Michael Bruner might have been evicted from Big Brother 24 during the double eviction in week 9, but he has made an indelible mark on the game by breaking Janelle Pierzina's single-season veto record. That record stood for 16 years. In 2006, during Big Brother 7, the first all-stars season, Janelle won five vetoes, and became the "Veto Queen."
During Big Brother 24, Michael won six vetoes, breaking Janelle's record of five. This record had previously been shared with Daniele Donato (season 8), Paul Abrahamian (season 19), and Kaycee Clark (season 20), who had tied her. Michael also tied Janelle's overall wins record of nine combined Head of Household (HOH) and Power of Veto competitions.
Michael's six Power of Veto wins in the 10 weeks that he lasted in the game are very impressive. He won the veto for more than half of the weeks that he was in the house, establishing himself as a comp beast. However, those wins also put a target on his back, and his fellow houseguests could not resist evicting him during the double eviction when he was ineligible to play for HOH and did not win the veto. In honor of Michael's record-breaking veto wins, here are all the veto competitions he won during Big Brother 24.
Week 1 - Ren Fest
Michael's first Big Brother veto win came during Ren Fest in week 1 when he was nominated for eviction. Ren Fest, a play on a Renaissance Festival, brought the houseguests back to a medieval jousting tournament. The houseguests were dressed as knights and rode mechanical horses while trying to collect rings on floppy lances. The last knight standing at the end of five bouts won the golden Power of Veto. Michael used the veto to save himself from eviction.
Week 2 - Mermaid Fest
Michael's second veto win was during Mermaid Fest, during which the players were transformed into mermaids, wearing costumes complete with crowns and tails. The Mermaid Fest competition required the houseguests to use only their heads or crowns to move pearls down their lanes and over sand dunes. They then tried to roll the pearl into a clamshell. The first Big Brother player to land three pearls in three clamshells won. Michael chose not to use the veto during this week.
Week 3 - Woodstack
Michael won his third straight veto during the Festie Besties twist, when he and his Festie Bestie Brittany Hoopes were nominated for eviction. The competition, called Woodstack (a play on the Woodstock music festival), required the contestants to work with their Festie Besties to build a billboard in the form of a puzzle. One player remained on the ground and brought puzzle pieces one at a time to their partner, who was lifted into the air by the other player and built the puzzle on top of a tree. When Michael and Brittany won the competition, they saved themselves from the chopping block.
Week 5 - OTEV
During his first HOH reign, Michael won the classic Big Brother OTEV competition and was able to hold all the power for the week and keep his Festie Bestie Brittany safe. The Big Brother 24 OTEV competition was called "Stage Roach," a play on the famous Stage Coach music festival. OTEV appeared in the form of a singing stage roach who asked the contestants to find various sauces by using clues from songs that he sang. They then had to bring him the correct the sauce by climbing up the iconic OTEV ramp, trying not to be the last one to make it back to him. Michael's win allowed him to backdoor Daniel Durston.
Week 8 - Pride Slide
Michael tied Janelle's veto record when he won the Pride Slide competition. This was the classic Big Brother slip and slide game, during which the players have to carry cups of liquid down a very slippery lane in order to fill up a container and release a ball. Whoever releases the ball first wins. Michael not only won the veto, but also an advanced screening of the upcoming movie, Bros. He used the Power of Veto to save Brittany from the chopping block and convinced HOH Matt "Turner" Turner to nominate Kyle Capener in her place due to his inappropriate racial comments.
Week 9 - BB Comics
Michael broke Janelle's record with his win in the iconic BB Comics veto competition. Michael was the HOH for his third time during this week, and was able to keep his nominations the same in order to evict Terrance. During the BB Comics competition, the houseguests appear on comic book covers as superheroes that reflect their personalities and gameplay. They must climb a ladder and zipline past a window to view the comic books. Then they jump to the ground and place copies of the comic book covers in order, based on their memories of what they saw. There are two versions of each comic, so attention to detail is especially important in this competition.
Michael impressively set the new Big Brother Power of Veto record during season 24, breaking Janelle's 16-year record. He established himself as a modern-day Big Brother legend. Although Michael did not win the game, he definitely will go down in history as one of its all-time greatest players.
Big Brother airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT and Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.