Some questionable comments made in the Big Brother 19 house have caused a lot of drama and resulted in a self-eviction. But what was said, and why did it cause Alex to get mad at Jessica? It seems that some miscommunication in the house has muddied some problematic comments made by one of the houseguests.
To understand what's happening on Big Brother 19 right now, however, you need to be familiar with the cast of Big Brother 16. One of the houseguests of BB16 was Paola, who frequently went by the nickname PaoPao. Four seasons later, Jessica of Big Brother 19 has also given Alex the nickname of PaoPao. The similarities between the two begin and end at the fact that they're both Asian, making the comparison problematic at best. Alex was told about these comments by Megan, who was hoping to warn her about Jessica making inappropriate remarks about Alex.
However, when Megan told Alex about what was being said, she got some crucial facts wrong. When Jessica said 'PaoPao', Megan heard 'Panda'. The prospect of being called 'Panda' rightfully upset Alex who went to confront Jessica about what she was saying. However, the miscommunication of what was said resulted in Alex turning her anger away from Jessica and towards Megan.
Jessica was able to deny ever calling Alex "Panda" because she didn't actually refer to her by that nickname. Jessica actually called her "PaoPao". Whether Jessica calling Alex "PaoPao" is problematic or not got swept aside once Alex believed that Megan was lying about Jessica making inappropriate comments. Alex and Jessica's anger towards Megan seemed to be a contributing factor in Megan choosing to self-evict.
It's not clear if Alex is aware that she's been called "PaoPao" or if she has a problem with it, but for the time being it seems that Alex and Jessica are fine and Megan is no longer in the house. The problematic nature of Jessica's comments still stands. It's not okay in any way to categorize someone solely by their race — but it looks like that conflict may get swept up under the rug for the rest of the season.
