The second week of Big Brother Season 25 is coming to a close and we have a lot of questions. How long will Cirie and Jared be able to hide their relationship? Will Hisam’s winning streak ever end? What product does Cameron use in his hair, and is it the same one that Red uses in his beard? And then there’s the most pressing of all: what’s up with Matt Klotz’s tattoo?
Okay, it’s not the most pressing question. “Who will be evicted next” is the perennial burning question on Big Brother, but the secret of Matt’s tattoo is up there — at least this week. It’s no surprise, either. We’re still in the early stages of the competition and while Matt may not be an early frontrunner, he’s certainly getting a lot of camera time and has made a mark on the franchise as the first deaf houseguest. That’s why when he popped up in last night’s episode shirtless and sporting a bandage on his back, we wondered what he — or the show! — could be hiding. Like, is this a Waterworld situation where the key to winning the veto is right there on Matt’s back?
What’s is Matt Klotz’s tattoo on Big Brother?
It’s actually pretty straightforward: it’s the Olympic rings with the Deaflympics logo added to the center ring.
Honestly, if you had to guess what Matt Klotz, eight-time Deaflympics gold medalist swimmer, has tattooed on his back, this would probably be your first guess. And it’s a cool tattoo! So why is it covered up if it’s not lewd or a clue?
Why is Matt Klotz’s tattoo covered up on Big Brother?
Here’s a fun fact that you probably did not know: tattoos are protected by copyright. In most cases, tattoos are owned by the tattoo artist. In order for a person’s actual tattoos to be shown on television or film, permission has to be obtained from the tattoo artist. This has been true since Ed Helms got Mike Tyson’s face tattoo in The Hangover: Part II — and the original tattoo artist sued Warner Bros.
That seems like the most logical reason why Matt’s cool tatt is covered up: CBS didn’t get permission from the tattoo artist to show it off on screen. If faced with a choice of going through legal documents or just putting a bandage over it, it makes sense that they’d just stock up on Band-Aids.
Decider has reached out to Big Brother for comment. New episodes of Big Brother air on CBS on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights.
