Inside the ‘Big Brother’ Decision To Keep Jared Fields After Using a Slur: ‘Not Everyone Agrees’ (Exclusive) 

Jared Fields will be allowed to remain playing Season 25 of Big Brother after calling fellow houseguest America Lopez the R-word, a source close to production revealed to The Messenger.

"The decision has been made to allow Jared to stay in the house," the source said. "He has been spoken to, and the rules have been reiterated to everyone. Jared is playing the game, and he is not being removed."

The source explained that behind the scenes, "not everyone agrees with the decision, but it was the decision that was made so that the show and the game could keep going." Currently, the houseguests have been playing for 34 days since the Aug. 2 premiere.

The current Head of Household reportedly used the R-word, a slur against people with cognitive disabilities, in discussion with his allies while expressing how detrimental it would be for Lopez to win the Power of Veto and keep herself safe from eviction. Fans caught Fields apologizing for the incident on the live feeds to fellow cast member Cory Wurtenberger.

"I don't think she's the R-word. I slipped up,” Fields said on the live feeds Saturday. "Obviously, I was angry about it, [and] I'm willing to admit that."

Additionally, the source said these types of decisions will be made on a "case-by-case" basis in the future. This isn't the first time this season that a contestant's offensive language has challenged their place in the game — just weeks previously, CBS removed Luke Valentine for saying the N-word on the game's live feeds.

The decision to remove Valentine followed a zero tolerance policy for hate speech that CBS instated in 2020 after reports that another house guest had used the N-word. "Luke violated the Big Brother code of conduct, and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur," CBS and the show's producers said in a statement to The Messenger. "He has been removed from the house."

Previously, the source told The Messenger that Big Brother producers were figuring out whether or not to remove Fields from the game after previously pulling Valentine.

"He did use the R-word. He has apologized to Cory for using the R-word. It’s on the feeds. It's on Twitter. Not the original thing he said, but the apology for saying it," the insider explained. "So what do we do? We just expelled someone for using the N-word."

The Messenger has reached out to CBS for comment on Fields remaining in the game. 

Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on CBS.