Big Brother's Aaryn: I Didn't Know Racial Jokes Were Offensive

Even after getting booed during her eviction interview and being fired from her modeling agency for making prejudiced comments, Big Brothercontestant Aaryn Gries explained to TMZ that those comments don't make her racist.

Aaryn, who warned houseguests they might not be able to see bi-racial contestant Candice in the dark and told Asian-American houseguest Helen to "go make some rice," said she's been making racial jokes for years, but never knew they were offensive because "no one had expressed that I was taken that way."

See Robin Williams, Michael J. Fox and more familiar faces returning to fall TV

Aaryn said she wishes someone had warned her how her "jokes" would reflect poorly on her before moving into the Big Brother house. "I'm not racist," she said. "Sometimes you can say mindless things that will haunt you.

She also took the opportunity to apologize for using her Southern upbringing as a defense when confronted by Julie Chen during her eviction interview.  "Blaming Texas was the biggest mistake I made ... I was in defense mode," Aaryn said, referring to when she told Julie, "I feel like in Texas we say things that are sometimes... we joke and we don't mean it."

What do you think of Aaryn's most recent explanation?