebook, except:
"Sponsorships like this enable the production of local and quality content that you enjoy."
Uh... no, my hard earned money pays for my DStv subscription which enables productions to be made.
And therefore I have the right to say what I want from my TV and this is what I want:
1. Bravo B and Makhekhe to be disqualified as they were both involved. I want the show to be cancelled immediately but I don't believe that would happen.
2. Media legislation around the use of alcohol in shows e.g. limitations on what can and can't be done in productions that include alcohol.
3. Clarity on the age restriction situation: surely a show sponsored by a company that only caters to over 18-year-olds should have an age restriction of 18 too? But Big Brother doesn't. It has an age restriction of 16 at 18h00.