Dick Donato wins 'Big Brother 8', defeats Danielle Donato by a 5-2 vote

Dick "Evel Dick" Donato, a 44-year-old bar manager from Los Angeles, CA, was revealed to be Big Brother's eighth-season winner during last night's live finale broadcast of the CBS reality show.


Dick defeated Daniele Donato, his formerly estranged 21-year-old daughter, by a 5 to 2 jury vote to win Big Brother 8's $500,000 grand prize.

"I'm taking a trip man!" exclaimed Dick when Big Brother host Julie Chen revealed the jury's vote.  "I'm getting the hell out of here away from some of these people.  I'm going to relax, I'm doing an around-the-world thing... for sure."

Big Brother 8's finale broadcast began with footage of Zach Swerdzewski entering the jury house following his live eviction during last Thursday's broadcast that featured Dick being crowned the season's final Head of Household.  Zach joined fellow evicted houseguests Jameka Cameron, Eric Stein, Jessica Hughbanks, Amber Siyavus, Jen Johnson, and Dustin Erikstrup as the last member of the seven-person jury who would decide which Final 2 houseguest would be voted the season's winner.

Dustin said he would "absolutely love" to see Dick or Danielle enter the jury house instead of Zach, and Eric assured him that they were all "pulling" for Zach to win.  However Zach showed up and Eric informed him "it would have been a 6 to 1 vote" and Zach would have won Big Brother 8 had it instead been a Donato who was the seventh member of the jury.


Eric then learned that he home viewers had given him one final "America's Player" task to fulfill: campaigning and voting for Dick to win.  Eric commented America had "chosen wisely" and immediately got to work, reminding the other jury members they were voting for the "lesser of two evils."

Zach said he didn't think Dick should be rewarded for his rude behavior throughout the season and Dustin agreed.  Eric reminded them the behavior was just Dick's strategy and referred to Danielle as a "brat who rode her father's coattails."  Jen was less rational, voicing support for Danielle because Dick's an "asshole."

Zach also pointed out Danielle was an "amazing competitor," and once again Dustin agreed with him.  However Eric countered with the fact that Dick was no slouch either, winning three HoH competitions and a Power of Veto. 

Amber was impressed with the way Dick fought for both he and Danielle.  Zach compared Dick to a "guard dog" and said Danielle was holding the leash, while Jameka likened it more to Danielle being a "pimp" and Dick serving as her "ho."

After their discussion, the still-sequestered jurors questioned Dick and Danielle via satellite.  Dick took Dustin's question as a chance to reiterate how he though he and Danielle were "the best team that's ever played the game." 


Amber -- the same person who previously admitted that she twice used false claims that she was pregnant to keep her own boyfriend from leaving her and also voiced controversial anti-Semetic remarks during her Big Brother stay -- called Danielle a "pathetic person" for "cheating" on her boyfriend with former houseguest Nick Starcevic.  Danielle replied by telling Amber to stay out of her personal life.

Jessica asked Dick who he would have chosen to be in the Final 2 other than Danielle.

"I never envisioned anything but Danielle," said Dick.

Because he felt Dick "personally slandered" every member of the jury, Eric asked him to say something nice about each of them.  Zach wondered what Dick and Danielle both learned from their time in the Big Brother 8 house and Jameka asked Danielle what she credited for making it so far in the competition. 

However it was Jen's question -- of all people -- that may have shown Dick in the best light when she asked if the show helped build his relationship with Danielle.


"Wow.  That's a very odd question coming from you.  I'm almost blindsided," said a befuddled Dick.  "This has been an absolutely amazing experience to share with someone that is so dear to me... That I love so much.  Having this as a beginning to building some type of normalcy in our father/daughter relationship I appreciate even more than being here in the Final 2.   I think I've showed that in this game.  If you don't already know that you're an idiot."

Dick may have then secured Jessica's jury vote by adding he felt the "worst about" turning on the Final 4 alliance she and Eric had made with Dick and his daughter. 

Danielle, however, wasn't a big fan of her dad's speech.  Once the jury interview session ended, she stormed out of the Big Brother house's living room and accused him of being "kind of crappy" and violating their agreement to not campaign for the jury's votes.

Big Brother 8 host Julie Chen interviews Dick and Danielle Donato after revealing Dick's victory (Photo credit Cliff Lipson/CBS)

Once the live portion of last night's Big Brother 8 finale broadcast began, Julie introduced the jury members and asked Dick and Danielle -- who were still in the house -- about their last few days.  The seven-person jury then cast their votes for who they wanted to win.  Prior to the results being revealed, Julie also introduced Nick; Carol Journey; Joe Barber; Mike Dutz; and Kail Harbick -- the first five houseguests to be evicted from Big Brother 8. 


Big Brother 8's season-long second twist was then revealed to the jury members and Final 2, as a video clip explained Eric's role as "America's Player."  In the clip, Eric revealed how it was America who instructed him to vote to evict Dustin instead of Dick on Day 48, a task that altered the game's entire strategy and made Dick's victory possible.

"Dick, you owe America a big fat thank you," said Eric.

After the clip had finished, Julie noticed Eric had whispered something to Jessica and asked her what he said as well as what she was thinking.

"I'm thinking oh my God..." answered Jessica.  "He just said that we can talk later... Wow!  Someone that I live with for that long and I didn't know that.  I'm sure he wasn't allowed to tell me, but I'm just in shock.  I can't believe it."

Julie then asked Jessica if she was mad.


"No," she replied.  "All season I have not been able to be mad at Eric, and I'm not."

Julie also asked Dick how he felt about learning of how home viewers helped him.

"I'm really surprised," he said.  "At the time though I was seriously ready to go.  I thought I was going and I was [on the chopping block] to push Danielle forward.  I thought I made a great power play in the game.  It turns out it was everybody watching that kept me in the house."

Dustin wasn't surprised Eric was still able to make it so far despite acting on America's behalf.  "Eric can sell anything," commented Dustin.

"Dustin, Amber... I would have never done it," said Eric, explaining how he would have kept them instead of the Donatos if the show's home viewers hadn't been the ones in control of his eviction votes.  "You have to take it up with 10 million fans, not me.  I wanted you guys to be there and I'm sorry and you'll see it when you watch the show."

"Jess," he continued, "everything that we shared was true and genuine.  Trust me.  Anyone will attest to the fact that I have been dying to tell you this for a long time.  It's been killing me.  Just know that everything that we shared was real."


Julie then revealed the results of the vote.  Jameka and Jen voted for Danielle, while Eric, Dustin, Zach, Amber and Jessica voted for Dick, awarding him the title of Big Brother 8 champ.  Dick and Danielle then exited the house, and she received a hug from Nick while he got a hug from his son Vincent.

"I'm ecstatic... I'm absolutely ecstatic," said Danielle.  "We won.  It doesn't matter... It doesn't matter and I'm absolutely ecstatic."

(Photo credit Cliff Lipson/CBS)






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio