Big Brother season 24 winner Taylor Hale not only made history as the first Black woman to win the game, but she also is the first champion in the history of the show also to win the coveted America's Favorite Houseguest prize, and now she explains why that shocked her. The 27-year-old personal stylist and pageant queen from West Bloomfield, Michigan, will go down in history as one of the biggest underdogs to ever play the game. From week 1, she was the house target and the victim of bullying and micro-aggressions from her fellow houseguests. However, Taylor turned things around when she joined The Leftovers alliance, which began to dominate Big Brother 24. Although she was nominated for eviction six times in weeks 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 and 12, she had two Head of Household (HOH) reigns.

After Monte Taylor chose her to go to the Big Brother Final 2 with him over Matt "Turner" Turner, Taylor made a rousing speech to the jury explaining why she deserved to win the $750,000 prize. She convinced them and won the game by a vote of 8-1, with Turner staying loyal to Monte with his vote. Taylor was also awarded the $50,000 America's Favorite Houseguest prize, which surprised her. However, what she did not know was that America had rallied around her when the houseguests were bullying her, campaigning for her to win the prize early on in Big Brother 24. They also voted her as their Favorite Reality Star during the E! News TV Scoop Awards, pushing her ahead of reality superstars such as Kim Kardashian. This was a good indicator that Taylor's fans would have the votes to secure the America's Favorite Houseguest win.

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In an interview with EW, Taylor explained why she was shocked that she won Big Brother's America's Favorite Houseguest, making her the first winner to take home both prizes. Taylor said that "to make history two times over in one night...there are brains on the wall, 'cause my head has exploded a billion times over." She said that "it's no secret" that she is "relatively new to the fan base." She shared that she got excited about Big Brother when she watched last season. As she was going through the recruitment process to become a Big Brother cast member, she started to watch other seasons as well. She admitted that "in becoming a big fan I was so nervous that I would make bad or stupid game moves or I would say the wrong thing or say something about a player that they did or did not do."

Taylor Hale from Big Brother

Taylor explained that she wanted to be "very respectful of this fan base coming into it because I know these Big Brother fans, they're a little ruthless and very protective of the brand." She thought that coming into Big Brother "as a pageant girl, as a beauty queen, as someone who can very easily be painted as someone who does not take this game seriously," longtime fans would not accept her. She figured that when her headshots were released, people would say, "Get her outta here. She just wants to be an Instagram influencer. We don't want her." Taylor shared that knowing that the fans would be so invested in her journey in the game "doesn't feel real to me because I never, ever, ever thought that I would earn the respect of the fan base as well."

Taylor might be shocked that she won the Big Brother America's Favorite Houseguest prize, but it really was no surprise to viewers of the reality competition series. She showed resilience in the face of adversity and pulled herself up from her lowest points in order to make it to the end of the game. Big Brother fans respect that kind of perseverance, and they saw Taylor as an inspiration. She will go down in history as a Big Brother legend.

Source: EW

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