One of the most classic recurring characters in Big Brother history is the Zingbot. Essentially, the Zingbot is a robot that comes into the BB house every season to deliver insulting one-liners, which are called "zings." The Zingbot 3000 was first introduced to the show on Big Brother 12, and it has appeared in every single season ever since. On BB14, there was the birth of the Zingbot 4000, a.k.a. Baby Zingbot. Then, the brand-new Zingbot 9000 was introduced on BB17.
Despite the fact that the Zingbot's one-liners are purposely insulting, they are mostly just snarky digs that are well-received by the Big Brother houseguests. With that said, some of the "zings" delivered over the years were actually somewhat below the belt. Moreover, there are also zings that might not have felt too harsh at the time but, in hindsight, didn't age well at all.
10 To Josh Martinez (BB19)
There are plenty of fans that didn't particularly like Big Brother 19 winner Josh Martinez during his season. There are also viewers who thought that Josh cried too much, or that he didn't play a great game. With that said, it is safe to say that the Zingbot's one-liner to Josh isn't something that most comedians are comfortable joking about.
On BB19, the Zingbot said the following: "Josh, my heart goes out to you. You've shed so many tears this summer. Too bad you can't shed any weight!" While the point of the zings is to insult people, making fun of Josh's weight was definitely going a little too far.
9 To Shelly Moore (BB13)
It is fair to say that Big Brother 13's Shelly Moore isn't remembered for winning competitions. But fans do remember Shelly as a heavy smoker who liked hunting and fishing. During that season, the Zingbot said the following to Shelly: "What do you call someone who likes to smoke, hunt, and fish? A dude!"
It is pretty straightforward why this particular zing didn't age well. The insult reinforces gender stereotypes and makes fun of a woman for having interests that society doesn't deem "feminine." Out of all the things that the Zingbot could've said to Shelly, there was no reason for being misogynistic toward all women during the process.
8 To Zach Rance (BB16)
Big Brother 16 was a very "alpha male" season that was largely dominated by Derrick Levasseur and his allies. But in the midst of so many straight guys conspiring to evict all the women, there was Frankie Grande: a gay houseguest that infiltrated the guys' alliance.
Frankie's closest immediate bond was with Zach Rance. Zach openly flirted and cuddled with Frankie without fearing that his masculinity was compromised... which was a very progressive move for 2014. Nonetheless, the Zingbot said the following: "What do you call someone who's not afraid to cry, wears pink and cuddles with men? You call them Zach." First and foremost, the insult is LGBTQ-phobic. Secondly, it reinforces the idea that straight men can't develop friendships with gay men without having their sexuality questioned.
7 To JC Mounduix (BB20)
Big Brother 20 was full of controversies, and JC Mounduix was at the center of many of them. The Spain-born professional dancer lived in Miami, FL for most of his life. Understandably, JC had an accent that stood out. Spanish was the primary language he used throughout his life.
The zing delivered to JC was: "JC, the only thing thicker than your accent is your back hair!" Considering all the crazy things that JC did on BB20, deciding to poke fun at a foreigner's accent felt unnecessary and somewhat xenophobic.
6 To Danielle Murphree (BB14)
BB14's Danielle Murphree is a very controversial former houseguest that hasn't been embraced by the fandom since her time on the show. With that said, Danielle did have an innocent crush on Shane Meaney during that season, and the Zingbot went after her a little too hard.
The Zingbot told Danielle: "Danielle, I hear Shane's going to give you a special gift after the season: a restraining order!" When that zing was delivered, all of the houseguests acknowledged that Danielle was caught off guard by it and didn't take the insult very well. Overall, it wasn't particularly funny to make someone who had a crush look like a crazy stalker.
5 To Alex Ow (BB19)
The Zingbot's insult to Alex Ow is pretty straightforwardly bad: "Alex, what do you call someone with bleached blonde hair, likes to wear cat ears, and handles lots of wieners? A h**ker!" First, it's plainly wrong to talk about sex workers in a demeaning way. Moreover, there is never a need to compare a woman to a sex worker because of the way she looks.
Some zings may not have aged too well in hindsight, but this particular insult from the Zingbot wasn't funny even on BB19.
4 To Brendon Villegas (BB12)
Brendon Villegas first competed on Big Brother 12. At the time, he was dating a girl from outside of the show, and the Zingbot went after his girlfriend's looks: "Hey Brendon, I thought I was made out of a lot of silicone... until I met your girlfriend!"
On its own, the zing unnecessarily pokes fun at plastic surgery in regards to a person who wasn't even in the BB house. But the reason the insult really didn't age well is that Brendon broke up with that girlfriend immediately after. He then fell in love with Rachel Reilly on Big Brother, and they're still together.
3 To Natalie Negrotti (BB18)
Natalie Negrotti had her intelligence questioned a few times during Big Brother 18. Overall, it's a pretty tired trope to judge someone's wit. But the Zingbot went even further: "Natalie, we all know you're not the brightest bulb. But luckily, what you lack in smarts, you make up for in...armpit hair!"
Aside from insulting Natalie's intelligence, the zing yet again carried a splash of misogyny that reinforced gender stereotypes. A joke like that would never be acceptable in any way on Big Brother today.
2 To McCrae Olson (BB15)
The Zingbot really thinks gender stereotypes are hilarious. Another example of that was delivered to McCrae Olson, who was told the following: "McCrae, I finally understand why you're always wearing shorts. Because Amanda wears the pants!"
Considering the fact that the recent seasons of Big Brother have been pretty dominated by all-male alliances taking down their female counterparts, it was these types of jokes that started contributing to the culture that the show now has to contend with.
1 To Shane Meaney (BB14)
When examining all of the jokes that the Zingbot has made about gender stereotypes over the years, the one to Shane Meaney still stands out. The zing was: "Shane, my 5-year-old niece called. She wants her pink tank top back!"
This was the first time that a straight man had his sexuality questioned on the show just because he had a few clothing items that were pink. The Zingbot has basically recycled this joke over and over again... when it wasn't even funny the first time.
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August 27, 2020 at 05:30AM
