“Big Brother” is a show filled with as many competitions as blow ups. There are hundreds of hours of proof the show can be both engaging to watch yet hard to stomach. One of the most attractive aspects of the show is how a dozen or so houseguests can coalesce for three months in a confined space.
One by one, they’re picked off because they didn’t have the right alliance or they ended up on the wrong side of the house. At the end of the season, the houseguests who are voted off are ultimately the ones who get the honor of choosing their friend (or enemy) as the winner.
It’s during the latter third of mid-season where the show gets to be at the apex of interesting though. The Jury House is introduced and the ones who are sequestered there get to provide commentary on the game up until that point.
Moments in the second house can be tense as houseguests get a chance to confront newly evicted members like how Da’Vonne did with Paulie in BB18. That season, among others, ended with what competition reality fans dub “bitter juries” – or jurors who voted based on past digressions rather than the skill seen in the show. The way one player treats others can ultimately affect the outcome, no matter how well they played.
Below are a few of the bitterest juries in “Big Brother” history.
BB3
The early seasons are somewhat of unicorns when it comes to how the jury used to be handled. Houseguests on the jury were sent home as opposed to being held on a different set. This allowed for them to become players turned viewers as they watched one of the final two’s – Danielle – Diary Room confessionals, where she essentially trashed them.
She bragged about how she lied and deceived everyone in order to get them evicted. The viewer consensus is she was the better player. The jury consensus says otherwise. Danielle would end up losing to Lisa. The rules regarding evicted houseguests watching the remaining season would change after this.
BB4
Season four saw a reduction in the number of jurors to seven in order to avoid the chances of a tie. It’s also the first season to see jurors be sequestered to a house rather than sent home.
This season also saw a truly disliked winner and runner-up in Jun and Alison respectively. The tension in the room can be seen in the questioning segment of the finale episode. Jun and Alison are forced to cover every track of their gameplay. It’s a tough watch.
BB11
Another new rule was introduced in season 11. If a houseguest who was supposed to be on the jury quits or is sent home by Big Brother, then that person’s jury vote doesn’t just go away. Viewers would step in to cast a jury vote as a group. In the end, 24 million votes were cast during the season – with over 11 million as the seventh jury vote.
As for the bitter jury aspect, Jeff was the houseguest who caused the most friction. He was unliked in the house but seemed to be okay with being sent to jury. Michelle, on the other hand, openly admits to being bitter due to getting evicted. Fans and houseguests weren’t as big of fans of either finalist Jordan and Natalie in the end.
BB14
Season 14 saw another jury vote for what fans saw as the player who didn’t deserve to win. Many feel as though Dan was the one who played a better game over winner Ian. During the section of the finale where the jury asks gameplay questions of the final two, Dan and Ian started pointing fingers.
Dan was given the harshest questioning of the two, which caused the jury to vote 6-1 in favor of Ian. Years later, jury members admit they should’ve voted for Dan.
BB18
If Da’Vonne and Paulie getting into it doesn’t make this one of the most bitter juries in the show’s history, then there are no bitter juries. Paulie entered the jury house feeling as though everyone hated him. It didn’t help that he used sexist comments to cement that. Season 18 is also one of the modern seasons with nine jurors instead of seven.
Finalist Paul would end up losing to Nicole after jury mismanagement. During the roundtable, the evicted houseguests seemed to turn on Paul’s personal convictions outside of his gameplay. That seemed to seal the deal of his runner-up status.
BB19
Paul returned the following season, finally cementing himself as the winner. The jury referred to the runner-up, Josh, as something along the lines of a psychopath.
They didn’t respect him and admitted as much during the roundtable. Jurors also didn’t have many nice things to say about Paul who would do a lot of talking behind other player’s backs whereas Josh would confront everyone.
BB20
Season 20 saw a gameplay device dubbed the “Jury Battleback” where evicted houseguests could fight for another chance to stay in the house. Scottie ultimately returned but it didn’t matter. Tyler lost to Kaycee and some say it was a fair decision by the jury.
Everyone except for Haleigh voted for Kaycee because they perceived her as to have played a better game. What’s also important to note is that the players were also seen as clueless by viewers like how Scottie and FOUTTE/The Hive unraveled fairly quickly.
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Most Bitter ‘Big Brother’ Juries of All Time