Yak Exclusive: Big Brother 13′s Shelly Speaks Out Against Bullying

How does all of this relate to bullying? You may already hate this article, as it didn’t get to the point as quickly as you wanted. My hope is that enough of you are still reading and are interested in the bottom line. In case you don’t make it to the end, we have got to put a stop to bullying in schools and society. We must pull the plug on the silent, deadly killer of cyber bullying and Internet harassment. The Internet is an amazing tool. It allows us to learn, create, communicate, and share things that were never before possible. It has also become a safe harbor of hate and vulgar, unsolicited opinions about how you look, speak, and act. It has treated many young people to a buffet of barbs and silent fists to the gut as they are tormented for sexual orientation, weight, looks, color, creed, ability, and disability to name a few. No one is safe from the aggressors who lurk in the shadow of URL’s and IP addresses trying to go unnoticed. With the invention of the chat room, suddenly free speech and our ability to express it actually knew no bounds. Where we thought we were free before, in a chat room, anything is fair game. Just pick the room where you will be accepted. Otherwise, you may go in to vent and chat about the latest news or character, and you may leave scarred and scathed as the pros who have nothing better to do chew you up and spit you out. If you don’t agree with them or you have a different point of view – go to a room with a like view or experience the wrath. You may go into the room a bully, but know you may come out the bullied – and you, too have just become a victim of a vicious trend.

I was a normal kid. I didn’t get bullied. I loved school. I was happy and had a lot of friends. Did we tease each other? Absolutely. You could give as well as you got. Did I personally get teased? Absolutely. I was as flat as a pancake and I weathered about every possible “flat joke” there was. I will never forget as a freshman in high school walking into band class (yes, band) and I had on a really cool sweatshirt that had the entire world glove all around it. It was a COKE branded sweatshirt, which back in 1984 was a pretty hip thing to wear. As I walked into class, from the back row trumpet section, a loud “jab” rang through the outstanding acoustic band room, “Christopher Columbus was right, the world is flat!” I remember it like it was yesterday. I felt the blood rush to my face as the bright red of embarrassment colored every exposed part of my body. I heard the laughs – now remember, this was band class…the “band geeks” just laid one on me that is getting a 10 on the laugh meter. I was mortified at that moment and simply wanted to bury my head in my trumpet case, but instead, along the way someone taught me to laugh. Someone told me I was ok just the way I was and regardless of what anyone said I was loved. Somehow, back then the teasing and pokes didn’t seem like bullying, but I am certain to some extent it was there. I guess I was lucky. A flat joke every now and then I could embrace. Also, I was smart enough to know that someday I could fix that if I wanted to but that boy from the back row was ugly and that goes through and through.

It wasn’t until I was an adult and happened to be one of a lucky eight selected to be on a reality show made up of a cast of 14. I signed up for it. Let’s get that right out in the open. I went to a casting call as a dare. Never in a million years did I think I would get picked. Still today, I have to pinch myself and say, wow, I really did that show, Big Brother. I had been a fan of Big Brother since the beginning. I watched religiously whenever I could and as DVR’s became more popular, it was much easier to be a fan because you could watch the show whenever you wanted. I remember having favorites as a fan. There were people you cheered for and people you didn’t. There were even times when there were people I loathed. It was my opinion and mine alone. I never had a chance until recently to go online and tell the world what I thought. And even at that, when I could, I just wouldn’t. The extent of my bashing would be on a phone line between my sisters and I and mom. We would all compare notes on which we liked, who we didn’t and trying hard to justify our reasons. Somehow it never occurred to us to go online and develop a hate chat room, website, fake twitter handle, hack twitter and email accounts, call a house guests work to complain about their votes, research for hours everything I could about this person I saw three nights a week on a TV show. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but when the show was over, I just looked forward to the next week to see what would happen. Who would bring the drama and who would “walk out that door” to the words of Julie Chen, “By a vote of 7 to 1, Billy Bob, you have been evicted from the Big Brother house”. I would either cheer or be sad, but I never took to the airways and high-speed Internet connections like people do now. Social media has changed the way reality TV shows are consumed, especially Big Brother. It is no longer an hour show three nights a week. Instead, it is an hour show to see the edits and the competitions. The real show happens on the LIVE FEEDS where total strangers can be voyeurs in the lives of participants in a game show 24/7. There are fans that watch these feeds non-stop, record every move we make, report it, take screen shots and report it to the public ravenous for the updates. We wait in our favorite forums to get the low down on who, what, when, where, why, and how. We wait to watch the reactions…. sadly; the reactions are rarely about game play anymore. Now the Internet is filled with people who want to tear down and tear apart the participants in the show. They criticize everything about them. Somehow, because we chose to go on a game show, you are allowed to analyze our weight, hair, face, voice, attitude, actions, fights, friends, and sarcastic, hateful comments made in fits of rage or plain succumbing to the endless pressure. None of the reasons for our actions are needed. And quite frankly, we are at a disadvantage as Big Brother airs in real time. We can’t sit with you on the Internet or the couch and explain the other 23-48 hours in the day that made up that one-hour show. And by the way, we are not in charge of the hours of footage that hit the cutting room floor. We are there as guests. We are characters who got a chance of a lifetime. Most of us had no idea of the criticism or even obsession that comes to different players. Believe me, the incessant worshipping of certain players is just as painful to those people as is the hate to some of the others. In the case of Big Brother, sometimes, going out early may be a blessing. You are at least not being watched 24 hours. Trust me, my friends Cassi, Dominic; Keith and others took plenty of hits. I mean is it really someone’s business to tell any other person your nostrils aren’t straight. Good Lord, take a look in the mirror super model fan…oh wait; you’re not a super model, I’m very sorry. I can’t see you to rip apart every flaw you may have. Keep in mind; I know the majority of fans out there are utterly and unbelievably amazing. You are supportive, kind, forgiving, understanding, logical, and aware it is a game. Please know I am not talking to you. I am screaming with you to the people who continue to live through a mouse, a keyboard, and a monitor and are more lethal than they could be with a gun.

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Jim B

I think your article is extremely disingenuous, and extremely self serving. I hear a few DON’T BULLY but nothing of substance. That’s not helping MS Moore.
Joey

But weren’t the reality people asked to talk about their own personal experiences with bullying?
TerriF159

i found it extremely tedious to read and gave up
Joni

Excellent Shelly!! I’m proud to call you my friend!
Djrnmar82

It is sad, that her version has been twisted to fit her needs. The people at AHSM spoke up due to a known bully representing Anit-Bullying. The letter that was sent to Ms. Moore was to explain out position and not to Bully. The site was named long before most who have been speaking up ever went there, it is a community page that belongs to someone else, we have no control over it so we are unable to change it. If you want to learn more facts go to that page to see, you do not have to push on the like button to read it The letters to Ms. Moore and the replies from her are there for all to read. Bullying is a very serious thing, and it is sad for it to be used as a way to PR a person. There are so many other causes out there that would be more fitting. Hopefully people will take the time to learn the truth for themselves. Thank you!
Susan

This is coming from Shelly Moore who in her interview announced she goes to “Ameica Hates Shelly” FB page reads it often…. then searchs those peoples profiles and contacts their employer to try and get them fired? She thinks she is the person to stop bullying when she herself is bullying…Shellty seems to think everyone at AHSM page is responsible for the threats on her family and calls to her employment…this is not true. This is not true, people go to this page to state their comments…we didn’t name the page we just use the page and I have not seen threats to Shelly…just negative feedback on her…she seems to bulk all her bad feedback together and claims it all comes from “America Hates Shelly Moore” page and that just is not true. I can not stand she changes facts to make herelf look good…
Ron

Two sides to every story, and unfortunately, we got to see the amount of bullying Shelly did to others on the show, reality show or not, she said some hateful things about Rachel and Porsche. These things were outside the realm of the game and never needed to be said. Also, some of her. Actions were unnecessary and didn’t need to be done. Other house guests didn’t sink that low. I can guarantee if Miss shelly ever showed up in my son’s school district or the district I teach in to spew her message on anti-bullying, I would be the leader of the boycott. She would definitely not be speaking because the parents would not allow it. I would gather every video feed of her making foul-mouthed comments,clips of her excessive smoking, and end it with a montage of every cuss word that came out of her mouth, highlighted with her pointing her finger in Jordan’s face. I’m sure the principals would definitely say no way, as would the School Boards.
By the way, I am not a member of any forums or facebook groups. I did have the feeds. I don’t hate Shelly Moore; I don’t think she should represent or be a role model for children or anti-bullying.
Ligt

Several of you desperate for attention and repulsive. All of you that beg to put down Ms. Moore have spent more time following her desperately then the people you claim to like. She has made more of a positive impact with fans and people who wanted interaction than anyone else on the show. You seem to love to tear people down, but you haven’t gotten her down – she walks, talks, and conducts herself much better than any of you who will twist anything to your truth. You don’t get the facts – you make up the facts as you want to see them. Of course things were said on AN EDITED FOR TV ENTERTAINMENT SHOW. How quickly you transfer your hate and obligatory “better than thou” anlysis. You obviously haven’t seen all the good she has done and continues to do. Did any other houseguest donate what she did to rescue animals? Did you just say it was self-serving? Get over yourselves and find something to be productive about. Any of you that participated, condone, or are ever a part of ANY hate site are acting in a pious way. You just continue to flock to anything she does because you are making her even better. She has handled people brilliantly whether you like it or not.
Ligt

WOW just doing what you do every minute…
Legit

Most of these people don’t listen or read purpose they spew to make themselves feel and look better. You get it Joey!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4J4CXLY3NGVJITR2BXCOO5WOIQ Jim

Ligt, I think you are too biased (and probably Shelly herself) to get what this is all about, I can tell you that EVERYTHING the AHSM site has said about her is true, and can be proven. They do not hate her but her actions..and her actions have been that of a bully, and this is the outrage you hear from them, that they object to Shelly being an anti Bully spokesperson because she IS the Bully we watched on the live feeds…which as you know are NOT able to be edited. You are who you are, under stress or not…it’s ridiculous to try and say you were not yourself. WE ARE ALWAYS OURSELVES, it’s a lame excuse to cover bad behavior. If you go out on the internet you can see that even before Shelly went into the house she was making disparaging remarks about our President, Tom Brady, and various other people in the news…all of which she blasts others for saying about her. The things Shelly does and the things Shelly says do not in any way align. THIS IS WHY SHE IS SO OBJECTED TO, WHY SHE IS SO DISLIKED. And you can see from her fan numbers…there are not many who like her. I suspect you, if you are a fan and not Shelly herself, are one of the few fans and are one because she has paid you a little bit of attention, and it makes you feel better. We aren’t as easily swayed, we are more concerned about the false message she sends out, and the effect it would have on kids. I recently heard a radio show where Shelly told the interviewer she believed that kids should hit their bullier…and I can tell you there is no faster way to get yourself expelled and wrecking your school record than doing that. Because you do not have the same rights in school as you do in regular society. Shelly doesn’t check anything before she speaks. Shelly is dangerous, and we all want to ensure she doesn’t have access to our children.