Big Brother host Julie Chen has revealed what "bothers" her about Kyle Capener's gameplay, which has been extremely controversial this season for many reasons.
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"There's something about the way Kyle betrayed his alliance that bothers me," Julie, 52, told Entertainment Weekly, referring to how Kyle had thrown "The Leftovers" under the bus to hopefully prevent former Head of Household Terrance Higgins from nominating Alyssa Snider and himself for eviction.
"It came soon after he was wishy-washy about using the POV to save Alyssa when he and [Daniel Durston] had the veto. It felt more like a move to save himself and his longevity in the game than his showmance or girlfriend."
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When Kyle and Daniel won the Power of Veto as "Festie Besties" earlier in the season, Kyle presented to his "Leftovers" allies that Daniel -- who was not a member of their alliance -- had decided to remove Alyssa and Indy Santos from the chopping block and so the move was out of his hands.
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"The Leftovers" had wanted to keep nominations the same since neither Alyssa or Indy were members of the alliance, and the POV being used ultimately resulted in Nicole Layog's eviction.
During the game's more recent double-festival twist, the house was divided in half, with Alyssa and Kyle on the same side.
Fearing they'd be targeting due to their showmance, Kyle decided to expose "The Leftovers" to Terrance so he would gun for a more threatening "Leftovers" member, like Joseph Abdin, instead.
Kyle's plan worked because Terrance was intimidated by Joseph and Monte Taylor's brother-like bond, and Joseph was evicted from the house.
Once the house reunited post-twist, Kyle led his allies to believe that Joseph had been responsible for his own demise by playing double agent in the house and putting his foot in his mouth.
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Given Matthew Turner had Kyle's back in sending Joseph packing, Julie explained, "[Turner] essentially broke up the perceived stronger duo when he decided to evict Joseph."
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"Turner probably thinks he can beat Kyle and Alyssa at competitions, and even at winning the jury, than Monte and/or Joseph. It wasn't a bad move on his part to advance his position in the game," Julie said, defending Turner's gameplay.
But Kyle, a 29-year-old from Utah who grew up in a strict Mormon household, has been taking heat for more than just his sneaky and deceitful strategy.
Many Big Brother fans have been calling him "KKKyle" on social media, accusing him of racist behavior. Some viewers have even demanded that Kyle be removed from the game.
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Last week, the hashtag "#StopProtectingKyle" began trending on Twitter because many fans believe producers have been editing out some of Kyle's offensive and problematic comments from the live feeds and the CBS broadcasts, as well as heated conversations about race.
Kyle initially came under fire when he pitched the formation of an all-white alliance designed to stop "diverse" players from potentially coming together like "The Cookout" alliance, a historical all-Black alliance that had dominated the game on Season 23 of Big Brother.
The live feeds reportedly caught Kyle calling Monte, Joseph, and Taylor Hale "loud personalities" in the house.
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Kyle -- hoping to work with Alyssa, Turner, Michael Bruner and Brittany Hoopes at the time -- explained, "The possibility of those six with that background, I mean it looks very similar to The Cookout," according to Us Weekly.
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Kyle continued, "With a very diverse background, they have all expressed why they are in this game. Like Joseph, for middle-eastern representation on TV. Indy, there's never been a Brazilian contestant or winner. Right?"
"Like everyone has those strong 'whys' that all coincide," Kyle added. "And I look at our alliance and it was great and a necessity because our backs were against the wall and that's what brought us together... A bigger alliance out there, like, that is my biggest fear right now and I am only telling you."
Amid backlash and outrage, one Twitter user wrote, "There has been thousands of tweets, thousands of posts online about him. CBS can cut the feeds as much as they want to protect him, but it doesn't change the fact that he's a f–king racist."
And another person tweeted, "Julie was right, this is a microcosm of our culture. The active exploitation of POC, the protection of white men above all else, and blatant, unapologetic Anti-Blackness by those in power. Nothing says 'America' more."
Kyle reportedly apologized to his fellow houseguests for making decisions "rooted in race," insisting he never meant any harm or ill will.
In fact, according to the live feeds, Kyle even said he'd self-evict if anyone in the house considered him to be a racist.
Terrance Higgins reportedly decided to have Kyle's back in the situation, saying it was courageous of Kyle to own up to his mistakes and strive to do better -- but Big Brother nation is split and many fans aren't willing to let Kyle off the hook.
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Big Brother's next Season 24 episode airs Wednesday night at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.