THE Big Brother house has already claimed its first casualty – and the season hasn’t even started yet.
A contestant was pulled from Season 28 at the eleventh hour after completing every step of the casting process, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.
Big Brother 28 hopeful Levi Banks will no longer be on this season of the CBS series, with alternate Yash Patel stepping in just days before the show’s premiere.
A production source claimed: “Levi did the full casting process including his contestant portrait and sequestering.
“After everything, he was pulled from the season at basically the very last second. Yash was an alternate and replaced Levi.”
The abrupt switch came after Levi had already been photographed for promotional materials and even sequestered in Los Angeles ahead of moving into the famous Big Brother house.
Levi’s picture was briefly spotted on the show’s website before it was deleted.
While the network has not publicly commented on the casting shake-up, eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed that Yash’s promotional rollout looked different from the rest of the cast, fueling speculation that he had joined the game late.
Yash, a 24-year-old financial analyst, now officially joins the Season 28 lineup after being promoted from alternate to houseguest.
The last-minute replacement adds another layer of intrigue to what CBS is already billing as the biggest season in Big Brother history.
Season 28 features a diverse group of new houseguests, including bartender Ashley Trail, jumbotron engineer Barrett Pfeiffer, supply chain analyst Chuk Anyanwu, dental surgery assistant Drew Campbell, and telemedicine executive Haley Thogmartin.
Ru Paul’s Drag Race alum Jason De Puy will also be popping up on BB28, alongside MMA coach Kamu Kirk, boutique salesperson LaTrice Verrett, attorney Lyric Medeiros, rocket scientist Mallory Aurichio, corporate game show host Melody Morris, pickleball coach Rome Seymoure, and elementary school counselor Taylor Brown.
While the 14 names which have been released are already sparking excitement, fans are in for even more of a treat when the full cast list is finally revealed.
CBS teased that additional surprise players will be revealed live during the premiere.
As The U.S. Sun previously mentioned, stars from other reality shows, including Survivor, will be competing for the $750,000 grand prize this season.
Hosted once again by Julie Chen Moonves, Big Brother Season 28 premieres with a 90-minute episode on Thursday, July 9, on CBS, with episodes also streaming on Paramount+.
The season includes the franchise’s landmark 1,000th episode and promises to be its longest and biggest installment yet.
