Key Takeaways
- Big Brother’s X-Factor Twist during season 4 caused a houseguest emotional distress and led to his ejection from the game.
- Scott’s reunion with ex-fiance Amanda disrupted his game, causing erratic behavior and expulsion.
- Despite initial turbulence, Big Brother continued using the X-Factor twist in seasons 8 and 9.
Big Brother twists have been a part of the franchise since the very beginning and are the core to Big Brother’s theme, “expect the unexpected.” During Big Brother season 4, houseguests were victims to a major twist that ultimately became more emotionally charged than the reality TV show’s production could have anticipated.
In Big Brother’s X-Factor Twist, houseguests were reunited with ex-lovers after entering the Big Brother house. For this to work, eight houseguests entered the house at the start of season 4 and were told that five more would be joining them – all of whom would be exes to one of the eight houseguests. Emotions are usually heightened for Big Brother houseguests during the game, but by throwing in complicated personal relations from outside the house, the pressure became too much for one BB4 houseguest.
Big Brother’s X-Factor Twist In Season 4 Caused Scott Weintraub Emotional Ejection
Big Brother season 4 put five houseguests into the game who were exes to other houseguests for the X-Factor twist. After learning that his ex-fiance, Amanda Craig, had joined the game during Season 4, Episode 1, Scott Weintraub’s Big Brother game was changed and not for the better. Within the first few days of his Big Brother experience, Scott began acting erratic with outbursts and vulgar language toward not only his ex-fiance, but towards the other players in the house.
Being reunited with Amanda after not seeing her for over a year proved to be too much for Scott. The season 4 Big Brother houseguest was full of mixed emotions. He was forced to come to terms with the fact that he was still in love with Amanda, but became angry at the realization and could not deal with his feelings in such a public forum.
Scott’s breaking point during the Big Brother X-Factor twist was when Amanda was placed on the block and targeted as a houseguest who could not be trusted. As Scott’s moods became even more unpredictable, he went on an angry tirade through the Big Brother house, throwing the dining room chairs around the kitchen area. Big Brother production attempted to address the situation by calling Scott into the diary room, but he refused, stating, “You come in and get me. Come in and get me. You can’t fu**ing handle me. It’d take three of you.”
He then went outside and claimed nothing was going on, that he was just letting off a little steam, but Scott’s outburst continued outside. Amanda attempted to talk him down, knowing he was frustrated with everything.
“When you first came into the house, I didn’t know how to handle the situation,” Scott admitted to Amanda, during Big Brother Season 4, Episode 4. “So, the only way I know how to handle the situation is to be an a**hole.”
“I’m just like freaking out.”
“I don’t see myself lasting too much longer here. The first day I was in here, I wanted to leave because of that nonsense X-Factor,” Scott shared in a diary room recording. “I just got taken out of my game when Amanda walked into the door, and that’s just it man. I don’t really give a sh** about the game anymore, so I’m a loose cannon now. I mean I still have the same strategy that I did, but I don’t really give a sh** if I go next week; it’d almost be a good thing if I went next week.”
After his talk with Amanda, Scott called for a group meeting where he could address the house together and try to apologize for his behavior.
“The reason why I did kind of get like an overload is because, basically seeing Amanda here had brought me back to the time when we broke up. Because, she’s been able to go on with her life and I haven’t been able to go on with my life. It’s just been the worse year and a half of my life, and I just wanted to say that in no way, shape or form do I want to leave here. I’d love to stay and continue on playing the game. And I’m truly, truly very sorry to each and every one of you.”
However, Scott’s houseguests remained skeptical of his apology and didn’t feel like it was genuine. They shared that it wasn’t the first time Scott apologized for his behavior and then went right back to acting out.
After the meeting, on day eight, Scott appeared to enter the diary room voluntarily and did not return to the game. He became the second Big Brother houseguest to be expelled from the game.Out of all the expelled Big Brother houseguests, Scott spent the fewest days in the house, lasting only eight days.
After Scott was expelled, it was later rumored the
he was not ejected because of his erractic behavior,
but due to failing an STD test for HPV, which can be transmitted through non-sexual contact, according to
Big Brother Wiki
. CBS, however, later deny the claims.
Big Brother Used The X-Factor Twist Again In Season 8 And Season 9
Although Big Brother’s X-Factor twist did have a bumpy start with season 4, the reality tv show did bring the twist back during season 8 and 9. During season 8, Big Brother had the “rivals” twist. Three houseguests were added into the house whom had previous relations with already established houseguests. One of the “rival” houseguests was Dustin Erikstrup, the ex-boyfriend to Joe Barber.
Dustin and Joe brought the drama to the early weeks of Season 8, with their arguements and messy history on display for the other houseguests and Big Brother viewers. Bringing Dustin into the game mirrored the temultuous outcome of BB4‘s X-Factor twist, as Joe admitted having Dustin in the game “completely screws up my game. I can’t be the super fun, happy Joe.” Joe was ultimately voted out during week 2.
In BB9, the reality show once again brought in exes to compete in the game. For season 9, Big Brother had the Soulmates twist, where houseguests were paired up into couples, based on compatibility forms they filled out during the audition process. The X-Factor twist was incorporated because two of the 16 houseguests, Jacob Heald and Sharon Obermueller, used to date before entering the house, and they were paired up together. Jacob was evicted from the house after only three days in the Big Brother house, while Sharon went on to place fourth.
Did Big Brother Take Things Too Far With Exes?
Bringing in previously established relationships one of the Big Brother twists used to stir up the drama and create conflict among the houseguests. However, they can never be too sure which way things will go when strong personalities and even stronger emotions are involved. The original X-Factor twist from season 4 helped create a lot of tension in the early episodes with Scott and Amanda’s relationship. While the twist completely derailed Scott’s Big Brother game, the twist did prove to be a benefit for BB4’s winner, Jun Song, who ended up making a secret alliance with her ex, Jee Choe.
Big Brother has instilled in both the houseguests and the viewers that they should always “expect the unexpected,” and bringing in outside relationships, whether go or bad, is something houseguests never see coming. During Big Brother 25, Jared Fields entered the house to discover that his own mother, Survivor alumn, Cirie Fields, was also in the game. Jared and Cirie were able to keep their personal relationship a secret from most of their houseguests.