Cookout Members Worry Show Back to Racist Ways

We’re less than a week into this season of “Big Brother” and already there are red flags rising for members of last season’s dominant Cookout alliance, with both winner Xavier Prather and Tiffany Mitchell sounding off on social media while watching the Live Feeds.

We’ll get into some of that a bit later, with excessive spoiler warnings in case it spills something that hasn’t been seen yet on the show. As for the show, this second episode started to reveal what they’re talking about.

Without a competition to deal with — and after a season premiere so packed with them we didn’t get to know anyone — this second episode slowed down and really spent some time with these contestants. As such, some personalities began to emerge, for good and bad.

The closest thing to a Cookout happening was when six of the eight girls decided that they should all work together and solidify a thing. But it wasn’t really an alliance moment, and we’ll believe it when we see it.

What did happen, though, was the slow emergence of a few micro-alliances, or Final Two arrangements. Of course, the new Head of Household found himself in one. When you’re in power, you’re everybody’s friend.

In the case of Daniel and Nicole, though, that bond happened over their hair before they’d said a word to one another. The duo just kind of saw one another across the backyard on Day 1 and felt a kinship. That was solidified in the HOH room into the season’s first Final 2 (so far as we saw on TV).

The second one was also based on personality, with Alyssa and Paloma bonding over being Scorpios and quirks like falling asleep with their makeup on. They are just vibing on the same frequency. Well, almost the same frequency.

Early in the game, we’ve seen people who just randomly decide they don’t like another person, and that appears to be what happened with Paloma. She started making assumptions about Taylor and that quickly grew into what seems to be an unbridled game hatred.

It all started when Taylor was playing pool with the guys, being a little flirty and playful. Taylor explained in the Diary Room that she was trying to connect with them for fear they’d begun forming an all-guys alliance, so she wanted to learn to speak their language and “infiltrate.”

Paloma saw it as nothing more than shallow flirting as a strategy. She also took issue with what she saw as Taylor bonding with the men and making no effort to do so with the women.

Later, when the girls were alone in a room (without Nicole and Taylor), Paloma proceeded to again trash Taylor’s pageant past, as if that defines her and determines that she’s a shallow, empty, awful person. The stereotyping is cruel and aggressive.

When she takes her chance to chat with Daniel, she only has one target for him: Taylor. At this point, she’s almost blinded by her pointless hatred of someone who never did anything to her, and she’s spreading that hatred around. But will it stick?

Kudos to the “Big Brother” producers for pulling out that soundbite of Michael saying in the Diary Room his intention was to lay low and not talk game right away — before immediately showing him aggressively talking game.

Not just was he talking game, but he also started talking way too much, blurting out everything. He revealed that he was a superfan of the game, which Daniel had already figured out in the most fascinating way.

A superfan himself, Daniel knows that the first person to enter the “Big Brother” house each season has never won. He then noted that rather than be first, Michael held the door for everyone. For him, that was a clue. While the possibility of working with another superfan is intriguing, Daniel ultimately decided it was better if he was the only one.

Maybe he saw Todrick Hall (a problematic runner-up if ever there was one) mow down the clueless competition as the only superfan in the last season of “Celebrity Big Brother.” Oh, if only Daniel knew just how many more superfans there are this season!

Always a crap shoot at this early juncture in the game, Daniel selected an actual target and a pawn. He didn’t listen to Paloma’s random hatred of Taylor, which was nice, but he did put up Terrance as a pawn. Now, Terrance has hardly talked to anyone. As the oldest player in the House, he just doesn’t feel like he fits in.

But he’s also Black, which has to be looked at when you consider unconscious bias. Yes, Terrance didn’t do his part to ingratiate himself into the game, but can we rule out Black as a factor in him being selected as a pawn?

Ultimately, it could be argued that Daniel doesn’t think anyone would send him out, but that would make a safer choice someone that everyone in the House seems to like — not that there are any breakout darlings yet.

His target this week is Michael, who blabbed simply way too much. We’d never want to be in an alliance with a guy like that who can’t even keep his own secrets for a week in the House. We’d never give him any of ours!

Nicole Layog (41) was very smart in aligning with the current Head of Household, and they’re actually an interesting and potentially powerful pairing — especially if he can get his act together a little better. Right now, it looks like she’d be the brains of the operation, which is good. She’s got a great mini-alliance and a strategy to bolster their numbers in the short term. She’s thinking about this game in all the right ways. Grade: A-

Ameerah Jones (31) offered some good insight that even superfan Daniel didn’t consider, suggesting that the four strong dudes who volunteered to be Have-Nots so Daniel wouldn’t have to pick did so out of strategy. This tells us she’s thinking outside of what’s obvious and coming at the game in different ways intellectually. She did almost spill the all-girls talk, but we’re impressed with what we’re seeing so far from her. Grade: B+

Daniel Durston (35) is in power, but we’re not super impressed with what he’s done with it so far. He missed a key strategic element with the Have-Nots, and nominating Terrance was just lazy. He also didn’t seek out strategy talk with anyone, just being passive. Plus, he seems to not really be paying attention to House dynamics. Hopefully, he’s just being lazy because he has power. Grade: B

Paloma Aquilar (22) is playing a personal and ugly game we don’t like to see, but it’s also proving somewhat effective so far. She was also the mastermind behind the all-girls alliance we still don’t believe is real, but her Final 2 with Alyssa is. She is playing this game hard and really thinking about the whole summer, but we wonder if she isn’t playing a little too hard out of the gate. We’ve seen that blow games up before. Grade: B-

Alyssa Snider (24) is aligned with a wild card in Paloma, but she is at least in an alliance and thinking about the game. That’s an edge we have to give her right now, as not everyone appears to be doing so. She appears to be a little naïve in life, which could come into play in the game when it comes to trusting the wrong people. But we’re just happy to see someone playing. Grade: C+

Brittany Hoopes (32) lied about being a hypnotherapist and instead said she was a toy tester. An innocuous seeming lie, but an important indicator that her head is in the game. She didn’t do much else that we’ve seen, but for now, that’s something and that’s enough. Grade: C+

Jasmine Davis (29) bonded with Paloma on a personal level over the respective losses of their father (Jasmine) and grandmother (Paloma). It’s a strong social connection and she made it with a strong gamer. It’s too early to see if that will be a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s a thing and for now, that counts. Grade: C+

Indy Santos (31), Joe “Pooch” Pucciarelli (24), Joseph Abdin (24), Kyle Caapener (29), Matt “Turner” Turner (23), and Monte Taylor (27) all faded into the background in this second episode, which is by no means a bad thing. When you have strong personalities emerging and HOHs looking for any excuse to nominate someone, better to blend into the carpet in these first weeks. So good job, everyone! Grade: C

Taylor Hale (27) played her game her way and it’s coming back to bite her. We still don’t fully understand Paloma’s obsession with her (it makes us uncomfortable), but clearly trying to connect with the guys was a bad idea. Honestly, a girl in good with the guys would be great for girls’ alliances. They’re just being fed nastiness about her. So basically, she’s in crosshairs for doing nothing other than just being. And if Paloma grows her numbers, Taylor is going to find herself in a big hole that’s hard to climb out of with her fellow Houseguests (if and when she discovers any of this). Grade: C-

Terrance Higgins (47) did himself no favors by being the oldest player and making zero effort to integrate with the rest of the House. There are other players in their 30s and 40s, so it’s not as bad as some recent seasons. He needs to get in there and play the game. He may not be Daniels target, but there are a lot of people in the House. If they don’t know him, then he’s an easy out. Grade: D

Michael Bruner (28) let his mouth get him into trouble and now his back is agains the wall. He is one of the smarter and more athletic guys in the House, so he’s got a real shot of saving himself (depending on who’s playing in the Veto), but a lot of the damage is done. Even if he stays, Daniel won’t trust him and word will get out that he’s a threat as a superfan. We’ve got a lot of them who aren’t blabbing about it, so they’ll want him gone. If he can’t save himself this week, he’s Daniel’s target, and we’re pretty sure the house can be convinced he’s a problem that needs to go. Grade: D

• “All of America is watching me so there’s a lot of pressure to make the right choice for my game.” –Daniel (you can’t worry about America at this point)
• “The big reason I picked the Backstage girls was Paloma, Alyssa and Brittany were the first ones out of the competition … I’m keeping it fair.” –Pooch (except that wasn’t the case with Brittany)
• “The only thing that sucks is it’s all girls.” –Pooch (not intentional, but could still be problematic)
• “What do you do?” –Brittany (to Michael)
• “I work for an escape room.” –Michael (lying, he’s an attorney)
• “What do you do?” –Michael (to Brittany)
• “I’m a toy tester.” –Brittany (lying, she’s a hypnotherapist)
• “Monte’s very cute. And a nice smile. And a nice personality. I can’t have a crush on people.” –Taylor
• “I think it’s going to be really tough for Taylor. I love her confidence. I love her style. I think she’s beautiful. But if I were here, I wouldn’t even have said I was a pageant girl, because that’s just associated with the ability to be fake.” –Paloma (about Taylor)
• “I’m trying to get my degree to become a sex coach.” –Indy (during group introductions)
• “Do you think she needs an assistant coach?” –Pooch (in Diary Room)
• “This house gonna be noisy!” –Terrance
• “It’s hard. Because I think with this Backstage twist, I have nothing to offer people. I have nothing to bargain with, and I don’t have any leverage.” –Brittany
• “I’ll do it. I’ll volunteer.” –Michael (offering himself as tribute — er, first Have-Not of summer)
• “I only volunteered ’cause you volunteered.” –Kyle (to Michael after seeing Have-Not Room)
• “Has anybody come up to you yet?” –Nicole (to Daniel)
• “Nope. I’m pissed.” –Daniel (no one talking game with the new HOH)
• “You’re my number one. That’s it. I will not stray.” –Daniel (to Nicole)
• “If you’re down with it, I want to be the Rogue Rats … from rats to riches.” –Daniel (to Nicole)
• “We can’t be seen leaving together. I’m going to hide … How am I going to get out of here?” –Paloma (after solidifying Final 2 with Alyssa)
• “I’m trying to bond with the guys. I’m really nervous that they’ve already got this all-guys alliance. So the best thing I can do is try to play their rules and play their game. Playing a little bit of pool is an easy way to find out how they talk and communicate so I can infiltrate, speak their language and now start to talk game with them.” –Taylor
• “My initial impression of Taylor is she wants to try to use her beauty to allure men, which is a strategy that is like, so old. Her demeanor comes off even more cocky when she’s not trying to make an effort with women. She’s just digging that hole for herself with the girls.” –Paloma
• “If we make this happen, like, girls got to stick together.” –Jasmine (talking with all the girls except Taylor and Nicole)
• “No talking to the guys.” –Ameerah
• We’re gonna manipulate the men. We’ll have side alliances with them, but this is the core.” –Paloma (to girls minus Taylor and Nicole)
• “I want to go to Newark. Isn’t that the happiest place on Earth?” –Alyssa
• “New Jersey?” –Kyle
• “No. It’s a place.” –Alyssa
• “There’s no country called that.”Ameerah
• “What am I thinking of?” –Alyssa (she’s thinking of Denmark, but it’s actually Finland)
• “I just need, like, reasons to put people up.” –Daniel (to Ameerah)
• “My thinking is, like, get out the better competitors. I feel bad because a lot of those good competitors volunteered for the Have-Not Room, but that’s why they volunteered.” –Ameerah
• “Really, you think so? Here I am, like, Oh, thank you, guys.” –Daniel
• “How did I not think of this. They volunteered so that they don’t get put on the Block. Obviously.” –Daniel
• “I’m gonna back you up. And also, like, I can have the girls all back you up.” –Ameerah (don’t hint at a girls alliance)
• “When I got in the House, he said to give them hell.” –Jasmine (about her late father who passed away two months ago)
• “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m a big fan of the game. So to be the first to go home would be devastating.” –Michael (to Daniel, promising the world and saying way too much)
• “I think in all of “Big Brother” it’s been me and one other Arab person to come on the show.” –Joseph
• “I can’t represent the entire Arab culture, but I can be myself, I can be authentic, and I’m so happy to be here contributing to [representation] in a way.” –Joseph
• “Sometimes I just don’t fit. It’s easy if you don’t fit.” –Terrance (to Jasmine, worried he’ll get nominated … and rightly so)

At this point, you’ve read all of our usual content, so if you agree to go any further, you agree to be aware that this is your SPOILER WARNING that we will be talking about things from the Live Feeds — including possible competition results.

Seriously, if you go any further, that’s on you. You’ve been sufficiently warned.

We good?

Good.

As you might have guessed, the subject of most of tonight’s random hatred is also the subject of the Cookout’s concern. Taylor is a Black beauty pageant queen and clearly a strong and driven woman.

We’ll admit that we felt she came across as having an “aloof demeanor” in our first impression because of the face she barely moves her mouth and face. It reminded us of royalty and the way they carry themselves. We also speculated that because of what we were seeing, she could become an easy target.

That part, unfortunately, came true. At the same time, she has started to relax a bit. She said that she’s used to working with strong men, so it makes sense she’d gravitate toward them first. Maybe the cattiness that exists in some pageant worlds makes her wary about the ladies?

Regardless, Paloma’s attacks got very nasty and very personal very quickly, and no one is really shutting her down. In a tweet on Sunday, Season 23 winner Xavier Prather said this treatment is “why The Cookout was formed.”

“Members of the black community (especially black women) and other people of color stand no chance in the ‘Big Brother’ House due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society.”

Taylor has also been accused by people in the house of being aggressive or with concerns that she might “blow up” if put on the Block. And yet, Taylor has shown no overly emotional behavior of any kind, so this is clearly coming from an unconscious bias, i.e. a hurtful stereotype of Black women behavior.

Tiffany Mitchell, who was the strategic mastermind behind The Cookout and one of the best to ever play the game, was “FUMING” over a conversation between Monte and Terrance about Taylor.

“Two black men gossiping and tearing down another black woman who actually did NOTHING to them,” she tweeted. “Accusing her of being condesending [sic] because she actually has a personality.”

Hannah Chaddha endorsed Xavier’s message, while Azah (as a fellow dark-skinned Black woman) felt for Taylor on a personal level.

“I made a cognizant effort to ‘dial back’ in the house for these exact reasons,” Azäh Awasum tweeted, referring to what’s being said about Taylor. “Dark skinned women always have this in the back of our heads. CBS teaches about racial microagressions but a section on colorism would be beneficial. Taylor’s light will shine outside this house.”

This situation may get even worse, as (we did mention SPOILERS, right?) Michael has won the Power of Veto, and assuredly he will take himself off the Block. Paloma has been working double time to convince Daniel to target Taylor, and she’s getting some support.

If that were to happen, then the first two nominees of this new season will be Black. And that will be something that has to be thought about. Yes, there would be reasons for both choices, but there would also be reasons. And you know what we mean.

“Big Brother” airs Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.