They did it. The Cookout just made “Big Brother” history by becoming the first all-Black alliance to make it to the Final 6. Azah Awasum, Derek Frazier, Hannah Chaddha, Kyland Young, Tiffany Mitchell and Xavier Prather sealed the deal during the September 9 double eviction episode after sending Claire Rehfuss and Alyssa Lopez to the jury house. Now, former “Big Brother” Season 15 winner Andy Herren is going on record saying that the Cookout is the reality TV show’s “best alliance” ever. Do you agree?
“The Cookout is the best alliance in ‘Big Brother’ history and I’m glad it is now official,” Herren tweeted. “I know I sound like a broken record but you all don’t respect them enough. It has been FASCINATING watching them outplay everyone. GTFO with the ‘this season is boring’ nonsense.” He also wrote, “History has been made. The Cookout achieved their goal and we will be getting our first black winner. And that winner needs to be Tiffany or Hannah.”
The Cookout is the best alliance in Big Brother history and I’m glad it is now official. I know I sound like a broken record but you all don’t respect them enough. It has been FASCINATING watching them outplay everyone. GTFO with the “this season is boring” nonsense. #BB23
— Andy Herren (@AndyHerren) September 10, 2021
History has been made. The Cookout achieved their goal and we will be getting our first black winner. And that winner needs to be Tiffany or Hannah. #BB23
— Andy Herren (@AndyHerren) September 10, 2021
SEE ‘Big Brother’ winners list: All 22 seasons, plus spin-offs
As you may recall, Herren won the 2013 edition of the show with a 7-2 jury vote over GinaMarie Zimmerman. That season allowed America to vote for a “Big Brother MVP” every week that would then nominate a third houseguest for eviction.
Earlier this week, Julie Chen Moonves addressed the issue of whether the Cookout is “racist,” as some viewers have wondered on social media. “I think it’s hard for some people who are not of color to understand the importance of the Cookout making it this far,” the longtime host told Entertainment Weekly. “I have heard some call the formation of the Cookout a form of racism. In my humble opinion, it is not. As a fan of the show, it’s impressive to see an alliance this big make it this far. That rarely happens.”
To recap, a Black person has never won “Big Brother” despite it being on the air for two decades now. Knowing this, the group of six made an agreement at the start of the summer to stick together to ensure history was made this season. Sure, there were hiccups along the way (remember Tiffany and Derek’s sassy fight in the pantry?) but their collective loyalty has proven to be stronger than any individual disagreement.
SEE Why is ‘Big Brother’ called ‘Big Brother’? Name meaning explained
Tiffany’s “master plan” to keep the Cookout a secret was for each member to have a side alliance with someone else in the house, so if that duo was ever nominated together, the Cookout would have the numbers to save their own. Tiffany had Claire, Xavier had Alyssa, Kyland had Sarah Beth Steagall, Hannah had Derek Xiao and Azah had Britini D’Angelo (Derek F. didn’t need anyone). This plus-one strategy worked perfectly, with nobody suspecting all of the Black people were working together until later in the game when it was too late to do anything about it.
The sextet also agreed not to spill the beans during their goodbye messages to evicted houseguests, though Kyland hinted at a secret alliance to both Derek X. and Britini. A recent visit to the jury house showed the two putting the pieces together, which is the closest anyone has come to figuring out the Cookout’s true purpose. Derek X. even called the plan “genius,” seemingly agreeing with Andy Herren’s assessment of the alliance.
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