‘Big Brother’ Star Admits He Was Cut From ‘All-Stars’ Due to COVID-19

Former Big Brother winner Josh Martinez has finally revealed what went down last summer when he was “cut” from the Big Brother: All-Stars cast at the last minute.

In August, insiders told TMZ that Martinez was pulled from the All-Stars cast due to a COVID positive test that came back while he was sequestering in a private Los Angeles rental property. Martinez had been in sequester since mid-July when the report came out.

In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, Martinez addressed rumors that he was unable to compete on the CBS reality show because he tested positive for COVID-19.

Here’s what he said:

Josh Admitted That he Knew He Had COVID-19 Before Flying Out to Los Angeles to Sequester for ‘Big Brother’, But Thought He Had Fully Recovered

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In the new interview, which can be seen above, Josh revealed he had been contacted early last year about participating in the second-ever Big Brother: All-Stars season. But prior to flying out to Los Angeles in July, Martinez tested positive for the coronavirus.

“With All-Stars I’ll be completely real with you.,” he told ET. “So I got reached out early in March, I knew there was going to be an All-Stars season. I go into sequester…I was in there 15 days. And I did get COVID a month before, so I did get sick. I was sick for like two weeks. It was the worst. I felt the worst I ever have in my life. So I was sick but I thought at that point I was fine.”

Martinez explained he took rapid COVID tests and received three negative results before CBS  allowed him to fly out to California to begin a pre-show quarantine. He sequestered for two weeks and participated in pre-show photoshoots, but two days before the Big Brother: All-Stars premiere in August, Martinez tested positive for COVID-19 once again. CBS then dropped him from the show.

“I was heartbroken,” Martinez admitted.

He went on to film MTV’s The Challenge instead.

Josh Previously Denied That He Had Any Health Problems Prior to Big Brother: All-Stars

Once it was confirmed that Martinez was not one of the 16 cast members in the Big Brother: All-Stars house last night, rumors began to fly about why he was not on the show.

In a  pre-show interview with an. L.A. news program, host Julie Chen said “some people” had tested positive for COVID couldn’t go into the house, per TooFab. There had been rumors that follow Big Brother winner Kaycee Clark had also tested positive for the virus.

In a Twitter post at the time,  Martinez told fans there were false rumors about him regarding the All-Stars season.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about me being on this season of Big Brother All-Stars,” Martinez tweeted in August. “I can say that I will not be on this season. Many rumors have been said in the past few days about me that I couldn’t address, but to be clear my health is great.”

“Don’t believe everything you read online,”  he added. “Most of the rumors about me have been false. “

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