Big Brother All-Stars 2 is all done on CBS, and slowly but surely, this past season's houseguests are doling out the details about some of the house drama that they hadn't been able to speak much about previously. Someone who has been particularly vocal about some of the injustices that happened in the house is Kaysar Ridha, who has slammed his fellow houseguests who mocked Ian Terry's autism in a recent interview.
Kaysar Ridha spoke to former Big Brother player James Rhine about the situation, and he was none too happy about the things he saw occur when he was both in and outside the game. When it comes any and all excuses that other houseguests may offer for their behavior in the house, Kaysar said that from his perspective, there are no excuses.
People can say a number of things, right? Like 'Oh, well I didn't know what autism is,' or 'I didn't know he had autism.' But the reality is you noticed that he was being different, and it was awkward, and there were things that were happening so obviously it came to your attention. So let's just leave it at that. As grown adults, why can't we have a little more empathy and say 'Man, well it looks like he's having a really tough time in here, or he's nervous let me go ask him about it,' right? I think it's a reflection on how we could be better as a society that we're not just dumping trash on each other all the time or laughing because we've just become a bunch of spoiled kids who just don't give a shit anymore to be honest. And it's really sad. Why do we have to be this way? Is it funny? Is this comic relief at other people's expense? I just think there are more sophisticated ways to get more [social media] likes and attention and to be in the limelight. We don't need to do it, find another way.
Kaysar Ridha essentially stated that, whether Memphis Garrett, Dani Briones, or others were aware of Ian Terry's condition, they should have still had the decency to approach him rather than mock him for it behind his back. While a bulk of The Committee's members bonded in their repeated teasing of Ian, it's more than fair to say the mockery was in no way related to the game, and was more a personal attack on his personality that lacked proper understanding and empathy.
Kaysar Ridha went on to say he tried to squash all the negative talk about Ian when he was in the house, but also that he tried to encourage Ian to try a different response other than just allowing it to happen merely to fit in with other houseguests. Kaysar talked about one incident in particular in which he felt like others were laughing more at Ian than with him.
Just to fit in he does this cheap party trick where he kicks himself in the face. And I pulled him to the side as everybody is trying to get him to do it again like 'Kick yourself in the face again Ian.' It was heartbreaking I said, 'Don't ever do that again. Don't ever allow yourself to be subjected to that sort of thing where people are laughing at you.' It's just infuriating when I watched that. I had already seen him do it during his season, because I was watching the season in sequester before I went in. He then did it again in the backyard this season and they kept [going] 'Do it again Ian,' and I was just furious.
It's worth mentioning that a large chunk of this is Kaysar Ridha's personal opinion of the situation, and doesn't speak much to Ian Terry's own perspective. Memphis Garrett, along with other houseguests, have apologized to anyone offended by what was said, but Memphis added that he and Ian have a great relationship now. Ian hasn't spoken much about the issue personally, so it's unclear whether or not he appreciated Kaysar's protection, or if he felt it was necessary in the first place.
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