Twitter Reacts To Bayleigh & JC's Discussion Of The N-Word On 'Big Brother'

After not airing Angela and Rachel's discussion about getting darker skin or Kaitlyn's use of the n-word while singing a song, fans were shocked when Julie revealed Big Brother would air Bayleigh and JC's "cultural sensitivity" discussion on Sunday. Fans were even more shocked when the discussion did actually air. Unsurprisingly, after Big Brother aired Bayleigh and JC's discussion of the n-word, Twitter had a lot to say about the whole thing.

The conversation began while JC was discussing his height and Bayleigh asked him what the word "dwarf" meant. JC explained that he's not a dwarf because "the people who are little [people] or dwarves are people who have a genetic condition. I'm just a short guy." Bayleigh then continued by asking if there's a difference "between a midget and a dwarf?"

CBS chose to bleep out the word "midget" though it is not a word that typically falls under the FCC Censorship rules. JC went on to explain to Bayleigh that the "m-word" is derogatory, and compared it to specific slurs for gay people and black people, both of which CBS also bleeped out when he said them. Bayleigh, who is black, was incredibly shocked by JC's use of the n-word.

"You're not allowed to say that," Bayleigh told JC. "Don't do that again." The show then cut to Bayleigh in the Diary Room explaining why hearing JC say that word was so offensive.

"JC just used a word that is very offensive to the African American community," Bayleigh said. "The word is so hurtful because it was a term that was used in order to degrade a certain type of human being. Literally, if he would have said 'n-word,' I would have been fine."

Bayleigh and JC then got into a long and tense discussion, as Bayleigh argued that no one should use that word. She then defended herself by explaining that the only reason she said "midget," was because she was trying to educate herself about the term, while JC used the racial slur in a statement. JC immediately got defensive, saying Bayleigh took the whole thing out of context and he was just trying to give an example for why "the m-word" was so hurtful to little people.

Bayleigh then left the room and viewers got to see JC's side of thing in his own Diary Room confessional.

"I happen to be very short," he said. "I'm also gay, and I'm Hispanic. We're talking discrimination. I might know one thing or two. Some people can be very, very cruel. When I walk into a supermarket, it's usually people literally staring at me, like they can't even believe I'm real or not...This is my chance to just speak up for a community that probably doesn't even have a big voice."

Viewers then got another Diary Room clip from Bayleigh where she discussed growing up black and why she'll never "let anyone degrade me or my race in that kind of way." Later, JC went to Bayleigh to apologize and the two seemed to begin to find common ground as they both talked about their experiences with discrimination. Whether their forgiveness of each other was genuine or a game play to make sure the other wouldn't want to put them on the block later remains to be seen. The point is, this is probably the first time in Big Brother history that the show has acknowledged houseguests saying something offensive and actually airing it on TV, especially in this long of a segment.

Bayleigh and JC's conversation got a lot of mixed responses from viewers on Twitter, with many people taking Bayleigh's side, agreeing that what JC said was hurtful and he didn't seem all that apologetic about it, at least not at first. However, many people also felt that Bayleigh overreacted and then her repeated use of the words "midget" and "f*gg*t," was hypocritical.

Regardless, the fact that the conversation was aired on TV definitely opened up a lot of discussion and it was possibly one of the first times fans who only watch the show on TV versus those who also watch the live feeds were on the same page about what was going on in the house.