The Diamond Power of Veto is a special Big Brother power that lets its holder pull one nominee off the block and then personally name the replacement nominee — cutting the Head of Household out of the decision entirely. It has appeared four times in the American series: a name-only version in Big Brother 4, the full-powered version in Big Brother 12, an upgrade variant in Big Brother 21, and the six-week version Rick Devens won — and used — on Big Brother 28.
Diamond Power of Veto quick facts
- What it does: Removes one nominee from the block; the holder — not the HOH — names the replacement.
- Also called: DPOV, Diamond Veto.
- Standard restrictions: The holder cannot name the Head of Household, the current regular Power of Veto holder, or the person already saved by that regular veto.
- Seasons (U.S. main series): Big Brother 4, Big Brother 12, Big Brother 21 (upgrade variant), Big Brother 28.
- Holders / controllers: Alison Irwin (BB4), Matt Hoffman (BB12), Christie Murphy (BB21 upgrade), Rick Devens (BB28).
- BB28 status: Spent. Devens used the Diamond Veto in Week 6 to save Dee and personally name Kamu as the replacement nominee. Kamu was evicted that Thursday.
Devens’ Diamond Power of Veto on Big Brother 28
Devens on the BB28 feeds before using the Diamond Power of Veto in Week 6
Rick Devens won a Diamond Power of Veto out of the BB Time Capsule, the fan-vote twist running across the opening weeks of BB28. Each week America votes one houseguest into the capsule, where they play a solo game for either a power or a punishment. Angela Murray drew the first round and came out with a punishment. Devens went in the following week and came out with the Diamond Power of Veto.
His version gave him three things:
- He could remove any nominee from the block, including himself.
- He personally named the replacement nominee. The Head of Household did not get to choose.
- He had a six-week window to use it instead of being forced to play it immediately.
The outcome of the Time Capsule was secret by design. The rest of the house was not told who went in, or whether they came out with a power or a punishment. Devens initially kept the Diamond Veto hidden from almost everyone and told Dee Valladares the full mechanics privately. He denied having the advantage when Kamu confronted him about it.
The guessing started anyway. Jason De Puy, Lyric and Mallory Aurichio each landed on Devens independently. Jason’s reasoning came from a game of pass the phone — someone handed it to the person who definitely did not have the power, and it went to Devens. Mallory’s came from a non-answer: when Jason asked the room point-blank at the tea party whether Devens had it, Devens did not deny it, he changed the subject.
Feed coverage from the night he told Dee: “It’s the Diamond Power of Veto, so it’s yours, it’s mine if either of us needs it. Boom.”
How Devens used the Diamond Power of Veto
The six-week expiration date ended up mattering. Devens held the power until Week 6, when Yash became Head of Household and nominated Dee, Angela and Haley.
Yash then won the regular Power of Veto and left his nominations unchanged. That should have locked the board for the week. Instead, Devens stepped in at the veto ceremony with the Diamond Power of Veto.
“Not so fast, my friend.”
— Devens, activating the Diamond Power of Veto
Devens removed Dee from the block and personally named Kamu as the replacement nominee. Yash had no say in the replacement. The final three nominees going into the BB Blockbuster were Angela, Haley and Kamu.
Devens knew exactly how much he was exposing by doing it. “I know full well that blowing up this game today, I could be gone next week,” he said. His answer to that risk: “You can’t play these games scared.”
Angela then won the BB Blockbuster and removed herself from danger, leaving Haley and Kamu facing the vote. Kamu was evicted.
So the BB28 Diamond Veto did more than save Devens’ ally. It directly changed Yash’s nominations, put Kamu into danger, and the replacement nominee Devens chose became the houseguest who left that week. Once Devens activated it publicly, the secrecy surrounding his Time Capsule power was over and the Diamond Veto was spent.
What does the Diamond Power of Veto do?
The Diamond Power of Veto — DPOV for short — overrides one nomination and hands the replacement decision to the person holding it.
Compare the two:
- Regular Golden Power of Veto — the winner may remove one nominee from the block. The Head of Household must then name a replacement nominee.
- Diamond Power of Veto — the holder may remove one nominee from the block, and then names the replacement nominee themselves. The HOH is cut out of the decision entirely.
The standard restriction is that the Diamond Veto holder cannot name the Head of Household, the current regular veto holder, or the person already saved by that regular veto. In BB12 that rule mattered — Matt Hoffman could not have named Ragan Fox because Ragan was holding the regular veto that week.
Timing varies by season. In BB12 the power was activated on eviction night, moments before the votes were cast. In BB28, Devens activated his at the Week 6 veto ceremony after Yash had already chosen not to use the regular Power of Veto.
Big Brother 4: the first Diamond Power of Veto
The Diamond Veto comp at the Big Brother 4 final four
The Diamond Veto debuted in Big Brother 4, but in name more than in substance. It was awarded as the final veto of the season, at the final four, in a competition called The Diamond Veto — a memory comp where houseguests had to place each week’s original nominees beside the correct step on a staircase.
Robert Roman was Head of Household and nominated Alison Irwin and Jun Song. Alison won the Diamond Veto and used it to remove herself from the block.
At that point the extra power was moot. Jun was already nominated and Robert was HOH, which left Erika Landin as the only houseguest who could go up. Alison then cast the sole vote of the week and evicted Erika, 1-0.
Because of the timing, this version worked out identical to a regular final-four Golden Veto. The name was the only thing that was different.
Big Brother 12: the Diamond Veto with teeth
The BB12 Diamond Power of Veto — Matt Hoffman’s Pandora’s Box prize
The version everyone actually remembers arrived in Big Brother 12, when Matt Hoffman opened Pandora’s Box during his own HOH reign and was granted the Diamond Power of Veto — while simultaneously unleashing a second Saboteur on the house. He was told to keep it secret and given a two-eviction window to use it.
The following week, Brendon Villegas won HOH and nominated Ragan Fox and Lane Elenburg. Ragan won the regular veto and used it on himself, and Brendon named Matt as the replacement.
The Brigade had already decided to keep Lane and send Matt home. Then, shortly before the eviction vote, Matt revealed the Diamond Power of Veto, removed himself from the block, and named Kathy Hillis in his place. Kathy was evicted 5-0.
It bought Matt exactly one week. His lies about what Pandora’s Box had actually given him, combined with a rising threat level, turned the Brigade against him. He was nominated the following week by Britney Haynes and evicted 4-0 in the first half of a double eviction.
A footnote that aged particularly well during BB28: Matt Hoffman posted about Devens holding one, joking that with this specific Diamond Veto the replacement nominee must always be Kathy.
Big Brother 21: the upgrade version
Christie Murphy won the final Whacktivity competition, Panic, and received a power that could turn any Golden Power of Veto into a Diamond Power of Veto for that week’s veto holder. It was good for one of the following four veto meetings and could be used anonymously. Christie nearly activated it in Week 4 but chose not to; it expired unused when Jessica Milagros won both HOH and veto in the final eligible week.
This was not a free-standing Diamond Veto like Matt’s or Devens’. It only upgraded an existing veto, and the person who actually held the Golden Veto that week — not necessarily Christie — would be the one naming the replacement.
Has a Diamond Veto ever actually decided a season?
Not by itself. But Big Brother 28 gave the Diamond Veto one of its clearest examples of actually redirecting an HOH’s week.
In BB4 the extra power was structurally meaningless because there was only one eligible replacement nominee. In BB12 Matt used it to save himself and put Kathy in his place, and Kathy was evicted. Christie’s BB21 upgrade was never played.
BB28 was different because the power landed in the middle of a three-nominee week. Yash had nominated Dee, Angela and Haley, won the regular veto himself and left those nominations intact. Devens then overrode that board, saved Dee and installed Kamu in her place. Angela still had to win the Blockbuster and the house still had to cast the eviction votes, so the Diamond Veto did not single-handedly evict Kamu — but Kamu would not have been sitting there without Devens using it.
That makes Devens’ play one of the most consequential Diamond Veto uses the U.S. series has had: the HOH had already completed his veto decision, the replacement was entirely Devens’ choice, and the houseguest he put on the block went home three days later.
Similar powers
- Coup d’État (BB11) — the strongest pure nomination override in the series. The holder can completely reverse the HOH’s nominations after the veto ceremony. Only Jeff Schroeder ever used it successfully.
- America’s Power of Veto (BB26) — functionally close to a Diamond Veto, except America votes on the replacement nominee after the Wednesday veto episode.
- Executive Power of Veto (Big Brother Canada 12) — the saved nominee, not the veto holder, names the replacement.
- Double Power of Veto — removes two nominees; the HOH still names both replacements.
The pure Diamond Veto sits between a regular Golden Veto and the Coup: more surgical than a Double, less absolute than a full Coup, but capable of completely redirecting a week when the replacement nominee matters. BB28 finally showed that version of the power in action.