REALITY TVOh, (Big) Brother! Nicole Franzel Dropped By Sponsors After Making Fun Of Costar
Big Brother star Nicole Franzel is being called out for making fun of her costar, Ian Terry, 29, after he spoke about being autistic. As a result, some of the 28-year-old's bigger sponsorships — including Olay — no longer want to work with her.
On Wednesday, September 9, a Twitter user found a link to a Newsweek story, which featured Franzel in an un-aired clip from Big Brother: All-Stars. In the video, Franzel and Dani Briones, 38, talked about how Terry's behavior made them uncomfortable.
"I can't even look at him sometimes because of his constant movement. It stresses me out," Briones said. "I feel mean saying that, but I'll literally have to move."
Social media users were unhappy with the off-color comments. One person wrote, "Absolutely disgusted," while another person tagged Franzel's sponsors, which include Pantene, Princess Polly Boutique, CVS and Olay. "They need to see this!" they wrote.
Olay quickly responded to the controversy on Twitter. "Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention," the brand wrote. "We no longer have a business relationship with this person and have no plans for future work together. We have zero-tolerance for bullying and we do not support the behavior displayed by this person."
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Fans were happy with the beauty brand's quick response and praised them for stepping up. "Thank you, Olay for doing the right thing. It will not go unnoticed," one person wrote, while another echoed, "Thank you @OlaySkin for standing up for the rights of those with Autism! Love your products and now love them even more! #OlayForLife #ThankYou."
Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery — a company that also works with Franzel — also revealed they were cutting ties with the CBS personality. "Our connection with Nicole was made prior to her joining the current show," the brand wrote. "We took immediate action to review once we learned of the situation & have thus decided to end our collaboration now and in the future. We do not tolerate or condone discrimination or bullying of any kind."
The controversial video was discovered just a month after the Michigan native — who won Big Brother 18 in 2016 — was accused of acting as a "spy" for CBS on the current season, which premiered on August 5.
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Big Brother 22: All-Stars airs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
