Big Brother 21

Jackson won Big Brother 21, beating Holly by a 6–3 jury vote after a season that started with an eight-person majority controlling the house and ended with that majority scattered across opposite sides of the game. Nicole finished third. BB21’s story changed repeatedly: Camp Comeback kept evicted players inside the house, Gr8ful fractured into open warfare, Jessica took out Jack, Christie survived a week that produced Taco Tuesday, Nicole finally broke through at the double eviction, and Jackson used a Final 5 lie to keep Holly beside him on the way to the Final 2.

• Aired: Summer 2019.
• Premiere: 25 June 2019.
• Finale: 25 September 2019.
• Winner: Jackson.
• Runner-up: Holly.
• Third place: Nicole.
• Final vote: 6–3.
• Houseguests: 16, all new players.
• America’s Favorite: Nicole.
• Major twists: Camp Director and Banishment, Camp Comeback, Whacktivity powers, America’s Field Trip and America’s Prankster.

Who won Big Brother 21?

Jackson won Big Brother 21 on 25 September 2019, beating Holly 6–3.

Cliff, Tommy, Christie, Nick, Jack and Sis voted for Jackson. Nicole, Jessica and Kat voted for Holly.

Jackson reached the end after winning four Head of Household competitions and four vetoes, including the Final 4 veto that gave him the sole vote to evict Cliff. He then won Parts 1 and 3 of the final Head of Household and evicted Nicole.

Holly had won two HOHs during the season and Part 2 of the final HOH. She and Jackson had been an obvious pair for much of the second half, survived the collapse of their original alliance and then worked with Cliff and Nicole deep into the endgame.

OBB’s finale record gives us the nine ballots. It does not establish one single reason shared by all six Jackson voters, so the safest explanation is also the simplest: the jury chose Jackson 6–3 after he entered the Final 2 with the season’s strongest late-game competition record and a direct hand in several of the final evictions.

Read the original Big Brother 21 finale results.

Holly and Jackson entered finale night committed to taking each other to the Final 2.

Who was in the Big Brother 21 cast?

Sixteen new houseguests entered BB21. Camp Comeback makes the early placement order look stranger than a normal season because David, Ovi and Kemi remained physically inside the house after leaving active play, while Cliff was evicted, entered Camp Comeback, won his way back and eventually finished fourth.

See the original Big Brother 21 cast reveal.

• 1st — Jackson. Winner, 6–3. Won the final HOH and took Holly to the Final 2.
• 2nd — Holly. Runner-up. Won two HOHs and reached the end beside Jackson.
• 3rd — Nicole. Evicted by Jackson after he won the final HOH. America’s Favorite.
• 4th — Cliff. Evicted on Jackson’s sole Final 4 vote after having previously been evicted and returned through Camp Comeback.
• 5th — Tommy. Evicted 2–0 after Nicole used the BB Comics veto on Cliff and Holly became the replacement nominee.
• 6th — Christie. Evicted 3–0 in the second half of the double eviction.
• 7th — Jessica. Evicted 4–0 in the first half of the double eviction.
• 8th — Nick. Evicted 5–0 during America’s Prankster week.
• 9th — Sis. Evicted 5–1 after spending the week beside Christie.
• 10th — Kat. Evicted 6–1 during the America’s Field Trip week.
• 11th — Jack. Evicted 6–2 during Jessica’s HOH. First member of the jury.
• 12th — Sam. Evicted 9–0 after spending his final days exposing cracks inside the majority alliance.
• 13th — Bella. Evicted 8–2 during Cliff’s HOH.
• 14th — Kemi. Evicted 10–1, remained in Camp Comeback and failed to win her way back.
• 15th — Ovi. Evicted 12–0, remained in Camp Comeback and failed to return.
• 16th — David. Lost the premiere Banishment competition, later returned to the house as a Camp Comeback resident and failed to re-enter active play.

Jackson became Camp Director before the first HOH

BB21 started with power before it started with a normal Head of Household.

The house elected Jackson as Camp Director. The role gave him safety and forced him to banish four people: David, Kemi, Jessica and Cliff.

The four competed to get back into the house. Cliff, Kemi and Jessica returned. David did not and became the first person removed from active play.

David’s season was not completely over. When the Camp Comeback twist opened after the first normal eviction, David was brought back into the house and given the same chance to return as the next three people evicted.

Read OBB’s Big Brother 21 premiere coverage.

Camp Comeback kept evicted players inside the house

Camp Comeback changed what “evicted” meant during the opening month.

The Camp Comeback residents were out of active play. They could not vote, compete normally or take part in ceremonies. But they did not immediately leave the Big Brother house. They lived upstairs, remained around the active players and were still able to talk and maintain social relationships while waiting for a return competition.

David and Ovi entered together when Camp Comeback opened after the 12–0 Week 1 eviction. Kemi followed after leaving 10–1.

Then Cliff was evicted 6–4.

The four Camp Comeback players immediately competed for the one return spot. Cliff won.

He walked straight back into a house that had just voted him out — and then won the next HOH.

David, Ovi and Kemi finally left for good that night.

Read the Camp Comeback results.

Ovi and David after Camp Comeback opened. Evicted players were out of active play but still living inside the house.

Who were Gr8ful and the Six Shooters?

BB21’s opening majority was Gr8ful: Christie, Holly, Jack, Jackson, Bella, Nick, Tommy and Sis.

Inside that eight was a separate six-person structure that became the Six Shooters: Christie, Holly, Jack, Jackson, Tommy and Sis.

That means Gr8ful did not simply change its name to Six Shooters. The two groups overlapped. Bella and Nick were inside Gr8ful but outside the Six Shooters. Sam worked closely with Nick and Bella and was later pulled into a nine-person arrangement, but he was not an original Gr8ful member.

The distinction became the story of Week 3.

Nicole learned that Nick and Bella were not as safe inside the majority as they believed. She warned them. Bella took Nicole’s information back to the very people Nicole was warning her about.

The result was one of BB21’s defining feed sequences. Nicole became isolated, the majority gathered in the HOH room without her, and Nick’s HOH moved toward putting Nicole on the block.

Kat won the veto and saved Jessica. Nicole became the replacement nominee beside Cliff.

Then the Six Shooters turned the vote around.

They decided evicting Cliff while Nick and Bella expected Nicole to leave would do two things at once: remove Cliff and demonstrate that Nick and Bella no longer controlled the alliance. Cliff went out 6–4.

Nicole survived the week that had nearly buried her game. Cliff won his way straight back in. From there, Nicole and Cliff became one of the season’s longest-running pairs.

Read OBB’s Week 3 alliance breakdown and eviction results.

Cliff came back and immediately nominated Jack and Jackson

Cliff’s return could hardly have been more dramatic.

He won Camp Comeback, returned to active play and then won HOH. He nominated Jack and Jackson, putting two Six Shooters on the block together.

Jack had the Chaos Power from Whacktivity and used it to force a new veto-player draw. Jackson still won the Power of Veto and saved himself.

That left Cliff with the replacement decision — and Christie with leverage.

Christie’s unused Panic Power could turn a veto into a version where the veto holder controlled the replacement nominee. She did not activate it. The threat that she could activate it narrowed Cliff’s options, and Cliff negotiated safety rather than force the power into play.

Cliff nominated Bella.

Bella was evicted 8–2. Nick and Sam were the two votes to evict Jack.

It is tempting to summarize the week as “Cliff caved to Christie.” The feeds show something more specific: Cliff took a shot, lost control of one nominee when Jackson won veto, faced the threat of Christie’s power and chose a deal that kept him safe rather than forcing the confrontation.

Read Cliff’s HOH and Bella’s eviction recap.

The Six Shooters blew apart on August 1

Holly won the next HOH and nominated Sam and Nick. Nick won the veto, saved himself and Kat became the replacement. Sam knew he was in danger and spent his final days exposing information about Christie and the internal deals of the Six Shooters.

That information landed in a group that was already full of mistrust.

Sam was still evicted 9–0.

Then Jessica won HOH.

That is when the alliance fracture became an eviction.

Jessica won HOH and veto — then evicted Jack

Jessica nominated Jack and Jackson together.

Then she won the veto too.

She left the nominations unchanged and targeted Jack.

Jack spent the week campaigning and offering deals, but the old majority no longer had the votes to save him.

Tommy, Cliff, Nicole, Holly, Nick and Kat voted to evict Jack. Christie and Sis voted to evict Jackson.

Jack left 6–2 and became the first juror.

The week matters because Jessica did not merely remove one player. Her HOH made the August 1 split permanent in the voting record: Holly voted Jack out while Christie and Sis voted to keep him.

Read OBB’s Jack eviction recap.

Jack after Jessica’s HOH ended with his 6–2 eviction.

Tommy and Christie knew each other before BB21

One relationship inside the Six Shooters had a layer the rest of the house could not see.

Tommy and Christie knew each other before entering Big Brother. Their connection came through Christie’s previous relationship with someone close to Tommy.

They kept that history secret through most of the season.

The secret did not become public house information during Gr8ful’s rise or the Six Shooters collapse. Tommy finally revealed the connection during the Final 5, after Christie had already been evicted.

That timing became important because Jackson later used Tommy’s information and proposed deals as material for the move that decided whether Tommy or Holly would survive Final 5.

Taco Tuesday became the centerpiece of Christie’s survival week

Jackson won the next HOH after Kat’s eviction and nominated Christie and Sis.

Jackson also won the veto and did not use it. Christie appeared to be the target.

Christie decided to expose Nick’s position in the house during the weekly Taco Tuesday dinner. Jackson encouraged her to go through with it.

The result was the Nick-versus-Christie confrontation that became known simply as Taco Tuesday. They argued over who was loyal to whom, which side Nick was actually working with and how much information each of them had been spreading around the house.

The fight was memorable, but it should not be credited as the single event that flipped the eviction. Christie’s campaigning continued around it and the vote moved for several reasons.

What Taco Tuesday did was put Christie’s argument in front of everybody at once.

By eviction night the target had changed.

Jessica, Tommy, Holly, Nicole and Cliff voted to evict Sis. Nick cast the only vote against Christie.

Sis left 5–1.

Read OBB’s Taco Tuesday feed coverage.

Nicole finally won power during the double eviction

After Sis left, Holly won HOH. America’s Prankster complicated her nominations, but Nick still left unanimously.

Jackson then won another HOH and nominated Christie and Jessica. Tommy won the veto, saved Christie and Cliff became the replacement. Jessica was evicted 4–0.

Then the house was told it was a double eviction.

Nicole won the compressed HOH — her first competition victory of the season.

She nominated Christie and Tommy.

Cliff won the veto and did not use it. Jackson, Holly and Cliff all voted to evict Christie.

Christie left 3–0.

The win completed Nicole’s transformation from the isolated Week 3 target into an endgame power player. Cliff remained her closest partner, and Nicole now had an HOH victory that had directly removed one of the season’s biggest strategic personalities.

Read the Big Brother 21 double-eviction results.

Nicole won her first competition during the double eviction and immediately nominated Christie and Tommy.

Jackson’s Final 5 lie saved Holly

Final 5 is the BB21 endgame moment that needs the most careful wording.

Jackson was HOH. He nominated Cliff and Tommy.

Nicole won BB Comics and used the veto on Cliff. Holly was the only possible replacement nominee.

That left Tommy against Holly.

Nicole and Cliff seriously considered breaking up Jackson and Holly. Tommy was offering to work with them and target Jackson if he stayed.

Jackson responded by making Tommy look as though he was secretly playing both sides. He told Nicole and Cliff that Tommy had given him deal information that contradicted what Tommy was telling them directly.

Tommy denied Jackson’s version. OBB recorded him calling it “absolutely 100% false.”

A house meeting followed — but the feeds were cut, so there is no complete OBB transcript of the confrontation.

Cliff and Nicole ultimately kept Holly and voted Tommy out 2–0.

After his eviction, Tommy said Jackson’s “Big Fat Lie” had worked and said he respected the move.

One thing the lie was not about: Jackson and Holly secretly knowing each other before the show. The documented pre-game connection involved Tommy and Christie.

Read OBB’s Final 5 recap and Tommy eviction results.

Tommy left 2–0 after Nicole and Cliff decided to keep Holly.

Keeping Holly decided the Final 4

Holly stayed by promising Cliff and Nicole additional protection, including throwing the next HOH.

She did.

Nicole won Final 4 HOH and nominated Jackson and Holly.

But Final 4 is controlled by the final four veto.

Jackson won it.

He used the veto on himself. Cliff automatically became the replacement nominee, and Jackson held the only eviction vote.

Cliff had continued making endgame deals with Jackson and hoped Jackson might take him over Holly.

Jackson did not.

He evicted Cliff and kept Holly.

Read the Final 4 eviction results.

How did Jackson and Holly reach the Final 2?

Jackson and Holly started inside Gr8ful and the Six Shooters, but their route to the finale was not a straight majority-alliance march.

The Six Shooters split with Jackson and Holly on one side and Jack/Christie/Tommy/Sis on the other. Jack left. Tommy then tried to keep parts of the old group connected, but the original alliance never fully reassembled.

Jackson and Holly instead built a late-game agreement with Cliff and Nicole.

At the same time, Jackson started winning repeatedly. Across the season he finished with four HOHs and four vetoes. Holly won two HOHs of her own.

The pair survived the double eviction, survived the Final 5 decision that nearly sent Holly out, and then Jackson controlled the Final 4 veto.

In the three-part final Head of Household, Jackson won Part 1, Holly won Part 2 and Jackson beat Holly in Part 3.

Jackson evicted Nicole.

The showmance became the Final 2.

What were the Big Brother 21 twists?

Camp Director and Banishment

Jackson was elected Camp Director and had to banish four houseguests. He selected David, Kemi, Jessica and Cliff. Three returned from the opening competition; David did not.

Camp Comeback

David, Ovi, Kemi and Cliff became the four Camp Comeback players. They remained physically inside the house while out of active gameplay. Cliff won the return competition after his Week 3 eviction and re-entered the game.

Whacktivity powers

• Ovi — Nightmare Power. Could force an HOH to replace both original nominees. Ovi never activated it.
• Jack — Chaos Power. Could force the veto-player draw to be redone. Jack used it during Cliff’s HOH.
• Christie — Panic Power. Could upgrade a veto so the veto holder controlled the replacement nominee. Christie never activated it, but the threat of the power influenced Cliff’s Week 4 replacement decision.

America’s Field Trip

America selected Jackson, Christie and Sis for a special competition. Jackson won safety, Christie became a third nominee and Sis received the punishment.

Tommy was HOH and had already nominated Cliff and Kat. He then won the veto and saved Christie. Kat was evicted 6–1.

America’s Prankster

America chose Nick as the Prankster during Holly’s HOH. Holly nominated Nick; Nick secretly used his Prankster power to make Christie the other nominee. The power would also have let Nick choose a replacement if his nominee came down.

Jackson won the veto and left the nominations unchanged. Nick was evicted 5–0.

Who won each HOH, veto and eviction in Big Brother 21?

The chronology below separates the premiere Banishment from the normal HOH weeks. Camp Comeback means Cliff appears once as an evicted player and later again at his permanent Final 4 exit.

Who won America’s Favorite on Big Brother 21?

Nicole won America’s Favorite.

OBB’s finale coverage called the award America’s Favorite Player and reported Nicole, Cliff and Tommy as the three top vote-getters.

Nicole’s season had started with her isolated and almost evicted during Nick’s HOH. She survived, rebuilt around Cliff, won the double-eviction HOH, won BB Comics, won the Final 4 HOH and reached the Final 3.

The audience vote gave her the season’s other victory on finale night.

What is Big Brother 21 remembered for?

• Camp Director and Banishment putting Jackson in power before the first normal HOH.
• Camp Comeback keeping David, Ovi, Kemi and Cliff inside the house after leaving active play — and Cliff, evicted 6–4, winning his way back and immediately taking HOH.
• Gr8ful and the Six Shooters controlling the opening game before turning against each other.
• Nicole’s Week 3 isolation followed by the Six Shooters secretly saving her and blindsiding Nick and Bella.
• The August 1 Six Shooters collapse splitting Jackson/Holly from Jack/Christie/Tommy/Sis.
• Jessica winning both HOH and veto and sending Jack to jury 6–2.
• Taco Tuesday becoming the centerpiece of Christie’s successful campaign to survive beside Sis.
• Nicole winning the double-eviction HOH and taking Christie out 3–0.
• Tommy and Christie’s pre-game connection remaining secret until the Final 5.
• Jackson’s Final 5 lie helping convince Cliff and Nicole to keep Holly and evict Tommy.
• Jackson’s late competition run ending with the Final 4 veto and final HOH.
• Jackson beating Holly 6–3 while Nicole won America’s Favorite.

Big Brother 21 live-feed archive

OnlineBigBrother covered BB21 throughout the summer of 2019. The archive preserves the Camp Comeback conversations, Nicole’s isolation and recovery, Gr8ful and Six Shooters meetings, the August alliance collapse, Taco Tuesday, the Final 5 campaigning and the feed conversations surrounding an endgame that looked very different from the opening month.

Browse the complete Big Brother 21 OnlineBigBrother archive.