It's hard to believe that it's this late in the season and we haven't answered this question yet. Or am I the only one wondering if any Big Brother 17 houseguests have been in prison? And I mean real prison, here, because we've already shown you the mugshots of the four BB17 contestants who were arrested and told you what they got booked for. So far, it's been relatively minor infractions, and all were most likely revealed to CBS during the application for the show, but prison time is an entirely different thing. Typically, you don't see the inner walls of a prison unless you've done something really serious, and it doesn't seem like you could be found guilty of an offense like that and still get through the rigorous background checks that each contestant has to go through before, y'know, living in the closest possible proximity to a house full of strangers for an entire summer.
And yet, some comments have been made that have caused me to question that assumption. Namely, a couple people saying straight out that they've been in prison: James again, and Steve Moses of all people. Let's talk about James first. After James nominated fellow houseguests Clay Honeycutt and Shelli Poole for eviction, Clay got James' face and was trying to intimidate him. However, James made it clear that wasn't going to work out, saying, "I did three years in a prison with big men yelling at me."
A lot of people heard that and were immediately questioning what James did to go to prison for three years, because that length of time behind bars is no joke. But, as it turns out, James was actually in front of the bars — as he was referring to his time working as a corrections officer. Whoopsie daisies.
But, while I could have envisioned a world where James did time, the idea of Steve Moses in prison was another story. I can barely imagine him walking by a cop without doffing his hat and saying, "Evening, officer," so what could he possibly have done to merit a prison sentence? But there he was on the feeds, with this sentence coming out of his mouth:
I slept on the floor of the prison, I don’t know why but I did. I slept on the floor between the beds.
Steve!!!! What are you doing to me? You weren't even one of the four who'd been arrested, so how is this possible? Well, as it turns out, it isn't. Just like James' time in the big house, Steve's stay turns out to be a misunderstanding as well, because when he used the word "prison," he was actually talking about the sequestered have-nots room with the dentist chairs. Which it must feel like — I mean the whole house must feel like a prison, honestly — but caused quite a bit of confusion when taken out of context.
So there you have it, guys! None of these folks has ever done prison time, and since screwing each other over without a hint of remorse on national television isn't a crime, they probably won't any time soon.
Images: CBS
