Taylor Hale has made TV history by becoming the first black woman to win Big Brother during the season 24 finale on CBS.
The 27-year-old former Miss Michigan was crowned the winner of the reality show during Sunday night's episode, taking home the $750,000 grand prize. Taylor won in a resounding fashion, with an 8-1 jury vote from her fellow housemates.
She made further history when she was also voted America's Favourite Houseguest by viewers, becoming the first Big Brother winner to be given the award. America's Favourite Houseguest comes with an additional $50,000 cash prize.
Taylor compared her Favourite Houseguest win to her Miss Congeniality award at the 2021 Miss USA pageant.
"This is like winning Miss Congeniality all over again, but there's a cash prize this time," she said.
During her 82 days in the Big Brother house, Taylor became known for her love of Lays. She joked to host Julie Chen Moonves that she's "gonna spend a lot on potato chips after this" during her post-show interview.
Taylor beat fellow houseguest Monte Taylor, a personal trainer from Delaware, during the live final.
Matthew Turner, a thrift store owner from Massachusetts, came in third place.
Monte won the season's final Head of Household competition and was given the power to choose whether he wanted to bring Taylor of Matthew with him to the final two.
Monte chose Yalor after the two developed a "showmance" in recent weeks.
Taylor's pitch to the show's jury, made up of nine evicted houseguests, focused on her resilience in the house over the course of the season.
She had previously faced eviction six times and was able to save herself from elimination each time.
"I have overcome so much in this game and I have come to understand that I am not a shield, I am a sword," she said.
Taylor also addressed bullying she had faced earlier in the season. Kyle Capener was heard saying he thought the remaining contestants of colour were teaming up to beat out white contestants.
The clip was broadcast on the show's 24-hour livestream, but was not included on the main broadcast.
Taylor said: "I have bandaged myself together every single time and gotten up and continued to fight, because like so many other women in the world, that is what we have to do to get to the end."
"I am not a victim, I am a victor. And if there is one word that is going to describe the season it is resiliency.
"And if you were to ask yourself who was the most resilient person of the season, it was me," she added.
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