Big Brother season 24 came to a close on Sunday night as Taylor Hale won in an 8-1 vote against runner-up Monte Taylor, and the winner revealed why she didn't think she would win. Fans watched as Monte cut his ally, Matthew Turner, ensuring Taylor a spot in the final 2 seats and a chance to plead her case to the jury. Taylor's journey was not easy in the Big Brother house as many of her fellow houseguests unfairly judged and excluded her from the discussions in the early portion of the game.
Before Sunday night's Big Brother season 24 finale, Taylor had lost part 1 and part 2 of the final Head of Household competition to Turner and Monte, leaving her fate in the game up to somebody else. Most fans of Taylor were not too worried, as they had seen a developing relationship growing between Monte and Taylor. Monte followed through by winning the final competition of Big Brother 24 and taking Taylor to the final 2, thinking he had a better chance to beat her.
In her post-Big Brother 24 interview with Parade, Taylor revealed that she didn't expect to win, explaining, "Monte has very, very strong connections with this jury. It looked like it was his jury up and down." She was not the only person shocked as the results came in, even though she won the game with eight out of the nine jurors voting for her to win. "Indy says, 'I'm voting for my favorite person.' And I literally pat Monte on the back," Taylor said. Even Terrance, with whom Taylor had a fraught relationship, voted her the most deserving winner.
Taylor admitted in her post-game interview that Monte played "a very true, honest game" and she assumed that his gameplay would be "respected more." While many respected Monte's game, it was Taylor's personal journey and final speech to the jury that clinched her the win. "Perseverance and resiliency is also a way to win this game," Taylor explained. It's not just a way to win the game; it's also the way she won America's Favorite Player (AFP), which added an extra $50,000 to her $750,000 grand prize, making her the highest-paid Big Brother winner of all time.
For Big Brother fans, Sunday night's finale was one for the history books. Not only was Taylor the first winner to ever win the game and AFP, she is also the first Black woman to win Big Brother's mainline show (Tamar Braxton won the spin-off, Celebrity Big Brother, in 2019). Taylor even won the E! News TV Scoop Award for Favorite Reality Star due to her popularity throughout the season. Whether she expected it or not, it seems safe to say that Taylor's win in Big Brother season 24 is one for the history books.
Source: Parade