<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some "<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>" viewers feel contestant Taylor Hale is experiencing racism and microaggressions in the house.</li><li>Season 23 winner <keyword id="12217398" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="xavier-prather" source="Orion">Xavier Prather</keyword> tweeted a statement in support of Hale on Sunday. </li></ul>Only two episodes of "Big Brother" season 24 have aired so far, but season 23 winner Xavier Prather is already tweeting about what he called the "reprehensible" way houseguests are treating contestant Taylor Hale.Prather, who <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-xavier-prather-first-black-winner-2021-9">made history as the first Black winner</a> of the <keyword id="11930679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbs" source="Orion">CBS</keyword> reality competition series, tweeted a lengthy statement on Sunday slamming how Hale, a Black woman, is being treated in the house by her fellow contestants. He also noted how Black "Big Brother" players (particularly Black female players) and other players of color "stand no chance" in the house "due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society.""The treatment of Taylor in #BB24 is a prime example of why The Cookout was formed," Prather wrote, referring to the <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-season-23-winner-players-the-cookout-interview-2021-9">historic all-Black alliance</a> he and other Black houseguests formed in season 23.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Xavier Prather (@xaviereprather) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1546202446099259395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2022</a></blockquote>Hale, a <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-season-24-houseguests-premiere-date-2022-7">27-year-old personal stylist</a> and former Miss Michigan USA, is not currently nominated for eviction, but she's already been <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/big-brother-24-taylor-hale-racism-casting-1235313551/">targeted and ostracized by her fellow houseguests</a>. Former "Big Brother" contestants (including several other players of color) say the behavior of the current contestants towards Hale is troubling and indicative of a larger problem in the game, <a href="https://www.insider.com/all-black-alliance-the-cookout-dominated-big-brother-23-2021-9">which has a history of racism allegations</a>.Some of Hale's fellow contestants have said on the show that she would <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/big-brother-alums-slam-houseguests-treatment-of-taylor-hale/xavier-prather-4/">"blow up" if nominated for eviction</a> and called her an "aggressive person."One current houseguest, Paloma Aguilar, criticized Hale's gameplay during a diary session on episode two. "My initial impression of Taylor is she wants to try to, like, use her beauty to allure men, which is a strategy that is so like old," she said. "Like, her demeanor comes across even more cocky when she's not trying to make an effort with women. She's just digging that hole for herself with the girls."<div type="image" title="Palomar Agular." height="2000" width="2668" msid="92814962" hostid="261" sizebytes="239020"></div>Later in episode two, Aguilar said in a confessional that she wouldn't go after Hale herself for fear that the stylist would "burn me like a witch."On live feeds, fans have caught contestants <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BigBrother/comments/vvi2gc/did_i_miss_something_what_did_do/">criticizing the way Hale dresses</a> and insulting her to the point that when she seemingly overheard their comments, <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/big-brother-alums-slam-houseguests-treatment-of-taylor-hale/xavier-prather-4/">she was brought to tears.</a>CBS did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.<h2>Other 'Big Brother' alums have called out the behavior and supported Hale </h2><div type="image" title="Taylor Hale." height="877" width="1170" msid="92814964" hostid="261" sizebytes="43316"></div>In his Twitter statement, Prather acknowledged that while he was in the "Big Brother" house last season, he himself didn't treat Black women fairly. "I've tried to learn from my conduct and educate myself so I can stand beside those who need my support, as I attempt to do for Taylor now," he wrote, adding that he hopes it doesn't take another all-Black alliance like the Cookout for Black and person of color houseguests "to finally escape the feeling of being ostracized" in the game "for simply existing.""Change is a MUST!" Prather concluded.Other members of season 23's Cookout alliance, like Azäh Awasum, also tweeted support for Hale."I made a cognizant effort to 'dial back' in the house for these exact reasons. Dark skinned women always have this in the back of our heads," <a href="https://twitter.com/azah_awasum/status/1546140824018247681">Awasum tweeted on Sunday</a>. "CBS teaches about racial microaggressions but a section on colorism would be beneficial. Taylor's light will shine outside this house."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Azäh Awasum | (@azah_awasum) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1546140824018247681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2022</a></blockquote>"i truthfully do not understand why everybody, their mom, their dad, their neighbor, their plant &amp; their lint has taylor's name in their mouth like it's their full-time job it's giving fan behavior &amp; it's unsettling," Hannah Chaddha, who was also a member of the Cookkout in season 23, <a href="https://twitter.com/hannah_chaddha/status/1545984224070606848">tweeted on Sunday</a>."Big Brother" all-star and fan-favorite Janelle Pierzina, who has competed on seasons six, seven, 14, and 22, tweeted footage from the live feeds of Hale crying after hearing Aguilar talking about her. Pierzina <a href="https://twitter.com/JanellePierzina/status/1546169875667746820">sarcastically wrote</a>, "Let's make the beautiful quiet women who has literally done nothing but breathe, cry and make her feel like shit."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Janelle Pierzina (@JanellePierzina) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1546169875667746820?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

'Big Brother' winner Xavier Prather speaks out against what he called 'reprehensible' treatment of season 24 contestant Taylor Hale

An all-Black alliance called 'The Cookout' got 'Big Brother' its first Black winner. 8 houseguests tell us why it worked.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Xavier Prather became the first Black winner of <keyword id="11930679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbs" source="Orion">CBS</keyword>' "<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>" on Wednesday.</li><li>Prather will take home a prize of $750,000, the largest prize in the show's history.</li><li>He told Insider in part, "My goal was primarily ... to help Big Brother crown its first Black winner."</li></ul>Xavier Prather, a 27-year-old attorney who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was voted on Wednesday the winner of the 23rd season of CBS' "Big Brother," <a href="https://www.insider.com/all-black-alliance-the-cookout-dominated-big-brother-23-2021-9">becoming the first Black winner in the show's two-decade history</a>.Prior to Prather's win on Wednesday, "Big Brother" had just three non-white winners since it premiered in July 2000, none of whom were Black. "Obviously I wanted to win, but my goal was primarily to do what I could to help Big Brother crown its first Black winner," Prather said in an interview with Insider early Thursday morning.Prather will take home a prize of $750,000, the largest prize in "Big Brother" history. Previous "Big Brother" winners received a $500,000 grand prize.Prather said he planned to use the money to support his nephew, pay off student loan debt from law school, help out family and friends, and invest and save.<h2>A historic season</h2>In 2003, when the show was in its fourth season, Jun Song, who was born in South Korea, became the first person of color (POC) to win "Big Brother."Song was the only non-white winner for another 15 seasons until Josh Martinez, who is Latinx and Cuban, won in season 19. Kaycee Clark, who is of Filipino descent, won the 20th season of the show, bringing the total number of POC winners to three out of 22 total.Prather brings that total to four. He was part of a six-person alliance called "The Cookout," which featured exclusively Black players. The alliance was formed at the beginning of the season with the goal of getting a Black contestant to win the game for the first time in the show's history."Six individuals came into a house as strangers and had the same vision in mind and were able to put aside any personal differences or game differences to work together for a goal that was bigger than the game itself," Prather told Insider. "It's pretty remarkable to see that all kind of work out. It was something special."All six members of the alliance made it to the final six of the season. Prather was unanimously voted the winner on Wednesday by the "Big Brother" jury, which is comprised of nine contestants who were eliminated earlier this season. Season 23 of "Big Brother" also marked the first time a white male did not appear on the show's jury in its 21 year history.Prather was up for the top prize with his fellow member of "The Cookout," Derek Frazier, a 29-year-old from Philadelphia, who received zero votes from the jury.The 23rd season of "Big Brother" was the most diverse in its history, following CBS' <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cbs-unscripted-shows-diversity-1234826214/">pledge last year to feature at least 50% Black and Indigenous people of color on all seasons</a> of its unscripted programs, including "Big Brother" and "Survivor.""If it wasn't me and it was any other member of 'The Cookout' I would've still felt like a winner," Prather said. "I might not have had as much money, but I still would've felt like a winner."The long-running CBS show will return in February 2022 for the third iteration of the US edition of "Celebrity Big Brother."

'Big Brother's' first Black winner Xavier Prather says hours after his historic win that it's 'something special' The Cookout Alliance worked

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Despite a lack of representation, contestants of color are using strategy to win competition-based reality TV shows.</li><li>Chad Kultgen, a host of the Game Of Roses podcast, told Insider that when helping future contestants, it is all about knowing when to play up certain aspects of your story.</li></ul>Over the past two decades, reality television has grown to become a behemoth of American culture and has served as a microcosm of society — putting a spotlight on both the good and the bad. From physical competition shows like "The Challenge," to shows centered around a love interest like "The Bachelor," all cast members regardless of show have to deploy some sort of social strategy if they plan to make it far. But contestants of color, who are still underrepresented and discriminated against on these shows, often find that the cards are stacked against them. If they make it on the show, they risk being tokenized, edited or set up to represent harmful stereotypes, or eliminated quickly — showing they had no true chance at making it far on the show. That is, up until recently. In the past few years, contestants of color have been changing the way they play the game and ultimately, moving ahead.<div type="image" title="Matt James, lead of the 25th season of &quot;The Bachelor.&quot;" height="1842" width="2457" msid="99712978" hostid="261" sizebytes="330604"></div><h2>Limitations of diversity initiatives</h2>After an outcry from fans in recent years and the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, many networks took steps to address systemic problems within the production and casting of their reality TV shows.In 2021, ABC hired its first <a href="https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/bachelor-bachelorette-black-executive-producer-jodi-baskerville-1235033979/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black</a> Executive Producer for "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" franchises. The network also broke precedent and looked outside their existing contestants in order to cast <a href="https://www.insider.com/bachelor-matt-james-rachael-kirkconnell-finale-2021-3">Matt James</a>, the franchise's first Black Bachelor. This year, Charity Lawson will become the fourth Black woman to lead "The Bachelorette," following <a href="https://www.insider.com/tayshia-adams-bachelorette-everything-you-need-to-know-2020-11">Tayshia Adams</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-bachelorette-michelle-young-night-one-dress-was-painful-2022-7">Michelle Young</a> who lead the show in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021.CBS, home to shows like "Big Brother" and "Love Island," also <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=9c765ca78823cd968adc6e5fd2aa4d7c0c59a96c9082ecda39bbc084119c9bfa&amp;postID=643d8da071518a79197d031c&amp;site=in&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbs.com%2Frecommended%2Fnews%2F1010067%2Fcbs-commits-to-50-percent-bipoc-casts-across-reality-series%2F%3Fcbsclick%3DU4nUGlTW7xyNWQ9Sw-1q52UQUkAQNS2Ro21RXQ0%26vndid%3D196318%26clickid%3D196318%26sharedid%3Din%257C6155c7b81ce2f754af3b81e5%257Cbrowser%257Cundefined%26ftag%3DPPM-09-10aag1f%26dclid%3DCNeXl-OcwP4CFVL0swodZysDkA" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">implemented a 50% non-white requirement</a> for its casts beginning in 2021. That same year, "Big Brother" had its first Black winner in 23 seasons — <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-xavier-prather-first-black-winner-2021-9">Xavier Prather</a>. The next year, <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-winner-taylor-hale-reflects-on-her-monumental-win-2022-11">Taylor Hale</a> became the first Black woman to win the show.But even with more diverse character leads and casts, there are still limitations in how far production will allow this momentum to go — after all, these shows still attract mainly white and conservative audiences.Last month, "The Bachelor" creator <a href="https://www.insider.com/mike-fleiss-leaves-the-bachelor-racial-discrimination-investigation-2023-4">Mike Fleiss announced</a> he was leaving the franchise following an investigation into claims of racial discrimination. According to sources who spoke to Variety, Fleiss would allegedly "lash out" at staff members who suggested more diverse leads, and would "retaliate against people" for having minorities on the show. "He would say, 'Minorities don't get ratings," according to the Variety report.ABC declined to comment.So instead of waiting on production to make changes, cast members of color are taking matters into their own hands, strategizing and working together to make it to the end."You have a season where six Black people have made it to the end. That never happens," said Hannah Chaddha about season 23 of "Big Brother." Chaddha was a part of "The Cookout" — <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-season-23-winner-players-the-cookout-interview-2021-9">an all-Black alliance</a> that banded together with the mission of producing the first Black winner in the show's history. They were successful in their mission as Prather was crowned the champion."That will probably never happen again, history of the show, or any other show. You can't have a winner that's too radical," Chaddha continued. "I realize that it's a show. It's a product that's put on display for consumers."<div type="image" title="&quot;Big Brother&quot; contestants Alyssa Snider, Daniel Durston, Taylor Hale and Michael Bruner." height="1080" width="1440" msid="99712980" hostid="261" sizebytes="91508"></div><h2>Coaching and strategy</h2>Regardless of the show, strategy is needed to move ahead. Contestants of color can use that to their advantage, Chad Kultgen, one-half of the "Game of Roses" podcast, told Insider. Kultgen creates archetypes for prospective reality television contestants to help them get cast on shows, even coaching them through hypothetical "game" scenarios. He's worked with contestants across a number of shows, but specializes in helping people get cast on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" and garner favor from production.<div type="image" title="Taylor Hale." height="1714" width="2285" msid="99712982" hostid="261" sizebytes="96820"></div>Last year, Taylor Hale, the most recent winner of "Big Brother," <a href="https://screenrant.com/big-brother-taylor-hale-first-recruited-the-bachelor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that "The Bachelor" had recruited her heavily for two seasons and that she had received coaching from Kultgen before turning down the franchise to pursue the opportunity with "Big Brother." Taylor Hale did not respond to Insider's request for comment. "In some ways, the strategies that we come up with on 'Game of Roses' can be applied to other reality TV shows," Kultgen told Insider. "We have something called the PTC, which stands for the personal tragedy card, which you see personal tragedy cards being played in almost all reality TV." In this situation, a contestant will open up about a personal hardship during a critical moment on the show, either to gain sympathy from the show's lead or from the audience. They can also be used to define their own character and image.These moments can also be used by contestants to reclaim their time on the show and change the conversation and the culture surrounding it. They can often be powerful ways to spread a message.Kultgen highlighted how following the murder of George Floyd, Ivan Hall, a Black contestant on Tayshia Adams' season of "The Bachelorette," shared his story about the difficulties his family suffered after his brother was incarcerated, sparking a larger conversation around criminal justice reform. "It was an important conversation to see, and these two people having it, I guarantee you half the audience has never seen anything like this," Kultgen said.<div type="image" title="Members of The Cookout alliance are circled in a &quot;Big Brother 23&quot; cast photo" height="842" width="1498" msid="99712983" hostid="261" sizebytes="94588"></div><h2>Forming an alliance</h2>On "Big Brother," 16 houseguests are locked in a home for roughly 90 days as a part of a social experiment. They are not allowed access to the outside world and at least one contestant is evicted each week.The houseguests compete in competitions weekly with the winner taking the title of Head of Household. They are the sole authority to nominate two houseguests for eviction. The winner of the game is voted on by a jury of nine evicted houseguests.Because of the way the show is set up, contestants of color rarely made it far on the show. However, season 23 of "Big Brother" was the first time in the show's 20-year history that a majority of the cast was non-white. <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-season-23-winner-players-the-cookout-interview-2021-9">The Cookout</a> was a secret alliance made up of six Black players formed during that season with the intention of banding together to produce a Black winner. They faced a number of challenges, beginning with how they would disguise their alliance from the rest of the house.To get around this, the six members were never seen together alone in any particular room throughout the entire course of the game. Once people began to be eliminated, The Cookout implemented a secret buddy system. Tiffany Mitchell, one of the other six members of the alliance, was the mastermind behind this plan. At all times, each member of The Cookout had to be with a houseguest who was outside of their alliance. Once that strategy was set in motion, Chaddha said she heard from her fellow houseguests who were not part of the alliance that production began to signal to them that a larger alliance was controlling the game. "Production was pulling those people into the DR and kind of hinting that there was a larger power structure and telling them to do this and telling them to do that," Chaddha said. "Thankfully The Cookout's hold on these people was so strong." <div type="image" title="Finalists from the CBS series &quot;Big Brother 23.&quot; Pictured L-R: Kyland Young, Derek Frazier, Xavier Prather, Tiffany Mitchel, Azah Awasum, and Hannah Chaddha" height="1849" width="2466" msid="99712984" hostid="261" sizebytes="280296"></div><h2>A successful strategy</h2>Their strategy was successful on three fronts. All six members of the alliance became the final six houseguests, which solidified the winner of "Big Brother 23" as the show's first Black winner. They also brought attention to how isolating the experiences of Black contestants were on past seasons of the show. And the very next season, "Big Brother" used their strategy as a game scenario in the "Festie Bestie" twist. However, Chaddha said once she was eliminated in the final six, production began to drop subliminal hints to sway her vote to eliminate Xavier Prather. Prather went on to win the season. "I'm not going to say his win was not well deserved because he played a great social game out of all six members of The Cookout he was the most charismatic and adaptable," Chaddha said. "However, I feel like production, when I was evicted, was telling me things that sort of primed me to choose Xavier." That season sparked a larger conversation around a lack of diversity in the show's production. A member of the show's production posted a since deleted <a href="https://twitter.com/Reality_Ahmad/status/1574055608612954118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photo</a> on Instagram, which fans immediately called out for having no people of color in the production crew. A "Big Brother" insider told Insider, "The Producers in no way influence voting." Chaddha says she is proud of how The Cookout was able to overcome interference from production. "I know, I've spoken pessimistically about production, but I'm not mad about it," Chaddha said. "I'm just proud that despite their influence, despite America's influence on our season, despite 10 non-Cookout members that were in that house, we were able to beat the odds and get all six of us to the end."

Black and brown contestants are gamifying shows like 'Big Brother' and 'The Bachelor' to overcome reality TV's diversity problem

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>" runner-up Derek Frazier said he respects women after backlash from fans for comments.</li><li>Frazier called a fellow contestant "that bitch" and said he did "carried" another female houseguest.</li><li>Frazier told Insider that he never intended to "put a woman down or make them feel little."</li></ul>"Big Brother" finalist Derek Frazier said that he never intended to "put a woman down or make them feel little" <a href="https://www.etonline.com/big-brother-derek-f-apologizes-to-tiffany-and-asks-azah-for-forgiveness-over-past-fights-exclusive">after fans accused him of making sexist and misogynistic comments</a> on the show. Season 23 of the long-running reality show aired its finale on September 29, <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-xavier-prather-first-black-winner-2021-9">crowning contestant Xavier Prather the winner</a>.Prather, the show's first Black winner, took home a prize of $750,000. An all-Black alliance of six contestants called "The Cookout" <a href="https://www.insider.com/all-black-alliance-the-cookout-dominated-big-brother-23-2021-9">helped ensured Prather's win</a>. Frazier, the runner-up and one of the members of The Cookout, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BigBrother/comments/p3d0h1/can_we_talk_about_his_flagrant_use_of_the_word/">was criticized by fans for his comments</a> about fellow Cookout members Azah Awasum and Tiffany Mitchell during the show, including an instance where Frazier <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/big-brother-fans-mad-about-derek-f-misogyny-tiffany-blow-up.html/">called Mitchell "that bitch" on camera</a> and another moment where he said he carried Awasum to the end of the competition.While speaking with Insider after the finale, Frazier addressed the controversy over his comments, saying he "respects women" and that he grew up with a single mother. "At the end of the day, I would never do anything to harm a woman or anything like that. I do protect women at all costs," Frazier said. At the same time, he added: "If you talk to me a certain way, I'm going to react a certain way. And I can't be sorry for that. Me and Tiffany had had a lot of interactions. That is what it is."<a href="https://www.etonline.com/big-brother-derek-f-apologizes-to-tiffany-and-asks-azah-for-forgiveness-over-past-fights-exclusive">According to Entertainment Tonight</a>, Frazier did not agree with Mitchell acting like the leader of The Cookout.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ID2k6gwQYOA" frameborder="0"></iframe>Weighing in on his rumored feud with Awasum, Frazier told Insider that he felt like he "put in a lot of work" and Awasum "was kind of just relaxing a lot," while adding that the two shared a room and checked in on each other from time to time. "I never want her feelings to be hurt," Frazier said. "But I was speaking from how I felt that when I compare her resume to mine - completely different."<div type="image" title="&quot;Big Brother 23&quot; top three contestants" height="1031" width="1374" msid="86827419" hostid="261"></div>Frazier continued that he has "plenty of women" in his life and that he and his friends call each other "bitches and girls" during conversations. He added the goal of the contestants in the latest "Big Brother" season was to be as transparent as possible. "So you can't get upset with me when I'm getting told to be true," he said. Despite fans' reactions to some of Frazier's comments on the show, it seems that the houseguests themselves aren't holding much of a grudge. After the season finale, Frazier apologized to both Mitchell and Awasum for his remarks in <a href="https://www.etonline.com/big-brother-derek-f-apologizes-to-tiffany-and-asks-azah-for-forgiveness-over-past-fights-exclusive">a group conversation with Entertainment Tonight</a> published on Thursday. During the same chat, Mitchell called Frazier her "little brother.""He does not want to listen to his big sister, I wanna be heard, he wants to be right," she said.

'Big Brother' finalist Derek Frazier reacts to fans calling out his 'sexist' comments about female contestants: 'I respect women'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12048093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="julie-chen" source="Orion">Julie Chen</keyword> defended the first all-Black alliance in "<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>" history to <keyword id="11896019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">Entertainment</keyword> Weekly. </li><li>The franchise has a well-documented history of racism over its 23 seasons. The Cookout isn't racist.</li><li>If a member of The Cookout wins "Big Brother," they will be the first Black person to win the game.</li></ul>"Big Brother" host <a href="https://www.insider.com/hoda-kotb-julie-chen-had-to-leave-the-talk-2018-9">Julie Chen Moonves</a> shared her thoughts on the historic all-Black alliance The Cookout with <a href="https://ew.com/tv/julie-chen-moonves-sarah-beth-eviction-the-cookout/">Entertainment Weekly</a> and shot down critics who have said it's racist."I have heard some call the formation of the Cookout a form of racism," she said. "In my humble opinion, it is not."Chen Moonves went on to say that in the game of <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-couples-still-together-2018-10">"Big Brother,"</a> where people have to lie and backstab each other in order to have a chance to win a huge cash prize ($750,000 this season), it's quite "impressive" to see a group of six players make it so far with their loyalty to each other intact. <a href="https://www.cbs.com/shows/big_brother/cast/">The Cookout alliance is comprised</a> of Azah Awasum, a 30-year-old director of sales operations from Baltimore; Hannah Chaddha, a 21-year old college student from Chicago; Derek Frazier, a 29-year-old security officer from Philidelphia; Tiffany Mitchell, a 40-year-old phlebotomist from Detroit; Xavier Prather, a 27-year old attorney living in Milwaukee; and Kyland Young, a 29-year old account executive currently living in Venice Beach. If the alliance's success continues, season 23 will be the first time in the show's two-decade history that a white male player does not make it to the finale of the show. It would also be the first time <a href="https://www.goldderby.com/gallery/big-brother-winners-complete-list/big-brother-19-josh-martinez-bully/">a Black contestant wins the grand prize</a>.<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTc-wFiBVJN" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <keyword id="11930679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbs" source="Orion">CBS</keyword> Big Brother (@bigbrothercbs)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></div></blockquote>"Big Brother" has a well-documented history of racism that Chen Moonves addressed in another interview with <a href="https://ew.com/tv/big-brother-23-julie-chen-moonves-cast-premiere/">Entertainment Weekly</a> before the season premiere. "In summers past, we've seen some people who are used to their bubble," she said of past contestants who were accused of racist or racially insensitive behavior while competing. The lack of exposure to diversity in their everyday lives caused them to act out in "unacceptable" ways, according to the host. While The Cookout is getting negative attention from some fans, others are rooting for those players as the season progresses. In <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-08-19/big-brother-23-cast-the-cookout">Los Angeles Times</a> writer Greg Braxton's feature about the historic alliance, one <a href="https://www.insider.com/surprising-cbs-big-brother-fun-facts-2018-7">"Big Brother"</a> watcher named Thane Montgomery - who is white - told Braxton that they are amused by the "anti-Cookout sentiment" and are rooting for one of those players to win."People are upset, and honestly, I kind of love it," Montgomery said of some fans' negative reactions to the allliance. "It's people who have never had this opportunity before banding together to do what the white houseguests have been doing for years."

'Big Brother' host Julie Chen responds to fans who say that this season's alliance of all Black players is 'a form of racism'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tiffany Mitchell, who won "America's Favorite Player" on season 23 of "<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>," stood up for her history-making alliance.</li><li>Mitchell, 41, was part of an all-Black alliance that led to the first Black winner on the long-running <keyword id="11930679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbs" source="Orion">CBS</keyword> series.</li><li>"It is not my job, nor my role, nor my obligation to explain racism or reverse racism to anyone," she told Insider.</li></ul>Tiffany Mitchell, who was awarded the title of "America's Favorite Player," during the 23rd season of CBS' "Big Brother" that aired its finale last week, said it wasn't her job to explain to fans why the all-Black alliance she spearheaded wasn't "racist." "It is an honor to have such a contribution to something that has been so overwhelmingly received and that will be historic," Mitchell, a 41-year-old from Detroit told Insider of her role in the history-making alliance. "I am just privileged to be a part of this season and that I was able to make the contribution so great in that it worked."The <a href="https://www.insider.com/all-black-alliance-the-cookout-dominated-big-brother-23-2021-9">all-Black alliance - called "The Cookout" - made its way to the end of "Big Brother,"</a> ensuring that all six of its players occupied spots in the show's top six.<a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-xavier-prather-first-black-winner-2021-9">Xavier Prather, a 27-year-old lawyer who lives in Milwaukee, became the first Black winner in the history of the CBS show</a>, taking home the $750,000 prize more than two decades after "Big Brother" first aired. Season 23 also marked the first time in "Big Brother" history that the nine-person jury of eliminated houseguests who choose the winner included no white men. Mitchell won a $50,000 prize last week when she beat all 16 houseguests on "BB23" for the audience-voted "America's Favorite Player" award. It was the largest prize ever awarded for that title on "Big Brother" after CBS raised the total for all three "Big Brother" prizes last season.Despite the widespread support for the first Black winner of the long-running CBS show, some fans have accused the all-Black alliance of being racist toward the non-Black players, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-host-julie-chen-says-cookout-alliance-isnt-racist-2021-9">Insider previously reported</a>."It is unfortunate that they don't see the bigger picture. Unity is welcomed in all other communities and cultures when people come together except for in the African-American culture," Mitchell told Insider.Mitchell said "The Cookout" was not different that previous alliances on past "Big Brother" seasons in that a group came together to advance in the game by eliminating the players who were not in their alliance."It is not my job, nor my role, nor my obligation to explain racism or reverse racism to anyone," Mitchell told Insider. "I am not the educator in this situation. Those people will have to get educated on racism and reverse racism. If there even is such a thing." Mitchell told Insider the alliance was not about division. "It's unfortunate, but that is for them to figure out how they choose to emotionally handle that situation. It's not, it's not my weight to bear," she added of such claims from fans.All six members of "The Cookout" <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-season-23-winner-players-the-cookout-interview-2021-9">spoke to Insider last week about their role in the game-changing alliance</a>. The players said the alliance was successful because the players worked together to achieve something bigger than their own goals in the game.The alliance was formed following <a href="https://www.cbs.com/recommended/news/1010067/cbs-commits-to-50-percent-bipoc-casts-across-reality-series/">a pledge by CBS late last year to cast 50% Black and Indigenous people of color on all of its unscripted shows going forward</a>.

'Big Brother' star Tiffany Mitchell says it's not her job to explain to fans why her all-Black alliance wasn't racist

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="12048092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="big-brother" source="Orion">Big Brother</keyword>" premiered on <keyword id="11930679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbs" source="Orion">CBS</keyword> more than two decades ago in the summer of 2000.</li><li>In the past 22 seasons of the show, a Black contestant has never won the game. </li><li>But an all-Black alliance called "The Cookout" has dominated season 23, ensuring a win for a Black player.</li></ul>It's been nearly a decade since Jodi Rollins set foot in the "Big Brother" house. In July 2012, Rollins, then 42 years old, entered expecting a summer-long adventure full of twists during the 14th season of the show. Instead, Rollins <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H87eo2qQv84">was sent out the door hours after she first walked through</a> it. It was the first time in the history of CBS' blockbuster summer show where a contestant was eliminated on the first episode.Rollins, now 51 and a <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/big-time-small-talk/id1532412892">podcast host</a>, was the only Black contestant (referred to as a houseguest on "Big Brother") out of 16 people cast to appear on "BB14." In a rare occurrence, Rollins was eliminated after her team placed last in the first competition.<div type="image" title="Jodi Rollins after being the 1st Houseguest evicted from BIG BROTHER" height="2000" width="1316" msid="86614354" hostid="261"></div> Since then, she has become somewhat of an icon in the "Big Brother" fandom, with fans regularly prodding "Big Brother" producers to bring her back for a second chance. Rollins told Insider that despite her image and name being referenced on recent seasons of the show, she'd never been brought back.Since Big Brother premiered on CBS in the summer of 2000, not a single Black contestant has won the game. Structural changes behind the show amid a cross-industry racial reckoning have enabled a group of Black contestants to claim the final 6 spots in the 21-year run of "Big Brother." <h2>Nearly all of the winners of the show have been white.</h2>In 2003, Jun Song, who was born in South Korea, made "Big Brother" history, becoming the first person of color (POC) to win the show in its fourth season.Song, now 46, would remain the only non-white winner for another 15 seasons until Josh Martinez, who is Latinx and Cuban, won in season 19. Kaycee Clark, who is of Filipino descent, won the 20th season of the show, bringing the total number of POC winners to three out of 22.But on Wednesday, a six-person alliance known as "The Cookout" is poised to make history. The all-Black group, comprised of Azah Awasum, a 30-year-old from Baltimore; Hannah Chaddha, a 21-year old from Chicago; Derek Frazier, a 29-year-old from Philiadelphia; Tiffany Mitchell, a 40-year-old from Detroit; Xavier Prather, a 27-year old from Milwaukee; and Kyland Young, a 29-year old from Venice Beach, formed the first week of the season."The Cookout" was created with the goal of making "Big Brother" history: ensuring a Black player won. This season of "Big Brother" also marks another first for the show: not a single white male made it to the jury of nine eliminated players who will decide the winner between the final two on finale night.Over the course of the season, the alliance dominated the game, winning numerous competitions while going mostly undetected by their fellow houseguests. All six members of the alliance ended up in the final six, and three of its members - Zwasum, Frazier, and Prather - will make it to the finale that will air live Wednesday, where the first Black "Big Brother" winner will be crowned.It's a big deal, Rollins said. "Just from a game perspective, the fact that six people could say 'let's do something and stick together,' no matter what in that game is remarkable," she told Insider. "But then to know it was a cause that was larger than themselves, which is why I think it actually worked."<h2>"Big Brother" has a history of racism allegations</h2>Allegations of racism on the show reached a tipping point during the 15th season, which aired in 2013. Several white contestants were accused of using racist slurs and hurling racist comments toward its only female Black and Asian American houseguests, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/arts/television/big-brother-becomes-a-lab-experiment-in-overt-racism.html?.?mc=aud_dev&amp;ad-keywords=auddevgate&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwkbuKBhDRARIsAALysV56PZdj6AlQaJUDPjxlQGD71Ll_S4n1CNTCMWEf8s1PfoIkN3EQ3GMaAtpZEALw_wcB&amp;gclsrc=aw.dsgclsrc=aw.ds">The New York Times</a> reported at the time.<div type="image" title="Big Brother" height="537" width="716" msid="86614357" hostid="261"></div>The slurs weren't aired on television, though avid fans of the show caught them on the live feeds, which allow paying subscribers near 24/7 access into the house. Some of the remarks were eventually aired on the CBS broadcast show after fans pressured the network to address the comments, according to a report from <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/big-brother-15-houseguests-racist-581533/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.When one houseguest who had been accused of racism was evicted, Chen Moonves confronted her about her remarks, saying she had been personally offended by them. Chen Moonves' husband, Leslie Moonves, the then-chairman and CEO of CBS, called the comments "absolutely appalling," the LA Times reported."What happened this season is unfortunate, but at its heart, this show is a daring social experiment," its longtime executive producer Allison Grodner said in 2013, defending the show. "It's real and raw, and it's not always pretty."The show faced allegations of racism again in 2019 during its 21st season. As the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-09-24/cbs-big-brother-racism-controversy-context">Los Angeles Times</a> reported, Kemi Fakunle, the only female Black houseguest that year, said at the time she believed she was targeted because of her race. In the same season, four of the five POC houseguests were eliminated in the first five weeks of the show, the LA Times reported."At times, the Houseguests say things that we do not condone," <a href="https://people.com/tv/big-brother-producers-speak-out-bullying/">CBS said in a 2019 statement to People</a>. "We share some of the viewers' concerns about inappropriate behavior and offensive comments, and producers have addressed specific incidents with the Houseguests involved. However, there is absolutely no truth that the casting of the show is racially motivated, that the Houseguests' behavior is predetermined or that the outcome is controlled in any way."Last year, Da'Vonne Rogers, who is Black and has competed three times on the show, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEF37UatlvA">highlighted its lack of diversity in an on-air speech</a>."Twenty-one seasons of winners and not one of those faces look like mine," Rogers said last year. "So, when I walked through those doors, I had that desire - had that determination to be the very first face to give hope to those behind me who have a desire to come in here and play this game. Because not seeing a face that looks like mine is very discouraging, it's hurtful, and it does make me feel like maybe it's impossible."Directly following her remarks, Rogers' fellow houseguests evicted her from the all-star season by a 5-2 vote.When <a href="https://ew.com/tv/big-brother-all-stars-julie-chen-moonves-davonne-interview/">Entertainment Weekly</a> asked Chen Moonves about Rogers' speech and the show's diversity last year, she pointed toward its three POC winners as players who could "argue they are all minorities who were outnumbered but went on to win."But Song, who also criticized the remarks at the time, told Insider her win doesn't excuse the lack of diversity on the show nor does it explain the lack of Black winners.<div type="image" title="Big Brother season 4 cast photo" height="1830" width="3000" msid="86614359" hostid="261"></div>"I think it's completely missing the point," she said, adding that "to some extent, it's gaslighting."Just because we've had a few non-white winners and one openly gay winner does not mean that there is not systemic racism and bias built into the <keyword id="11899410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="reality-tv" source="Orion">reality TV</keyword> world, let alone into CBS, and bigger picture in the US. And so I think it's very ignorant and naive for her to be able to make those kinds of flippant remarks," said Song, who currently resides in Belgium. Rollins said CBS over the years created a "monster that racism festered in." "And when they were asked about it - called to the mat about it - they did nothing about it until finally 22 seasons later. And that's sad," she added.CBS did not return Insider's request for comment.After she was evicted from "BB14," Rollins said she often was asked if she believed her race played a role in her elimination."I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, because I didn't want to believe that," she told Insider. "But the thing about racism is it doesn't hold up a sign and say, 'I am racist.' Unless you're a klan member or a <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/20120625/racist-skinheads-understanding-threat">skinhead</a>, racism is covert.""Racism is in the dark corners of our minds. Sometimes we don't realize it sometimes it's just, we choose not to realize it. And sometimes we just don't care. And I think that's what happened with CBS collectively," she added.<h2>This season of "Big Brother" began as the most racially diverse season ever</h2>"I cannot speak for Black people," Song said. "I don't even pretend to know the struggles compared to mine as an Asian woman, but I do know that the casting process has been quite broken for a very long time. And so the fact that it's taken 23 seasons for us to see six people who share the same skin color in the house, I mean, that speaks volumes." "This is about Black lives," she continued. "This is about Black Lives Matter. This is about the Black population. It's not about people of color. We can't, you know, try to soften it or whitewash it in that manner. This is really about Black people and solidarity." Eight of the 16 houseguests who entered the "Big Brother" house when the season premiered in July identified as POC. The network <a href="https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cbs-unscripted-shows-diversity-1234826214/">pledged in November last year to feature at least 50% Black and Indigenous people of color on all seasons</a> of its unscripted programs going forward, including "Big Brother" and "Survivor." Both Rollins and Song said "The Cookout" was allowed to form and prosper because of the changes the network made ahead of the current "Big Brother" season."When you start from a place of honesty, that's where the changes can happen," Rollins said. "And so for CBS to finally - long overdue - make this decision, that enabled the six people to come in and do something special." "It had to start with CBS actually trying to do better. And so I was glad that they finally did," she added. Dr. Hunter Hargraves, an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton, who teaches contemporary American television studies, told Insider the changes on "Big Brother" this year that enabled "The Cookout" represented larger shifts in the reality TV landscape.<div type="image" title="&quot;Big Brother 23&quot; top three contestants" height="1178" width="2092" msid="86614365" hostid="261"></div>Other big-name reality shows, like ABC's "The Bachelor" franchise, <a href="https://www.insider.com/bachelor-rachael-kirkconnell-matt-james-complete-timeline">have similarly undergone changes</a> after <a href="https://www.insider.com/bachelor-racist-chris-harrison-rachael-kirkconnell-2021-2">longstanding criticism</a> over how they portrayed race and handled accusations of racism.These changes came after the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-floyd-protests-defining-history-politics-election-black-lives-matter-2020-6">nationwide racial justice protests</a> last year sparked by the caught-on-video police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis, Hargraves said."You're now starting to see some kind of like more 'woke' reality television. I'm thinking of the 'Queer Eye' reboot or something like 'RuPaul's Drag Race,'" he added.On reality TV, topics like race are more easily dealt with on shows with more niche audiences - shows that air on cable networks like VH1 or Bravo, Hargraves said. But producers of more mainstream shows, like "Big Brother" and "The Bachelor" have had more difficulties."I definitely think there is trying to be this sort of like a balancing act that all programming, regardless of unscripted or scripted, has had to go through in the wake of last summer," he said. "How do networks diversify their programming options? How do they make what I assume is a sincere attempt to speak to the issues that cultural minorities face in a way that doesn't alienate the audience that you think is paying the bills?" <h2>"The Cookout" has led to backlash from some of "Big Brother's" fans </h2>"I have heard some call the formation of the Cookout a form of racism," Chen Moonves said in early September as she <a href="https://www.insider.com/big-brother-host-julie-chen-says-cookout-alliance-isnt-racist-2021-9">defended the all-Black alliance</a>. "In my humble opinion, it is not."Chen Moonves said it was "impressive" to see the six players make it so far with their loyalty intact despite being on a show known for participants' deception and backstabbing."They're like, well, what if six white people got together and kicked out all the Black people? How is that any different?" Rollins said about "Big Brother" fans who've called the alliance racist. "It's 100% different. First of all, that's essentially what's happened all of these years, right? The white people get together and they kick out the Black people.""Second of all things are not created equal," she added. "Black people come from a history of oppression and being left out and seen as other."Rollins, who said she viewed the alliance as "righting a wrong," noted there was no malice or hatred between houseguests this season. All members of "The Cookout" were closely aligned with other members of the game outside the all-Black alliance for much of the season, she added. Members of "The Cookout" were often emotional when eliminating their friends, she said.Song said "The Cookout" hadn't formed as an anti-white alliance, but a pro-Black alliance."I think it speaks volumes of how we've been programmed as a society where if anything makes us feel uncomfortable or we don't like it, we lash out," Song said. "And I think people who are right now lashing out and calling 'The Cookout' a racist alliance are people who are super scared and very uncomfortable and cannot see the beauty of it all. I see beauty."

A Black contestant will win 'Big Brother' for the first time because the show finally faced the 'monster that racism festered in,' a former contestant said

You Searched For "xavier prather" and got 8 results

'Big Brother' winner Xavier Prather speaks out against what he called 'reprehensible' treatment of season 24 contestant Taylor Hale

Esme Mazzeo

An all-Black alliance called 'The Cookout' got 'Big Brother' its first Black winner. 8 houseguests tell us why it worked.

Connor Perrett

'Big Brother's' first Black winner Xavier Prather says hours after his historic win that it's 'something special' The Cookout Alliance worked

Connor Perrett

Black and brown contestants are gamifying shows like 'Big Brother' and 'The Bachelor' to overcome reality TV's diversity problem

DeArbea Walker

'Big Brother' finalist Derek Frazier reacts to fans calling out his 'sexist' comments about female contestants: 'I respect women'

Debanjali Bose,Connor Perrett

'Big Brother' host Julie Chen responds to fans who say that this season's alliance of all Black players is 'a form of racism'

Esme Mazzeo

'Big Brother' star Tiffany Mitchell says it's not her job to explain to fans why her all-Black alliance wasn't racist

Connor Perrett

A Black contestant will win 'Big Brother' for the first time because the show finally faced the 'monster that racism festered in,' a former contestant said

Connor Perrett