CBS Defends ‘Brother’; Ratings Up After Incident

The widely covered ouster of a contestant who held a knife to another’s throat on CBS’ “Big Brother 2” appeared to contribute to a ratings bump for the show Thursday, even as CBS defended the program in the face of criticism regarding its content.

On Tuesday, Justin Sebik, a 26-year-old bartender from Bayonne, N.J., held a knife against the throat of waitress Krista Stegall, 28, as the two kissed. Both had been drinking alcohol freely supplied by the producers of the series, which sequesters a dozen people in a house and keeps them under constant surveillance.

Sebik, warned previously for seeking to physically intimidate other contestants, was ejected Wednesday. Though Sebik stressed during an interview with “Big Brother” host Julie Chen broadcast Thursday that he meant the stunt in jest, producer Arnold Shapiro issued a statement saying he “crossed the line of tolerable and acceptable behavior,” leaving producers “no choice but to expel him.”

An estimated 9.1 million people watched Thursday’s episode--about a million more than viewed the series premiere a week earlier, winning its time slot.

In Thursday’s edited hour, CBS did not show the moment when Sebik held the kitchen knife against Stegall, which was seen by those watching the program’s live Internet feed. Viewers of that feed--for which CBS is charging a subscription fee--also witnessed a three-way sexual encounter involving Sebik, Stegall and a third woman.

At least some CBS employees privately say they are embarrassed by events on the show. Once known as the Tiffany network, CBS figures to endure some tough questioning regarding the series during its portion of the currently in-progress Television Critics Assn. tour, with CBS executives to address critics and reporters later this month.

If top CBS brass are concerned, however, they have done little to show it. They continue to accentuate the program’s ratings among young adults and ran on-air promos advertising, “Controversy in the ‘Big Brother’ house. What did one of these housemates do that forced producers to kick him out? . . . Don’t miss what everyone will be talking about.”

“Clearly, we don’t feel it’s an embarrassment to the network,” said spokesman Gil Schwartz, who added that CBS officials think the show is “compelling and interesting.”

The program is scheduled to continue running three times a week into September, and Schwartz said there has been no discussion of changing that pattern. Some critics have called upon CBS to cancel the show, with Steve Beverly--who teaches broadcasting at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and operates the Web site tvgameshows.net--asking in an online commentary, “Does someone have to be killed for the ultimate wake-up call to sound?”

Contestants are vying for a $500,000 grand prize. Reacting to perceptions the show’s first edition was too uneventful, CBS placed particular emphasis this time during the screening process on whether occupants would be willing to engage in sexual activity and revised the rules to make the competition more similar to the network’s ratings hit “Survivor.”