\n Taylor Hale and Janelle Pierzina<\/span> Gregory Pace\/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Janelle Pierzina\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Big Brother<\/em><\/a> legends Taylor Hale<\/strong><\/a> and Janelle Pierzina<\/strong><\/a> are weighing in on a strategy they think houseguests should use more often.<\/p>\n While discussing how the fear of being attacked online has changed the game, Hale, 28, exclusively gave Us Weekly<\/em> her advice for players who want to be villainous<\/a> without getting lambasted on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people play with social media in mind, but they forget that you can talk to the cameras,\u201d said Hale, who became the first Black woman to win the reality competition<\/a> during season 24 in 2022. \u201cI think we have lost the idea that \u2026 you can still say bad things and manipulate people. But I think if you just went to the camera and said, \u2018I know what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m doing this intentionally and I\u2019m owning this bad behavior. This is not who I actually am.\u2019 It might not be fun to watch, but I think it would at least be respected. I just think we need to get away from tiptoeing.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike other reality competition contestants, Big Brother<\/em> houseguests have the luxury of directly addressing viewers via the 24\/7 live feeds<\/a>. Pierzina, 43 \u2014 who competed on seasons 6, 7, 14 and 22 of the CBS series \u2014 noted that she hasn\u2019t seen houseguests employing the tactic in recent seasons. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s done that recently because everyone\u2019s so fearful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Pierzina, who first appeared on Big Brother<\/em> in 2005, also pointed out that the prospect of being \u201ccanceled or fired from your job\u201d for something you said on the show was less of a threat back in the day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first did the show, the only thing that was around was Myspace, so we didn\u2019t have any of that to worry about,\u201d said the real estate agent, before adding that she did have an experience where fans used the social media platform against her. \u201cThe fans went after my top eight [Myspace friends] and they contacted my boyfriend at the time and they were like, \u2019She\u2019s a horrible human being. How could you date her?\u2019 He didn\u2019t care,\u201d Pierzina said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Hale and Pierzina had an opportunity to share more of their Big Brother<\/em> hot takes while participating in Entertainment Tonight<\/em>\u2018s television special celebrating the show\u2019s 25th anniversary, which airs Wednesday, July 26, at 9 p.m ET. The special comes just one week before the Big Brother 25<\/em> premiere<\/a> \u2014 and Hale and Pierzina talked to Us<\/em> about what they\u2019re hoping to see this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to see a split house. I feel like when there\u2019s two large alliances fighting for power, it makes the game really interesting,\u201d Pierzina said. \u201cThe live shows are that much more intense for me because I\u2019m rooting for who I\u2019m rooting for. And if they lose, I\u2019m devastated.\u201d<\/p>\n Hale chimed in that it \u201cgets a little boring\u201d when there\u2019s only one \u201cdominant alliance\u201d that starts to \u201csteamroll\u201d the other houseguests. \u201cI wanna see people playing their own game first above anybody else. And that\u2019s where we\u2019ll have some really interesting conflict, some interesting connections,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just very excited to see us get back to a little bit more of an old school Big Brother<\/em> type of gameplay.\u201d<\/p>\n Hale made headlines during season 24 for the negative treatment she received<\/a> from several of her fellow houseguests. Season 23 winner Xavier Prather<\/strong><\/a> spoke out against the behavior<\/a> in July 2022, tweeting that \u201cMembers of the Black community (especially Black women) and other people of color stand no chance in the Big Brother<\/em> house due to perpetuation of micro-aggressions and unconscious biases which plague our society.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite being targeted from the first week of the game, Hale managed to win the $750,000 grand prize as well as the America\u2019s Favorite Player award<\/a>. She told Us<\/em> what advice she would give to future houseguests who find themselves on the outs with their cast.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let people gaslight you into believing that you\u2019re a bad person,\u201d Hale said. \u201cIt\u2019s really easy \u2014 if you\u2019re coming from a good place and you just want to play the game, which is where I was \u2014 it\u2019s very easy to just wanna hear people if they\u2019re telling you that you hurt them and say, \u2018OK, well how can we reach a resolution?<\/a>\u2019 If people are not giving the puzzle pieces to get to a resolution, they\u2019re gaslighting you.\u201d<\/p>\n During the season 24 finale in September 2022, Hale emphasized in her closing statements to the jury that she is \u201cnot a victim, I am a victor.\u201d She believes that mindset is key to playing Big Brother<\/em> well<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething I really don\u2019t like is when things don\u2019t go someone\u2019s way and they say, \u2018OK, well I\u2019m just gonna sit back,\u2019 or, \u2018I\u2019m not gonna keep playing the game anymore,\u2019\u201d Hale told Us<\/em>. \u201cI don\u2019t have a lot of respect for that, [barring] larger circumstances like mental health or family problems. \u2026 Because there are people whose lifelong dream it is to play Big Brother<\/em>. \u2026 Giving up and quitting<\/a> because something didn\u2019t go your way is the most disrespectful thing that you can do in that game. So, fight until the very end because it\u2019s never over until you are out that door.\u201d<\/p>\n ET\u2019s Big Brother 25th anniversary special airs Wednesday, July 26, at 9 p.m. ET<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Taylor](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Taylor-and-Janelle-Discuss-Big-Brother-Tactic-inline.png?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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