'Big Brother' finalist Derek Frazier reacts to fans calling out his 'sexist' comments about female contestants: 'I respect women'

• "Big Brother" runner-up Derek Frazier said he respects women after backlash from fans for comments.
• Frazier called a fellow contestant "that bitch" and said he did "carried" another female houseguest.
• Frazier told Insider that he never intended to "put a woman down or make them feel little."

"Big Brother" finalist Derek Frazier said that he never intended to "put a woman down or make them feel little" after fans accused him of making sexist and misogynistic comments on the show.

Season 23 of the long-running reality show aired its finale on September 29, crowning contestant Xavier Prather the winner.

Prather, the show's first Black winner, took home a prize of $750,000. An all-Black alliance of six contestants called "The Cookout" helped ensured Prather's win.

Frazier, the runner-up and one of the members of The Cookout, was criticized by fans for his comments about fellow Cookout members Azah Awasum and Tiffany Mitchell during the show, including an instance where Frazier called Mitchell "that bitch" on camera and another moment where he said he carried Awasum to the end of the competition.

While speaking with Insider after the finale, Frazier addressed the controversy over his comments, saying he "respects women" and that he grew up with a single mother.

"At the end of the day, I would never do anything to harm a woman or anything like that. I do protect women at all costs," Frazier said.

At the same time, he added: "If you talk to me a certain way, I'm going to react a certain way. And I can't be sorry for that. Me and Tiffany had had a lot of interactions. That is what it is."

According to Entertainment Tonight, Frazier did not agree with Mitchell acting like the leader of The Cookout.

Weighing in on his rumored feud with Awasum, Frazier told Insider that he felt like he "put in a lot of work" and Awasum "was kind of just relaxing a lot," while adding that the two shared a room and checked in on each other from time to time.

"I never want her feelings to be hurt," Frazier said. "But I was speaking from how I felt that when I compare her resume to mine - completely different."

Frazier continued that he has "plenty of women" in his life and that he and his friends call each other "bitches and girls" during conversations. He added the goal of the contestants in the latest "Big Brother" season was to be as transparent as possible.

"So you can't get upset with me when I'm getting told to be true," he said.

Despite fans' reactions to some of Frazier's comments on the show, it seems that the houseguests themselves aren't holding much of a grudge. After the season finale, Frazier apologized to both Mitchell and Awasum for his remarks in a group conversation with Entertainment Tonight published on Thursday. During the same chat, Mitchell called Frazier her "little brother."

"He does not want to listen to his big sister, I wanna be heard, he wants to be right," she said.