'The Big Brother Bible' Author Says He Stands By 'Everything' in His Book After CBS Issues Legal Order

Network giant CBS has gained consistent profits from its hit television reality show Big Brother which is now going through a major controversy sparked by a provocative new book. The book, written by Brody Stuart-Verner, accuses the show of some serious ethical breaches, including allegations of intentionally casting racist individuals. On June 21, CBS responded by issuing a cease-and-desist order to Stuart-Verner. Despite this, he defended his book, The Big Brother Bible: 25 Years of America's Summertime Guilty Pleasure, as reported by Radar Online.

The book also claimed that the show deliberately avoided casting transgender applicants. The author who says he stands by "everything" in his book also stated, "CBS’s lack of response, particularly when asked to specify which areas it disagrees with, speaks for itself." Talking about the cease-and-desist order, he said, "[It was] meant solely to scare me from writing further about Big Brother." Stuart-Verner further said, "I’m a long-time fan and viewer, and I want to see the show succeed. The defensive of the network and series Executive Producers indicates an unwillingness to listen—and perhaps this is why the show’s ratings are at an all-time low today."

He added, "I'm a gay person myself, and I spent much of my early life being quiet, scared of speaking my truth, so these bully tactics perpetrated by CBS don’t work on me. They’re a few decades late for that." Speaking about the production team, Stuart-Verner suggested, "At this point, in my view, the current production team needs to be replaced. Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan have been with the show since 2001. I understand that it’s a remunerative venture for them both, but it’s clear to many long-time viewers that the duo is out of fresh ideas."

Although he praised the duo, he claimed, "It’s time to move on, go work on something else, let a new team take a chance at elevating John de Mol’s iconic format." Meanwhile, the cease-and-desist letter read, “CBS hereby demands that you retract and correct all false and unsubstantiated statements in your book immediately and that you cease repeating and take down immediately all such false and unsubstantiated statements on social media,” as reported by Radar Online. Not just this, Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs Andy Wong also issued a warning to the author.

“CBS will monitor your activity for any further reckless and unfounded statements as well as any further attempts to secure the participation of past series participants and production personnel without express consent from CBS and Big Brother,” he said. However, Stuart-Verner responded to this as he said, “CBS is a bully, and given the network is in dire financial straits, you would think they would have greater priorities than targeting a writer in Canada.” He also stated that he interviewed more than a hundred producers and contestants of the show while writing the book.