Big Brother All-Stars is here, and while audiences were expected not to officially find out the identities of this season's contestants until the premiere, an ad for CBS All Access on Facebook accidentally leaked 8 houseguests who will be returning to the game for this unprecedented season. Bad news for CBS if the network really wanted to roll into the premiere with mystery, but great news for fans who have grown tired of the mystery for the past month and a half.
The picture, which can be seen below, is an advertisement for Big Brother All-Stars and features former players David Alexander, Cody Calafiore, Da'Vonne Rogers, Kaysar Ridha, Daniele Donato, Bayleigh Dayton, Kevin Campbell, and Janelle Pierzina. All are former players on Big Brother, and while audiences were excited to get a small nugget of information on contestants ahead of the premiere, there certainly are some mixed feelings about one of the eight mentioned.
David Alexander may not be a name immediately familiar to Big Brother fans, because he was barely on Season 21 of Big Brother. David was eliminated on the first night of the season, and while he remained in the house until the Camp Comeback challenge could be completed, essentially had no real shot of playing the game. In short, to call him an "all-star" of Big Brother is certainly generous by the show, if not just a little bit of a lie.
The last all-star edition of Big Brother was filled with former winners and America's favorite houseguests, so there are some who question why a guy who was unceremoniously dropped last year is in Big Brother All-Stars. When rumors first surfaced he was involved in the cast for this year, there were folks who were less than thrilled.
With that said, it's not hard to find snarky takes regarding any decision for Big Brother. David Alexander has his supporters headed into Big Brother All-Stars, and it's not like he'll be universally hated entering the house. There have been calls to give David a second shot at playing ever since Season 21, as many felt the circumstances of his elimination were unfair from the start.
Someone always has to leave the house first in Big Brother, but as mentioned, few first boots were eliminated as quickly as David Alexander. That being said, David may have a leg up considering he was able to stay in the house a few weeks after his elimination, so audiences got to see how he would've played the game had he gotten a real chance. Big Brother fans liked what they saw, and even if they don't like him being on Big Brother All-Stars, they can't deny he might bring something extra to the game.
Then there's a crowd who believes that David Alexander's casting came from Big Brother looking to take steps to move forward from its uncomfortable history with racism. David Alexander was a target of racism in Season 21, and while he did not experience it directly, Season 21's Jack Matthews was caught on the live feeds referring to him as the n-word. While there's no evidence CBS has cast David based on the fact that he's black, some fans have complained and said there are better options if that was the case.
The general vibe ahead of Big Brother All-Stars is that David Alexander will be a polarizing addition to the cast, and we'll see if that opinion changes in the coming days. From a game perspective, I have to wonder if David will be targeted specifically because he isn't a former winner or fan-favorite houseguest by the other contestants, if only to single out someone in the early weeks to make for early elimination. Surely Big Brother wouldn't set David up just to be sent home again the first week, right?
Big Brother All-Stars premieres on CBS Wednesday, August 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend all season long to get the latest happenings in the Big Brother house, and for more news in television and movies.
