‘Big Brother’ Alum Zach Rance Criticizes Fan Sending Death Threats 10 Years Later

Zach Rance, known for his appearance on Big Brother Season 16, has recently spoken out against fans who have been sending him and his family death threats over his “showmance” with Frankie Grande, the brother of pop star Ariana Grande.

In a heartfelt video shared on social media, Rance implored fans of the CBS reality competition to cease their toxic behavior.

“This is me asking for help to all the people that follow me, to all the Big Brother fans, to anybody that’s ever watched a season of Big Brother,” Rance said in a video posted on YouTube. “I have been getting harassed nonstop incessantly for the past 10 years since Big Brother was on in 2014.”

Rance also shared that he has received extremely specific and vulgar emails targeting him and his family, with direct threats to their lives. He felt it was essential to address the issue publicly and seek help from the community.

Rance formed a close friendship with Frankie Grande during the show’s 2014 season, creating a bond that fans dubbed “Zankie.” However, their relationship never progressed beyond friendship once the season ended, much to the disappointment of some dedicated viewers.

“Him and I had a very close friendship in the house. A lot of the fans and a lot of the people who watch Big Brother thought that when we were to come out of the house we would have been in a relationship,” Rance explained. “That wasn’t the case because we weren’t dating after the show. And our ‘showmance’ didn’t end up coming to fruition.”

The intense investment from fans in the “Zankie” relationship led to severe backlash when the couple didn’t materialize. In 2015, Rance’s phone number was leaked, resulting in a flood of “very mean” and “very rude” messages directed at him and his family. He was labeled “homophobic” and “a closeted gay.”

“These emails that I was getting didn’t stop,” he recalled. “I was getting emails every single day saying, ‘Zach you’re an ashamed closeted gay, you’re a f****t, you should kill yourself because you’re so in the closet.’”

Over time, the messages escalated in severity, transitioning from insults to direct threats on his and his family’s lives. This escalation left Rance feeling scared and unsure of how to protect his loved ones.

The harassment even extended to Rance’s grandmother and father, whose work emails were also inundated with offensive messages.

“Even though I continue to fight and even though I continue to look at the positive and I continue to use this as a what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger type of thing, it’s been going on for way too long,” he expressed. “It’s been 10 freaking years. Big Brother was on in 2014 and it’s now 2024. And this person is still sending these emails daily.”

Rance mentioned that these harassing emails have not only deteriorated his mental health but have also had financial repercussions, affecting his professional life by contacting his clients.

Watch Rance’s full video below.