'Big Brother' Is All About Keeping the Houseguests Sequestered From the Rest of the World

Going on Big Brother means agreeing to be sequestered away from the outside world for as long as three months. Provided, of course, that you make it that long in the game. But what about what happens in the outside world while the show is filming? And do Big Brother houseguests know about the election?

There is plenty that goes on in the world outside of the Big Brother walls during any given season. And in the past, most big events weren't shared with players. There is still an aspect to the game that involves keeping the outside world out there and the game inside the house, so as not to let it interfere with any of the houseguests' actions. Does the same go for the 2024 presidential election and other important political events?

The aspect of the Big Brother game that sets it apart from other reality competition shows is its ability to keep players in one house, away from the influence or interruptions of the outside world. So no, in the majority of the past seasons, host Julie Chen Moonves did not share election or presidential race details with players. And since in most cases, a season ends before an election takes place, there is no need to inform houseguests about the results of a presidential election.

There was one season, Big Brother: Over the Top, that took place entirely online and was filmed during the 2016 election. For that spinoff, Julie did inform the houseguests of the results of the election. And in a Reddit thread about the unusual season of Big Brother, fans claimed that the players were able to vote via absentee ballot. But that was a very rare case.

And even though the players from other seasons are home before an election takes place, since voting is in November of any given election year, they do so without a summer's worth of campaign information. However, the players who go home before jury have more time to catch up.

One instance where producers did feel it was necessary to tell Big Brother houseguests about a world event was on Sept. 11, 2021. Not only was 9/11 a tragedy on a level that many Americans had not seen in their lifetimes at that point, but it was something that affected one of the Season 2 players at the time. Monica Bailey, one of the houseguests at the time, was told that her cousin was reported missing in the World Trade Center.

As a result, the rest of the houseguests were made aware of the attack. Monica opted to remain in the game and in the house. Later, she would learn that her cousin died in the 9/11 attacks.

When players are evicted and sent home ahead of jury, they are allowed to finally hear about what they missed while they were in the game. At this point, there's no way the outside world can influence their game because their game is, well, over. This happened in Season 26 when Matt Hardeman was evicted.

Upon his eviction, Matt had his exit interview with Julie. And when the interview was posted online, fans saw Julie reveal to him that former President Donald Trump was shot at a Pennsylvania rally in July 2024. Matt was understandably shocked in the moment. But for the most part, the Big Brother game remains untouched by the outside world.

Watch Big Brother on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST and on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount Plus.