It would stand to reason that every eviction on Big Brother is sad, but that isn’t necessarily the case with the reality TV show. Sometimes both fellow houseguests and fans are happy to see certain players who aren’t their favorites go. Whether they’re villains or simply weren’t playing the game as people had hoped, maybe playing too hard, players go one by one until a winner is crowned. But some evictions have been sadder than others.
The reasons an eviction is particularly sad vary from contestant to contestant. In some cases, it’s sad because of how the person reacted. Some resort to tears, begging, and pleading to stay, especially when it’s a double eviction night. Some were sent home in a way that fans and allies felt was completely unfair. In a few cases, the eviction sent shockwaves through the house that could be felt for days.
Here is a list of some of the saddest evictions in Big Brother;
Britney Haynes (Season 12)
Fans felt sympathetic towards Britney Haynes towards the end of her run on Big Brother 12, especially since they were privy to the conversations among The Brigade members and the fact that they were making moves with Britney on the periphery of their alliance when she thought she was in the thick of it. While the guys at least did the honorable thing and revealed the alliance to Britney before voting her out, the sadness and defeat in her eyes once she knew the truth and how she never had a chance to win could be felt through the screen.
Britney was aligned with the guys of The Brigade, and they helped protect her while she helped them by being a number on their side. Even though she knew her fate was sealed, it was incredibly sad to see Britney go, especially as a fan favorite player. Not surprisingly, her biting commentary and hilariously sarcastic Diary Room sessions helped Britney secure America’s Favorite Houseguest at the end of her season, so at least she didn’t go home empty-handed.
Kaysar Ridha (Season 6)
There are so many instances of people being voted out after making bad decisions, like Marcellas Reynoldswho, in the worst Big Brother decision ever, won the Veto and didn’t use it on himself. With Kaysar Ridha, however, he was so sweet, kind, and trusting. His defining moment, however, was that he lasted a record-breaking almost 14 hours in the Big Brother Pressure Cooker competition only to let Jennifer Vasquez win because she promised she would not turn against him. She went ahead and did exactly that, leaving houseguests and viewers angered and emotional about his eviction.
So much so, in fact, that Kaysar was brought back into the game. He went home a second time, giving Kaysar the honor of having two sad evictions in a single season. Adding insult to injury, he was evicted on his birthday.
Judd Daugherty (Season 15)
One of the most emotional evictions, Judd Daughterty’s journey through the season had its highs and lows. He was popular in the house, but when fellow houseguest Aaryn Gries started putting in peoples’ ears that he was a schemer, Judd was evicted unanimously in the frenzy that was the double eviction.
He later won a return to the game as the first-ever jury member to come back into the house and became a member of a dominating alliance. But he let his temper get the best of him. When he lost the Power of Veto and threw a tantrum because of it, the attitude led to his eviction a second time. Judd ranked in the top three for America’s Favorite Houseguest, with even fans feeling emotional over what they deem to have been an unfair eviction.
Keesha Smith (Season 10)
Keesha Smith is central to one of the saddest scenes ever in Big Brother history on the best season of the show when, after a big blowout in the house, the houseguests gather to sing her Happy Birthday and present a cake. It was one of the most pitiful, forced gatherings with sullen faces and monotonous voices trying to get through the otherwise joyous tune. This wasn’t Keesha’s saddest moment, however. Keesha made it to the final four, but her ally Memphis Garrett decided that she was a threat and voted her out instead of Jerry MacDonald.
What made it sadder is that Keesha knew her fate and felt betrayed by the decision but had no power to do anything about it since Memphis had made up his mind. Her sad eviction was at least juxtaposed by the fact that Keesha won the America’s Choice Jury Prize.
Janelle Pierzina (Season 7)
Janelle Pierzina has played Big Brother four times and is often considered to be a legend in the game and one of the best to have never won. Her saddest eviction, however, came in season 7, the second time she played. When Janelle first played in season 6, she made it to third place before being evicted. History repeated itself in season 7 when, once again, Janelle came so close to winning the game only to lose the final Head of Household competition and be voted out again when she could almost taste the victory.
Considering that Janelle held the record for the most competition wins in a single season for some time, and still holds the records for the most individual competition wins over multiple seasons, the fact that she came so close a second time around yet never made it to a final made that eviction particularly emotional.
Donny Thompson (Season 16)
One of the nicest people to ever play the game, Donny Thompson was wholesome, sweet, kind, and friendly with everyone. He seemingly didn’t have a bad bone in his body, which is what made his eviction particularly troubling. Others in the house couldn’t shake the feeling that he was secretly strategizing because no one could be that nice. Donny also played hard in competitions and earned his position in the game: he was no floater.
His exit speech made the eviction even sadder when Donny talked with Julie about how he quit his job to go on the show. He also revealed how hurt he was at the decision to evict him by his own Team America members, Derrick and Frankie Grande. It’s no surprise that this pure soul of a human won America’s Favorite Houseguest that season.
Tommy Bracco (Season 21)
Crying on his way out the door telling the houseguests who voted him out that he was telling the truth all along, Tommy Bracco’s eviction was emotional because he was framed for something he didn’t do. After seeing ally-after-ally leave the house, the other side wanted to ensure his eviction and framed him for targeting Cliff Hoggand Nicole Anthony when he had no such plan.
While the person behind his framing, Jackson Michie, went on to win the game, Tommy’s eviction was one of the cruelest instances of his gameplay. People who had not been targeting Tommy chose to evict him because of lies, and Tommy didn’t hide the fact that he was upset about it. Despite his frustrated insistence on the truth, no one believed him. He went on to rank in the top three for America’s Favorite Houseguest.
Nicole Franzel (All-Stars Season 22)
Nicole Franzel had already won a season of Big Brother, so fans weren’t entirely disappointed that she didn’t win a second time in All-Star season 22. But Nicole played the same game she had played before, relying on others to be the brawn while she went along for the ride, spared by her strong social game. However, she put a lot of trust in Cody Calafiore and when Cody turned his back on Nicole and chose to keep Enzo Palumbo over her, it left a bad taste in her mouth.
Nicole was visibly upset and the others on the jury were visibly shocked at Cody’s decision. This is especially because the first time he played, he remained faithful to his partner in crime, Derrick Levasseur, bringing him to the end only to watch Derrick come out victorious. Whether Cody didn’t want to make the same mistake again or just felt he had a better chance of beating Enzo, Nicole didn’t hide her disappointment. It was even sadder because she and Cody were friends in real life as well, making it one of the more personal evictions.
Vanessa Rousso (Season 17)
What was so sad about Vanessa Rousso’s eviction is that many believed she deserved to win the game. But it was a single final competition loss that sealed her fate. She navigated the game brilliantly, running the house the entire time with all sides coming to her for counsel. She strategized and manipulated others to get herself further. When host Julie Chen asked the jury members if they had voted for Vanessa to win had she been in the final two, the majority raised their hands to indicate yes. It twisted the knife further into an already sad loss.
Steve Moses seemingly came out of nowhere to start winning competitions in the end, despite not being viewed as a threat the entire game. Despite Steve knowing he was making the right decision by evicting Vanessa, it was clear even he felt bad about being the one to end her almost flawless game. She’s one of the former cast members fans would love to see in the next All-Star season.
America Lopez (Season 24)
America Lopez wasn’t the best player in the game, nor was she a fan favorite. She made enemies in the house, and when she was put up on the block by her showmance partner Cory, she knew the fate of at least one of them was sealed and there was nothing she could do about it.
Despite her otherwise blunt personality, America broke down in tears when she believed she was on the outs, crying for her housemates not to evict her each time. She was nominated for the third time in a row on double eviction night, and her last-minute begging and pleading session didn’t help prevent the 3-0 vote from sending her home.