While the world has been unable to speak of little else other than the coronavirus pandemic, there is one small group of people who had no idea it was happening at all. The contestants in Germany's Big Brother house were kept in the dark about the global pandemic until Tuesday night, when they were finally informed about the crisis live on air. The situation has caused plenty of confusion for the housemates, who couldn't understand why they were suddenly unable to hear the usual crowds outside of the house (who of course had been disbanded due to new regulations), with one of them even suggesting that the house might have been soundproofed without their knowledge.
The contestants have only just been informed
The group of housemates were suitably shocked and upset over the news, having only entered the house back in February when the first cases of the coronavirus outside of Wuhan, China were being reported. Some of the group teared up, particularly one contestant who was worried about her mother, who has a lung condition. They received video messages from their families, who joked that the contestants were in the safest possible place, and asked them to bring home toilet roll following the shortage.
The contestants received video messages from their families
The series has received backlash following the decision to keep the crucial news from the contestants, leading the production company to announce a change to the rules of keeping the housemates entirely in the dark about outside events unless there is a personal family emergency. They released a statement which read: "The health and safety of our staff, crew, houseguests, and audience members are of the utmost importance. We will continue to produce the show and monitor the situation closely."
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People took to Twitter to discuss the situation, with one writing: "Is it wise to tell them about it on live TV? Isn't that a bit insensitive? The first thing they will want to know is the welfare of their family and loved ones." Another added: "This is just cruel. These people won’t have any way to put what is happening into context. They won’t know if the world is ending or if they are being pranked. Turn the... cameras off while you tell them and show some humanity."
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