What happens when psychiatric drugs alter the reality of reality television? According to a contestant in the wildly popular Big Brother reality program, he and others were made to take psychotropic drugs while participating in the show. The producer of the show responded to the accusations on Friday, saying that the contestant, Saar Sheinfain, was making baseless accusations because he was bitter over being rejected for further work in television. The Big Brother reality show chronicles what happens when a number of contestants, picked for their differing backgrounds and views, live together in a house fitted with cameras. Footage is broadcast around the clock, and the contestants are voted out one by one each week by viewers. The last remaining contestant wins the prize, 1 million shekels. During the second season, Sheinfain was among the two final contestants, but he ultimately lost. We had several meetings with the contestant Saar Sheinfain, and there were efforts to do various things in television but in the end we couldnt use him, said Big Brother producer Elad Kuperman on Friday. This attack is a result of disappointment felt by a runner-up. I have a lot of compassion for him, and I do not intend to vilify him. Meanwhile, Health Ministry Director-General Professor Roni Gamzu announced Friday that he would investigate Sheinfains allegations, Army Radio reported. Gamzu was reportedly planning to quiz Dr. Ilan Rabinovich, the psychiatrist employed by the show, over the allegations that he had encouraged the shows participants to take the pills, allegedly saying that they would boost the contestants chances of winning. Kuperman offered his explanation as to why Sheinfain was going after the show, saying he did a pilot for a production company. He shot several travel shows, some of which were aired, and he recently approached me with a show having to do with Facebook. When he didnt get what he wanted, that is when the accusations began. The Channel 2 producer said that out of the 96 Big Brother contestants over the years, six had received psychiatric care during the filming of the show. The production crew, he explained, provides voluntary professional medical and psychological care to all the contestants. According to the production team, the contestants participating in the current season, as well as those from the last season, did not require or request this kind of care. Throughout the shows existence, however, many contestants required routine medical attention for problems such as headaches or toothaches. The most extreme example was when a contestant had to leave the show to have a cancerous tumor removed. Kuperman stressed that the percentage of Big Brother contestants who received psychiatric care had been much lower than the percentage of the general population that sought such care independently. Asked whether the producers severed ties with the contestants once the show ended, Kuperman said, There are those we meet with more than others, but one thing is for sure: We dont disappear. I was raised to offer help when Im asked for it. We help and provide assistance. We value basic respect above all. We have a guy whose job it is to maintain contact with the contestants, he said. A psychologist is made available to anyone leaving the house the moment they leave, and afterward there is an entire process monitored by a liaison. We also examine the possibility of incorporating every contestant that leaves into our field (television). Asked whether family members of the contestants currently in the Big Brother house had voiced concern, Kuperman said, We have not received any worried phone calls. Unequivocally no. Kuperman added that the channel was considering taking legal action against Sheinfain and the newspaper that printed his remarks.
