A big surprise awaited fans ahead of Thursday’s first live eviction broadcast of Big Brother season 24. The medical reasons behind Paloma Aguilar’s removal from the residence were highlighted in tonight’s episode.
Paloma revealed she suffered from anxiety and couldn’t sleep more than 2-4 hours a night about 30 minutes into the Big Brother show. She was heard revealing to Matt Turner that she could leave the program due to mental health issues. She revealed to the other houseguests that she had trouble sleeping, which worried her for her mental health.
The season debut of Big Brother Season 24 aired on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, with longtime host Julie Chen Moonves welcoming 16 houseguests to the mansion. Fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with this season particularly due to the boring schedule and treatment of fan favorite competitor Taylor Hale.
Paloma Aguilar, a contestant on Big Brother season 24, is leaving the program to focus on her mental health
Terrance Higgins and Michael Bruner were initially proposed for eviction under standard HoH Daniel Durston procedure. However, Daniel suggested Taylor Hale as a “backup candidate” when Michael prevailed in the Power of Veto (PoV) challenge.
During the season premiere, Joe Pooch Pucciarelli, the backstage manager, also selected Paloma Aguilar, Brittany Hoopes and Alyssa Snider, who were equally in line for elimination.
However, it was later reported that Paloma left the program after opening up about her health issues and fears in the diary room. HoH Daniel called the other cast members to a meeting for the big news as she entered the diary room. He explained:
Paloma will no longer participate in the Big Brother game due to a personal issue. She wanted to let you know how much she loves you all and how much she hopes for the best for you.
Host Julie Chen Moonves revealed that because Paloma was already nominated and potentially leaving, her departure would mean none of the other cast members would leave, while the rest of the Big Brother cast worried about how this would affect the final decision would affect and what lay ahead for each of the nominated members.
Paloma’s removal from the feed streams sparked a lot of discussion on social media. She reportedly entered the diary room early Wednesday and has not been seen since.
It has happened that a house guest has had to leave for personal or medical reasons. Neil Garcia left the program in Season 9 due to unidentified personal news. In Season 8, “Evel Dick” Donato also left the program and later revealed that he had been diagnosed with HIV. Megan Lowder recently left the company in season 19 after suffering from PTSD and anxiety.
Paloma has faced a lot of backlash on social media since the season opener for her treatment of contestant Taylor Hale. Taylor had been labeled a “seductress” and a “lack of self-confidence” by the former. Additionally, Taylor has been the target of numerous micro-aggressions, many of which were encouraged by Paloma.
Numerous Big Brother alumni such as Xavier Prather, Tiffany Mitchell, Derek Frazier, Azah Awasum and others denounced the network and spoke out against the cruelty echoed by viewers of the show.