COVID-19 Positive Tests Changed the ‘Big Brother’ 22 Cast Last Minute

There have been rumors for a couple of weeks about just which past contestants would be returning to the Big Brother house for the 22nd season, which is the first all-stars season since 2006. But the names have shifted a couple of times and part of the reason is due to two cast members testing positive for coronavirus. Here’s what we know so far.

At Least Two Houseguests Tested Positive for COVID-19

And I oop…👀 #bb22 pic.twitter.com/5hP6h35BJj

— Rob-El 🗽 (@rgreen89) August 4, 2020

In an interview with CBS Los Angeles, Chen said, “Here’s why I don’t know the final [cast] list — because we flew in a bunch of people, more than 16, and some people I thought were definitely going in the house, they tested positive for COVID-19. So they could not go in and I thought ‘Expect the unexpected, this is always changing.’ … I don’t even know all the confirmed 16 houseguests. I know it’s eight women and eight men, all-stars that we all know from seasons past.”

Kaycee Clark and Josh Martinez Are the Rumored COVID-19 Positive Cast Members

VideoVideo related to covid-19 positive tests changed the ‘big brother’ 22 cast last minute2020-08-04T20:27:52-04:00

Gold Derby posted a list of the rumored cast back on July 22. That post had been amended a few times, most notably to add Keesha Smith. The list as it stands now reads:

Christmas Abbott, Season 19
David Alexander, Season 21
Nicole Anthony, Season 21
Amber Borzotra, Season 16
Cody Calafiore, Season 16
Kevin Campbell, Season 11
Kaycee Clark, Season 20
Tyler Crispen, Season 20
Bayleigh Dayton, Season 20
Daniele Donato Briones, Seasons 8 and 13
Nicole Franzel, Seasons 16 and 18
Memphis Garrett, Season 10
Josh Martinez, Season 19
Enzo Palumbo, Season 12
Janelle Pierzina, Seasons 6, 7, and 14
Danielle Reyes, Season 3
Kaysar Ridha, Seasons 6 and 7
Da’Vonne Rogers, Seasons 17 and 18
Keesha Smith, Season 10
Ian Terry, Season 14

However, rumors have been flying that Clark and Martinez tested positive for COVID-19 and had to be removed from sequester. Martinez recently confirmed to The Hollywood Fix that he won’t be on the show, but he did not specify why not.

“There’s been a lot of rumors online and a lot of people talking, but no, I’m not gonna be on this season … I would love to be part of the season, but I have other projects going on,” said Martinez.

Reality BBQ is a fan account with inside sources that removed Clark from their cast list and would not elaborate on why. Reality BBQ’s latest cast list is similar to the Gold Derby one, minus Keesha Smith and Kaycee Clark, though Reality BBQ later said they had heard Keesha’s name from one of their sources.

“Evel” Dick Donato has also been posting some hints and his cast doesn’t include Clark, Martinez, Danielle Reyes, or Amber Borzotra. And Reality BBQ’s final cast list before the premiere is the above list from Gold Derby minus Clark, Martinez, Reyes, and Borzotra.

The Other Rumors

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The COVID thing isn’t the only rumor flying about. There is also a rumor going around that Franzel wasn’t originally contacted about the season, but she heard about it through Martinez and Paul Abrahamian. So she supposedly contacted production and made a big stink about it to get herself invited, according to “Evel” Dick Donato’s June 2020 tweet.

There is another rumor that once she was involved in the season, Franzel outed Derrick Levasseur and Dan Gheesling for strategizing ahead of the season and it got them kicked out of the cast. Several fan accounts have denied this is true because the show would never have rejected two former winners who wanted to play again.

Reality BBQ says of that rumor, “Dan flipped back and forth before deciding on no. Derrick declined when Dan was out.”

Levasseur also did an Instagram live where he said his daughter asked him not to leave to go on the show. And Gheesling tweeted, “Been tagged in #BB22 rumors regarding my participation…none of them are remotely close to the truth. I understand the thirst for cast Hot beverage is unquenchable right now but [soon] we find out who the players are! Everyone just chill & be nice to the HGs (and each other).”

Big Brother premieres Wednesday, August 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The second episode will air Sunday, August 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, then after that, episodes will air on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Sign up for the live feeds on CBS All Access now.

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