Aaryn Williams revisited her infamous Big Brother racism scandal, but her explanation raised eyebrows. The reality star blamed her late father’s influence for shaping the prejudiced worldview behind her behavior.
In a preview of Bravo’s upcoming series, Small Town Trouble: Texas, Aaryn discussed the controversy with husband Nick.
She called the scandal her biggest regret and reflected on how public backlash changed her family.
Aaryn Williams points to her upbringing to explain her horrid behavior
In the clip shared by Bravo, Nick recalled telling Aaryn not to Google him when they first met. He said he had known her as “this wonderful person who made a terrible mistake.” Aaryn disagreed, telling him, “It’s not even a mistake that I made. It’s who I was.”
During her confessional, she acknowledged the harm caused by her comments. “It took me a really long time to understand how deeply ingrained it was in me, and how many people I hurt by saying the things that I did on the show,” she said. “It is my biggest regret in my life.”
Aaryn also blamed her father, George, for fostering her racist mindset. She recalled that he refused to share her prom photos because her date was Black. “I grew up around a lot of racism,” she explained. “Unfortunately, he raised me with a very racist mindset.”
She added that her worldview had remained small while her father was alive. Aaryn believed the backlash forced her to confront that upbringing.
“Had I not been called out for my behavior, I don’t think I would’ve been the one to break this cycle with my family,” she said. She also promised their four daughters would never face similar worries.
The controversy erupted during Big Brother 15 in 2013. Aaryn made anti-Black, anti-Asian and homophobic remarks. She then lost her modeling agency gig, and faced boos after eviction. Host Julie Chen Moonves challenged her during the exit interview. Chen later told Page Six she felt personally offended, particularly by the anti-Asian comments.
Now, Aaryn joined Bravo’s Boerne, Texas-based cast alongside Nick, Annari Uys, Gabby Hernandez Huffman, Alli McAnelly and Hailey Head. The network described the women as unconventional wives, mothers and social insiders.
Small Town Trouble: Texas premieres November 18.
