Contestant Paloma Aguilar has left the Big Brother 24 house and game ahead of the first live eviction due to “personal issues,” host Julie Chen announced during the Thursday, July 14, live eviction episode.
Footage showed her struggling with sleeping in the house and her mental health seemed to take a hit over the past few days.
Fans noticed early on Wednesday, July 13, that the home remodeler, 22, was absent from the live feeds for a few hours and started speculating that she was in the upstairs diary room with members of production.
Paloma had come under fire on social media for her comments about fellow houseguest Taylor Hale, some of which were shown in the Wednesday night episode, including her calling the personal stylist a “lying bitch.”
“Bro, I’ve tried to be compassionate toward her,” she told fellow houseguests. “She’s such a bitch to me. She has not talked game to any of the girls.”
The San Diego resident continued to rant about her unexplained dislike of Taylor, saying she “can’t trust her whatsoever” because “she’s not a girls’ girl.”
Palmona herself had been the one to tell the women in the house that they had to keep an eye on the guys, and that they should stick together. Taylor gave personal trainer Monte Taylor a heads up before he inexplicably went back to Palmona with the information, whose reaction was to claim Taylor was “making up some crazy lie.”
“She can be a snake in the garden. She will stab you from the back and make you a turkey club sandwich, OK?” Paloma told Monte and attorney Joseph Abdin. “I see it. I’m a girls’ girl and I love strong women. We play a similar game but I’m playing it better.”
“Her personality just rubs people the wrong way and she lacks, most of all, self-awareness,” she added. In fact, the self-described “fashion & fitness enthusiast“ turned most of the house against the Michigan native, with some even referring to her as “aggressive” and seemingly perpetuating stereotypes. Head of Household Daniel Durston was seen crying on the feeds as he worried about looking racist for nominating two Black players.
The treatment of Taylor caused an uproar on social media, to the point that former houseguests and all six members of Big Brother 23’s historic Cookout alliance spoke out in support of her.
“Members of the black community (especially black women) and other people of color stand no chance in the Big Brother House due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society,” winner Xavier Prather wrote on Twitter. “I acknowledge my shortcomings during my time on Big Brother and can’t help but feel partially responsible for some of the reprehensible behavior I see being exhibited by current houseguests who consider me one of their ‘favorites.’ For that, I’d like to apologize for being an accessory to any ongoing issues.”
Chen shared her own thoughts with Us on Thursday. “I will say that microaggressions are real and they happen every day,” the CBS personality said. “When they happen, typically the person who is the offender, a lot of times that is not their intention. I will say the Big Brother house is no different. … I think at the end of the day, we are all flawed, and we all need to practice forgiveness and compassion and mercy and grace. And I do feel that when people come out of the house and they see and hear what they did in the house, if they can learn something from it and be humbled by it, then let’s lift each other.”
Prior to Paloma’s exit, Taylor was likely to go home in the first live eviction as she was on the block next to bus driver Terrence Higgins. Paloma, along with hypnotherapist Brittany Hoopes and customer service rep Alyssa Snider, all held a “Backstage Pass.” While they couldn’t be nominated, they were also not deemed safe either. The eviction and that week’s “Backstage” twist were ultimately canceled due to her exit.
