'Big Brother' houseguest Taylor Hale wins Season 24 over Monte Taylor and makes history

Big Brother crowned Taylor Hale the Season 24 champion over runner-up Monte Taylor in a landslide vote after Monte chose to take her to the end over Matthew "Turner" Turner during the live finale broadcast that aired Sunday night on CBS.


Taylor, a 27-year-old personal stylist from West Bloomfield, MI, won Big Brother in a landslide 8-1 jury vote over Monte, a 27-year-old personal trainer from Bear, DE.

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"This is like winning Ms. Congeniality all over again but there's a cash prize this time!" Taylor, a former beauty pageant queen, shouted with joy following her victory.

Taylor made Big Brother history for two reasons. Not only was she crowned the first Black female winner of a regular Big Brother season, (Tamar Braxton won Season 2 of Celebrity Big Brother), but she's also the first winner to receive the honor of "America's Favorite Houseguest" in the same season.


Taylor won $750,000 for being crowned Big Brother champion as well as an additional $50,000 for being named "America's Favorite Houseguest."

Turner, a 23-year-old thrift store owner from North Attleborough, MA who currently resides in New Bedford, MA, placed third after Monte won the final Head of Household competition and chose to evict him.

Turner was the only person who voted for Monte to win the game.

The two-hour Big Brother finale broadcast began on Day 82 of the game.

Footage then flashed back to Part 1 of the final Head of Household competition, an endurance challenge in which Turner, Monte and Taylor were each required to hold onto a giant hot dog for as long as possible while they were twisted, thrashed around, and spun -- in different directions -- above a giant faux charcoal grill that was smoking.


Turner felt confident Monte would take him to the Final 2, but he said he wanted to control his own fate in the game. Taylor apparently felt the same way and wanted to make the decision of whom would sit next to her in the end.

Taylor was the first person to drop out of the competition after 36 minutes.

Taylor hoped Monte would win so she could face Turner in Part 2 of the HoH competition and then possibly compete against Monte in Part 3, as long as she managed to beat Turner in the second round.

After 46 minutes and four seconds, Monte fell off his hot dog. Although Turner said he had severe motion sickness and never did well on roller coasters or other carnival rides, he won Part 1 and secured himself a spot in Part 3 of the final HoH competition.

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Part 2 of the final Head of Household competition required Monte and Taylor to each zipline across the backyard and attempt to correctly place previously-held competition names on either the HoH or Veto billboard.

It was up to the houseguests to remember whether a certain competition was an HoH competition or a Power of Veto. The names on the billboard also had to be placed in the order in which they had been played. There were also some fake names the players had to be wary about.

The first player to arrange the billboards correctly and in the fastest time would win Part 2 of the competition and face Turner in Part 3.

Taylor completed the challenge in seven minutes and four seconds, and Monte finished his billboards in six minutes and 41 seconds.

Monte won Part 2 of the Head of Household competition, and so he and Turner went up against each other in the third -- and final -- round.


Taylor admitted that she felt "devastated" about losing, like she had let all the female Big Brother fans down, knowing she must get carried to the end. Taylor therefore realized she'd have to come up with a really good argument as to why she deserved jury votes and ultimately to win the whole game.

Meanwhile, Monte and Turner had made a Final 2 deal together on Day 54, and Turner said he planned to honor that. Turner said in the Diary Room he would "100 percent" take Monte to the end if he's able to make the final decision.

Monte, however, wasn't so sure about whom he'd take to the end, especially since he thought he'd have a better shot to win the $750,000 sitting next to Taylor in the Final 2 chairs.

Part 3 of the final Head of Household competition dubbed "Jury Fest" then commenced, and Monte and Turner were required to prove how well they know their former housemates who were members of the jury.

Monte and Turner were shown videos each featuring a specific member of the jury. Each video featured three statements about that specific juror, and it was Turner and Monte's job to determine which of the statements was false -- A, B or C.


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For each correct answer, the players would receive one point. The houseguest with the most points after eight videos would become the final Head of Household of the season.

In the end, Monte won the Final Head of Household competition by two points, and Taylor was nearly in tears cheering for him in the house.

Monte had to choose whether to evict Turner or Taylor, and so he was simultaneously deciding whom to take to the final jury questioning and live finale vote.

Turner, in his final plea to stay, asked Monte to choose "loyalty over royalty," reminding his pal how they either had a Final 4 deal or Final 2 deal for the majority of the game. Turner tried to convince Monte that the jury would probably unanimously vote for Monte to win.

"I'd be bamboozled if I wasn't taken. But dude, I love ya, and it's your decision to make. Peace and love," Turner concluded.


And Taylor said it would mean "the world, the moon and the stars" if he took her to the Final 2.

Taylor said it would mean so much to her, not just because of the personal friendship they had built, but because his decision would be doing something "for the greater good," likely referring to how two people of color would be sitting in the Final 2 chairs."

"I respect all of the game moves that you have made, and frankly, my biggest game move was done when I lost that second part of the HoH. So if you sit next to me, you know it's an easy win," Taylor insisted.

"I respect that decision... but I hope it's going to be for me to stay," she added.

Monte was guaranteed at least second place and the $75,000 that would go with it.

Monte then stood at the head of the living room and cast his sole vote to evict.


"I love and respect the both of you so much, so you know how hard this decision is going to be for me. When I look at my resume, the only thing that I can think the jury sees missing is a big move made," Monte announced, presumably referring to how Turner had taken out the biggest threat in the house, Michael Bruner.

"So today, I feel like this is my opportunity to make that big move. Turner, I'm sorry, but I have to vote to evict you, brother."

Turner gave Monte a big hug and said there was no respect or love lost.

"Peace and love!" Turner shouted to Monte and Taylor on his way out of the Big Brother house.

Monte and Taylor embraced and cried, with Monte telling his showmance partner, "I told you I'd come through. I came through."

Turner then sat down with Big Brother host Julie Chen for his post-eviction interview.


When asked if he was shocked by Monte's decision, Turner shared, "I'm shocked but not mad... He's one of the coolest people I've ever met, and so I have no bad things to say about him."

"I definitely would've taken him to the end, but the fact he didn't take me, I can't be surprised. I took out Michael, I took out [Ameerah Jones], and my HoH started The Leftovers -- all of those huge things, and I get it. I wasn't not expecting it, I'll say."

Turner also said he thought Monte had made the right decision for his game, to better his chances of winning the grand prize, even though he wouldn't exactly boast about his own jury-management skills.

"I think I talked to [Indy Santos] three times. I think I didn't have good jury management but I made the biggest moves, and I think I had a really good shot to win, despite that," Turner explained, adding how he needed to take Michael out in order for anyone else to win the game.

Turner became the ninth -- and final -- member of the Big Brother jury for Season 24.

Turner joined Indy, Jasmine Davis, Joseph Abdin, Kyle Capener, Terrance Higgins, Michael, Alyssa Snider, and Brittany Hoopes.


In the final jury questioning, Kyle asked Monte to reveal his most pivotal move in the game, other than using the Power of Veto that led to Michael's eviction, and Monte said it was his late-game decision to evict Turner, "the second best competitor" in the game this season.

Michael asked Taylor if she had adapted her game to improve her position after seeing the chopping block multiple times, and Taylor said "of course" because she had been painted as an "unthinkable" villain in the house.

Taylor shared how he she had tried to relate to everyone and build personal relationships, mainly with the women, without manipulating anybody. Taylor insisted she was being true to who she is the entire time.

Joseph asked Monte to share his biggest blunder, and risk.

Monte explained how he had failed to protect Michael and Brittany in The Leftovers all the while not communicating well with Indy, Jasmine and Alyssa, which painted a target on him going forward. Monte said it almost led to his eviction and he would've gone about the situation a bit differently.

Jasmine questioned Taylor on if she had made any moves that her housemates weren't aware of, and Taylor said it was intentional on her part to not make the biggest moves ever.


Taylor shared how she used an alliance with Michael and Brittany as a shield, stayed loyal to The Leftovers, and then teamed up with Indy and Alyssa so they would trust and work with her. Taylor insisted she had played with and for the women, to drive them all further in the game.

Taylor announced how she had been on the chopping block six times, which was a testament to the relationships she had built along the way. She boasted about being strong and resilient, and she called herself "The Block Buster."

Monte wrapped up the discussion by telling Turner that he made a Final 2 with him only after finding out he had a Final 2 with Kyle. Monte said around the time of "Big Brochella," he talked to Michael, Brittany and Taylor about making a Final 4 alliance.

Monte attempted to explain that he still deserved Turner's vote because he didn't think his game was a priority to Turner after finding out about Kyle and Turner's Final 2 deal.

Monte and Taylor were then given the opportunity to make a final speech to the jury.

Monte called himself a strong and loyal competitor with a good social game who had won three Head of Household competitions and two Power of Veto competitions. Monte said he avoided making false promises to people outside of his alliances and only touched the chopping block twice.


Monte said he also made big moves, such as evicting Nicole Layog and winning -- and using -- the PoV that led to Michael's eviction. Monte said he also won the final competition to evict the next best competitor in the house, Turner.

And Taylor addressed the jury by saying she had won three competitions, including two Head of Households, and, while Monte had more blood on his hands, she "bled out" in the game by sitting on the chopping block so many times, only to "bandage" herself up time and time again.

Taylor said she fought to get to the end while looking out for other people, all the while being called "a b-tch" numerous times and having terrible accusations thrown at her, such as using a person's mental-health struggle as a weapon to get them out.

Taylor also recalled how she had to sit next to Kyle on the chopping block after he had been accused of trying to form an all-white alliance.

"I have overcome so much in this game... and I am not a shield. I am a sword! I am not a victim. I am a victor! And if there is going to be one word to describe the entire season, it is 'resiliency,' and... it is me," Taylor declared.

Taylor said this season could be about crowning a person who chose resiliency and persistence as a path to the end rather than the usual comp wins and credit for evictions.


The jurors then cast their votes one at a time for the season's winner.

Joseph announced how he was voting for "the face and the sword of this season," and Jasmine noted how she was voting for the person who succeeded with something she would have loved to carry on in the game doing.

Michael said he was voting for the strongest person this season, and Alyssa announced, "It's time to take our power back."

With that being said, the votes came to a close.

On Taylor and Monte's showmance, which clearly hurt and disappointed Joseph, Taylor told America, "Things are still a little early. He's a great friend." Monte also chose to plead the fifth about their relationship.

As for Alyssa and Kyle's showmance, Alyssa said she and Kyle had great conversations in the jury house and so she's feeling "hopeful" about them getting back together as a couple in the real world, and Kyle said he loves her and really wants things to work out.


Julie then revealed the jury votes live, and a finalist needed at least five votes to win.

Turner voted for Monte to win, Brittany voted for Taylor, Alyssa voted for Taylor, Michael cast his vote for Taylor to win, Terrance voted for Taylor, and Kyle also voted for Taylor to win.

Taylor was crowned the winner of Big Brother, and Julie revealed at the end of the broadcast how Indy, Jasmine and Joseph had also voted for Taylor to win.

Julie then unveiled Michael, Taylor and Kyle as the top vote-getters for "America's Favorite Houseguest," which came with a $50,000 prize as well as a cruise for two.

The honor ultimately went to Taylor, and she joked about how she's going to spend some money at the mall and buy many bags of her favorite potato chips.

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On his second-place finish, Monte told America, "I feel great right now, Julie -- just so blessed for the opportunity to meet all of these people and play this game to the best of my ability. So, I'm very appreciative right now."

Julie confirmed Big Brother will return with Season 25 next summer.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski