KNIFE ACT LEADS TO AX 'BIG BROTHER' CUTS MAN FOR BLADE USE.

Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer

STUDIO CITY - Producers threw a ``Big Brother 2'' contestant off the reality TV show early Wednesday after he was caught live on an Internet camera putting a knife to the throat of a woman he was kissing.

Justin Sebik, a 26-year-old bartender from Bayonne, N.J., was seen in the kitchen of the Studio City camera-monitored home embracing and kissing contestant Krista Stegall, a 28-year-old waitress and divorced mom from Opelousas, La.

Sebik then walked over to a drawer, picked up a knife and asked her whether she would be mad ``if I killed you.'' The couple then continued to kiss, and Sebik placed the knife against her throat.

Tonight's episode of the show will address the incident but will not air the actual footage. It remains to be decided whether host Julie Chen will interview Sebik.

CBS announced that Sebik had been removed from the house, having been warned twice earlier about less-serious infractions and aggressive behavior.

``The safety and well-being of the houseguests will always be top priority,'' the show's executive producer, Arnold Shapiro, said.

``In our view, Justin's behavior crossed the line of tolerable and acceptable behavior, and was a blatant violation of the house rules we established. As much as we like Justin, we really had no choice but to eject him from the house.''

Even the threat of violence will not be tolerated in the house, CBS said in a release.

After the incident, Sebik was called into a private room to talk to a psychologist. According to Shapiro, Sebik claimed he was only joking, and Stegall did not appear alarmed by the incident.

``He passed all medical, psycho and background checks,'' a source at CBS said, adding that Justin had no criminal record.

The CBS source conceded that this wasn't exactly how the producers of the low-rated ``Big Brother 2'' hoped to increase viewership. ``No, of course not,'' the source said. ``We never would incite this.''

The second season of the reality game show debuted July 5, putting 12 contestants in a house for 11 weeks. The contestants were to vote one housemate out per week and the last remaining contestant would collect $500,000. The show is broadcast three times a week and for a fee, Internet users can watch the antics in the house 24 hours per day.

The TV version failed to win its time period July 5 and the following Saturday against reruns and an auto race. On Tuesday, CBS reported some growth, with 8.3 million total viewers and a second-place finish in adult demographics behind the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said since no complaint had been made about the incident, there was no investigation under way.

Robert Gustafson, director of the Entertainment Industry Institute at California State University, Northridge, said the incident is ``an extreme example'' of the kind of spontaneity that should be expected of a reality show.

``I think when you open the door to true reality, as this show does by taping 24 hours a day, it's inevitable that something remarkable will happen.''

Gustafson doesn't think Justin's background check and psychological exam let the producers down.

``I happen to believe your average person is not very average,'' he said. ``This guy is obviously a little over the edge, but I don't fault the program for that. I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner.''

Psychiatrist Carole Lieberman disagreed. ``It seems to me that (the producers) are too hasty in deciding who should be guests. I don't know what else they did besides psychological testing, but psychological testing in itself is going to tell you diddly-squat.

``Sometimes they pick people to be on for the wrong reasons and use the fact that there was no off-the-charts pathology in the psychological testing as a justification for putting them on, when really they think these people will bring high ratings,'' Lieberman added.

While last summer's houseguests on the first ``Big Brother'' were derided as boring, just a week into their competition this group already has delivered conflict and sexual encounters, including nude hot-tubbing with whipped cream.

Producers have been cautious about just how much nudity and sexual activity is shown on the TV show and the Internet video stream. However, Web surfers commenting in Salon.com's Table Talk chat room described the knife incident, which occurred sometime around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday

Despite Justin's eviction, tonight's episode will feature the first banishment of one of two contestants - Nicole or Sheryl - voted out by the other houseguests.

Staff Writer Valerie Kuklenski contributed to this story.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Justin and Krista were kissing when he held a knife to her throat and became a former ``Big Brother'' contestant.