Warning! The following contains spoilers from the Big Brother live feeds as of Tuesday, August 25. Stream the feeds with a Paramount+ subscription or on Pluto TV, and read at your own risk!
The Houseguests of Big Brother Season 28 may be some of the last people in the United States who don't know Dolly Parton passed away. So, it was strange that she was mentioned by Survivor vet Rick Devens after Angela Murray talked about her dog.
Those watching Big Brother online during Dee Valladares' HOH week overheard a conversation in the kitchen in which Angela was talking to the latest veto winner, LaLa Verrett, about her dogs, Dolly and Coco. This delayed her from getting back into the kitchen to check on something, and when she came in, she said that talking about Dolly and Coco can always distract her. This led to a comment from Rick, who said:
No, I know, she's a great songwriter who gives books to children. And [Coco] was a great movie.
It's not weird that Devens would know that, as Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is pretty well known, as is her music. It's just odd that he would evoke her name on the exact day that her death was announced, with no one in the house seemingly aware that it had happened.
It does have me wondering if Big Brother will break the news to the Houseguests, as there have been instances in the past in which they were made aware of events in the outside world. For example, the Season 2 Houseguests were informed about the events of 9/11, and the BB: OTT cast was informed that Donald Trump won the election back in 2016. Big Brother: Canada also made headlines when the Houseguests were made aware of COVID-19 lockdowns and the season ended prematurely.
Outside of what's happening in the house, Dolly Parton's death will impact Big Brother episodes on the 2026 TV schedule. This Sunday's installment will be delayed by an hour, as CBS announced a tribute called Remembering Dolly: A Rhinestone Life. The special will feature archived interviews with Parton that CBS has obtained over the years, highlighting her career in and out of music.
Meanwhile, the game continues for the Houseguests, who all hope they'll get Big Brother's grand prize. If host Julie Chen Moonves or the production team don't inform the Houseguests of her death, there's a good possibility many of them won't learn of it until the game is over in early October. If that's the case, it'd be interesting to see how they'll react to that news in various interviews.
Big Brother airs on CBS on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Of course, the live feeds are always running too, which readers can stream on Paramount+ or with an ad-supported option on Pluto TV.
