Last week, the Big Brother house eliminated Da'Vonne who then dropped a huge accusation regarding Audrey. She was convinced no one would put Audrey up because she is transgender, and the houseguests didn't want to look bad for evicting her. But, did Da'Vonne have a point? Vanessa admitted on Wednesday that Audrey's gender identity would influence her decision to keep Audrey on the show — but not for the fearful reasons Da'Vonne suspected. Vanessa said she didn't want to nominate Audrey because "it would go against what I stand for," with what she stands for being the LGBT community. Vanessa is proudly in a relationship with a woman, and, as a member of the LGBT community, said she would have a hard time nominating someone who she felt was doing a lot of good for the transgender community by being in the spotlight on such a major show.
"I want to do the right thing... I don't want to do anything wrong," Vanessa admitted. "I'm a champion for causes, what Audrey represents for being here... Imagine how that would look."
I get where Vanessa is coming from, and it is a bit different than how Da'Vonne described it. Day called all of the houseguests cowards, and said they were letting Audrey slide to the end because of her transgender status. But, it's a little more complicated than that.
Vanessa knows what it's like to be a minority as a woman who likes other women (she's not labeling herself as a lesbian or a bisexual), so she likely understands some of Audrey's struggle and doesn't want to be responsible for kicking out someone who is helping raise awareness like that.
Is it fair? No, not really. But, as HoH it was her choice, and, at the very least, I think everyone can see why she made the decision she did — even if it may not have been a popular one.
For all the up-to-date info on the ever-changing alliances and everything else going on in the house, check out Bustle’s very own Big Brother podcast, The Diary Room. Listen to the latest episode below, and be sure to check out future episodes on Bustle’s SoundCloud page.
Want even more Big Brother? Bustle’s App has you covered. It’s THE go-to place for any BB fan looking for round-the-clock Season 17 updates. BUT FIRST, you need to download the app from iTunes.
Images: Sonja Flemming/CBS (2)
