Was Helen pushed? Examining the Big Brother myth

Helen Kim Big Brother — Helen Kim was a member of the Big Brother 15 cast during summer 2013. Pic credit: CBS

“Helen was pushed!” It’s a statement that some fans still use when speaking about Helen Kim from Big Brother 15.

The myth still perseveres after all these years, and it all stems from something that some viewers are convinced that they saw take place during one of the challenges.

But what really happened at the moment in question? Is it more than a myth? Was it simply a way for production to save the show from some of the other houseguests?

‘Helen was pushed’ on Big Brother 15

Before getting to the myth that has now resurfaced on Big Brother chat boards, let’s start with why it has become such a prevalent story within the history of the show.

Members of the BB15 cast were seen making racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic comments on the Big Brother live feeds. Some of those comments and statements even made it to the episodes broadcast on CBS.

The comments and behavior led to a lot of backlash from fans, from people who didn’t even watch the show, and also from the media. A number of the houseguests returned to the real world to find out that they had been fired due to their comments and behavior.

Was Helen pushed on Big Brother?

As the BB15 cast was approaching the end of Season 15, a Battle Back Competition took place that would allow an evicted houseguest to get back in the game.

By that point, every BB15 cast member who was a minority had been evicted by this group of houseguests. Helen, who was now a member of the jury, had a shot to get back in the game during a challenge called Off The Wall.

It was simple enough – be the last person standing on the wall to become the new HOH. The evicted houseguest who lasted the longest would also get back in the game. A twist to the challenge was that balls were shot at all of them, and if someone caught 10 of them, they would become the winner.

Midway through the challenge, Helen was eliminated. And that’s where the myth/controversy was born. Some fans claimed that Helen was pushed off her ledge.

Below is a video snippet of the moment that Helen was eliminated. Pay particular attention to what appears to be a person within the wall right near her feet before and as Helen goes down.

Did Helen jump off the wall?

There are three theories that fans have expressed or believed since the moment that Helen Kim was eliminated from Big Brother 15.

The first theory is that some people claim they can see a hand push Helen off her ledge and that this is the only reason she lost. The theory goes on to state that they wanted her out of the game.

The second theory is that producers were worried about having a minority cast member re-enter the game with a group of houseguests that had already been accused of being racist. That theory goes on to state that Helen received a payment to jump at a specific time and that she was tapped on the ankle to know when to fall.

And the third theory is that nothing nefarious happened and that Helen just fell off the wall at a time where video footage happened to show someone behind the wall. Having someone behind the wall happens any season they do this challenge, and operating the wall may have simply caused someone to be on camera.

So what really happened? Was Helen pushed? Big Brother fans may never come to an agreement about what actually took place.