Reality competition series Big Brother is all about players, who are stuck in a house cut off from the world and vying for half a million dollars, being cunning, manipulative, and strategic. Though some players have won the game without ruffling many feathers, others, including both winners and losers, have stirred up lots of controversy along the way.
Shock, awe, backstabbing, and blindsides are par for the course for this series, which is currently airing its 21st season.
And while there have been a few notable moments in the latest seasons of the series, if we look back, some of the most vicious betrayals have occurred in seasons past.
Here’s a list of the 10 most vicious betrayals in the show’s history.
When Frankie Won Battle of the Block By Himself
Following a double eviction in season 16, the entire house turned against Frankie when they realized he was playing both sides and decided to target him. In a team challenge for Battle of the Block, everyone abandoned him leaving him to compete on his own in a challenge that seemingly required two people - even when it meant forfeiting their own safety, not to mention some nice prizes.
Miraculously, he pulled out a win anyway, much to their chagrin. Thus, he took himself off the block and thwarted their attempts at betrayal.
It was after this incident that Frankie finally came clean and revealed that he was not only a YouTube star but also the older brother to mega pop star Ariana Grande.
When Dan Falsely Accused Danielle of Stabbing Him in the Back
In his epic season 14 speech, Dan decided to dress in black and hold his own funeral, addressing each housemate before they prepared to vote him out.
In the speech, he completely turned on his closest ally Danielle by accusing her in front of every one of stabbing him in the back, when he was really the one doing just that to her.
He then proceeded to convince Frank to take him off the block and put up Britney instead, throwing Ian under the bus in the process. The evil plan worked, as Jen, who held the veto, took Dan off the block and Frank put Britney up as the replacement. Britney then called Dan “Judas” before walking out the door.
When Dr. Will Gave That Speech
You know the speech. In season 7, Dr. Will delivered a desperate veto speech to all of the houseguests that has gone down as one of the most memorable of the series. He declared that he hated them all, begged to be voted out, and promised to throw every competition if they keep him in the house against his wishes.
Talk about gullible. They all ate it up and ended up keeping him in the house. Will didn’t win that season, but he did go on to make it all the way to the top four thanks to his keen reverse psychology skills.
When Jennifer Evicted Kaysar After He Gave Up The HoH To Her
Kaysar returned to the game in season 6, being voted back in for a second chance by fans. Yet his bad luck was not about to run out.
He made a presumed deal with his enemy Jennifer and gave up Head of Household after a 14-hour endurance competition. Of course, she then turned on him. She put him up on the block and he was evicted for a second time before he even had the chance to unpack his bags.
It’s another piece of proof that in the Big Brother house, the most vicious betrayals are often bestowed upon those with too much trust, especially for their enemies in the house.
When Marcellas Was Voted Out After Failing to Use the Veto on Himself
Word to the wise: never, ever win a veto and not use it on yourself if you’re sitting on the block. Marcellas made this mistake in the third season while sitting next to his best friend Amy.
He even admitted in his speech that he knew his family would be watching and pleading with him to use the veto, yet he still didn’t do it.
Meanwhile, the vote was a tie, and the tiebreaker vote led to his eviction, leaving a shocked Marcellas to walk out the door. His decision goes down not only as one of the most vicious betrayals of the series, but also one of the dumbest moves.
Chilltown Manipulations
Considered to be one of the best alliances ever on the series, Chilltown, consisting of Dr. Will, Mike “Boogie,” and Shannon, consistently manipulated and betrayed their fellow houseguests throughout the entire second season.
Dr. Will eventually won the entire season, while Mike ended up winning the All-Stars season when the pair both competed once again and revived the alliance.
Chilltown’s list of vicious betrayals is lengthy, but includes making bribes, fake alliances, and, in the revived version in All-Stars, using Janelle effectively as a shield, keeping her in the house so she would remain the target instead of them while they faked being aligned with her. At one point, Will even tried to convince Shannon that he was dying of cancer, which he was not.
When Janelle and Erika Caught on to Chilltown
In season 7, when Mike “Boogie” and Dr. Will resurrected their Chilltown alliance, they brought in new members Janelle and Erika and called it Operation Double Date. Of course, their loyalties were mainly to one another.
Eventually, however, the girls caught on, realizing they were being played and flipped the script to conduct a vicious betrayal of their own: voting out Will. Unfortunately, Erika then turned on Janelle, throwing the final Head of Household competition, which led to Mike evicting Janelle, and eventually winning the game.
When Dustin Volunteered Himself to Be a Pawn
“Pawns always go home.” This is one of those rules that every Big Brother fan should know. And while it isn’t always true, the reality is that sometimes it is. So never volunteer yourself to be one.
Someone should have given Dustin this memo in season 8 when he did just that, placing himself on the hot seat beside his enemy Evel Dick. But in a vicious betrayal, Eric, who was voted America’s Player, switched things up, aligned with Dick and his daughter Danielle, and Dustin was completely blindsided when Julie Chen said his name.
Evel Dick and Danielle went on to be the final two, and Evel Dick won the season.
Jeff’s Coup D’Etat
Even though he had no idea what it meant nor how to pronounce it, Jeff was gifted with the Coup D’Etat special power in season 11, which allowed him to, if he chose to use it, overthrow the Head of Household, take down the two nominees, and put up two of his own.
While he used it to his advantage, this upset Chima, who had originally put up her nominations, and felt betrayed not only by Jeff but also the game since her HoH reign was effectively deemed powerless. She had a major breakdown, kicking up a storm and throwing her microphone into the hot tub, a move that finally had her ejected from the game.
When Dan Used Danielle and Shane
There’s a reason Danielle called Dan “Judas:” in a season when he was initially supposed to just be a mentor, he befriended the innocent girl, but started to manipulate her trust in the background once he was officially named a player. He convinced her to take him off the block and put up Shane, her own ally, promising that he would vote out Ian instead.
Dan got both Danielle and Shane on board with the plan, then sent Shane packing, much to Danielle’s shock and anger.
Dan went on to once again stab Danielle in the back right before sending her packing. But he did end up losing to Ian in the end, so he might have been better off keeping Shane in the game.