Never-seen-before Big Brother clip shows moment contestants are told about 9/11

One of the contestants' relatives worked in the World Trade Center

Footage from Big Brother USA shows the moment that contestants were told about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York. On September 9, 2001, two planes were flown into the World Trade Center, commonly known as the Twin Towers, killing 2,977 people. It was one of the most significant moments in the history of the 21st century, with the eyes of the world on New York City. Only a handful of people would have not known about the news, including those taking part in Big Brother USA. This is because one of the rules of the show is that contestants aren't allowed contact with the outside world. However, producers decided that in these extraordinary circumstances, the final three contestants should be made aware of the news, especially as housemate Monica Bailey had a cousin who worked at the World Trade Center and was listed as missing following the attack. [caption id="attachment_355500" align="alignnone" width="1270"] Contestant Monica Bailey had a cousin who was missing following the attack (YouTube)[/caption] Monica's sister had called the show's producers to let them know her cousin, Tamitha Freeman, was missing following the attack In the clip, Monica, along with fellow housemates Will Kirby and Nicole Nilson, were told the basic information on what had happened on the day of the attack. The trio are told that the twin towers had been hit by "hijacked commercial airliners", informing them that "people were evacuated" and informing the three that they'd been in contact with their families. Monica was reassured that her sister and niece were safe, but that her cousin was missing. [caption id="attachment_355501" align="alignnone" width="1322"] Her sister had rang the show's producers to let them know Monica had a relative who worked at the World Trade Center (YouTube)[/caption] However, they did not get the full details until the series finale on September 20. Speaking a couple of weeks after the finale, executive producer Arnold Shapiro told Entertainment Weekly that none of the housemates had asked for footage of the attack to be shown to them. Explaining the decision to air the footage of teh contestants being told as part of the episode, he added: "If Monica had become hysterical we wouldn’t have shown that. But they took it, with shock and concern, but very maturely.” [caption id="attachment_355502" align="alignnone" width="1424"] Executive producer Arnold Shapiro said the contestants all handled the news 'very maturely' (YouTube)[/caption] Shapiro said that Monica did not ask to leave the house and turned down an offer to speak with her sister as "it would probably unnerve her". Related links:

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