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Monte Taylor names the Big Brother jury votes that surprised him

He won three Head of Household competitions, including the final one at the end. He won two Vetoes. He took out two of the biggest players of the game in Michael Bruner and Matthew Turner. He was well-liked and respected by the jury. Yet Monte Taylor still only received a single vote to win from that jury, who instead handed the Big Brother season 24 crown to the person Monte selected to sit next to him, Taylor Hale.

How does Monte feel about the jury overwhelmingly voting for Taylor over him? How does he think he would have done against Turner at the end? And whom would he have voted for in a Turner vs. Taylor final? We asked the runner-up all that and more when we spoke a few hours after he walked out of the house. (Also read our finale interviews with Big Brother winner Taylor Hale and third place finisher Matthew Turner.)

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CBS Monte Taylor on 'Big Brother'

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What you are going through right now is one of the craziest whirlwinds imaginable. What is it like having to process winning $75,000, but also having to process not winning $750,000 and do it all on national television?

MONTE TAYLOR:  There's a lot happening really fast right now. I was just in a house secluded from society for three months, you know what I mean? So I'm just trying to get back into normalcy of seeing my family again, speaking to people outside of that house, and outside of Big Brother. But as far as the situation goes, I'm a hundred percent appreciative of the opportunity that I've been presented with. I did not see myself being here at the beginning of this year. And the fact that I made it this far with that being the situation, I'm extremely grateful. So to me, I'm all centered around love, man. I'm feeling good.

I know you were doing jury math in your head over the past week. Before the jury Q&A and the final speeches, I'm guessing you were pretty confident in your chances, right?

Oh, dude. I felt like the stars were aligning. I thought that everything was working out perfectly in my mind, especially given my résumé, given the relationships that I had in jury, and how I played this game thus far. I had no doubt in my mind that I would be coming out on top after the vote.

You only got Turner's vote to win. Which votes were you most surprised to not get?

Joseph, because we were so tight throughout the season while he was here in the house. We had talked about wanting to see each other make it to the end. Kyle as well, somebody I was very tight with throughout the entire season, even with the things that sort came out about the way he was playing the game and the unfortunate thought process that he had taken on throughout the game, I thought that he was going to respect my game and how I played it. I thought at least Michael as well too. And Indy for sure.

I thought those votes were going to come through, just because of the relationships that I had with them, the type of game that I played, the moves that I made. I was thinking, "These people all have watched Big Brother. They understand what it takes to get this far and the moves that you have to make." And I thought that I did everything humanly possible to make those moves and put my résumé on blast to say, "Let me know [where] I could have done more." So I think those were the votes that I was counting on.

BIG BROTHER Sunday, September 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and live streaming on Paramount+. Pictured: Monte Taylor
BIG BROTHER Sunday, September 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and live streaming on Paramount+. Pictured: Monte Taylor

CBS Monte Taylor on 'Big Brother'

What about Terrence?

Oh, you know what, I forgot about Terrence. The same thing with Terrence. I mean, Terrence was toting around, "You got to make a big move. You got to make a big move" the whole season, man. He wanted me to take a shot at Michael. He wanted me to take a shot at anybody who came off as a physical threat. So the fact that I did that at the end of the game, I thought was enough for me to earn his vote just based off of the evidence of our conversations.

As viewers with you three going into the final three we didn't know which way it was going to go. So what do you think it was where they all went towards Taylor?

Taylor, she's gifted in communication. She knows how to connect with people. And I think during her speech and the way that she was answering questions, especially her journey throughout this season, really resonated with the jury. I personally believe that, because before those speeches, I felt pretty good, but then afterwards I felt like, "Wow, she smoked that thing." She went up there and she just stunted.

And the person that I could imagine being on a pageant stage showed up right then and there in the way that she was able to communicate and answer questions. So, to me, I think that was what resonated with the jury. And I think all of the women in the jury, especially united around the fact that they had multiple opportunities to bring her in and work with her throughout the season, and unfortunately, they didn't take those opportunities. And I think this was sort of their chance to look at the situation and say, "You know what?" She may have not been in with the girls at the very jump, but she earned their respect and rightfully so.

We know Taylor knows how to give a good speech. We've seen that all season. So was that in your calculus when you decided to bring her to the end? Did you know she was going to hit it pretty hard there at the end?

I mean, I thought that she could definitely say things that resonated with the jury. I didn't know how well it would resonate with the jury. I'm an evidence-based person. From the conversations that I heard from Indy, from Jasmine, and even their actions in the game with some of the women in the house, I didn't think that maybe they would connect that much with that story just because they were at an arm's length from it. Brittany, of course, I felt like she would, but not necessarily everybody else.

BIG BROTHER Sunday, September 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and live streaming on Paramount+. Pictured: Monte Taylor and Taylor Hale
BIG BROTHER Sunday, September 25 (8:00 – 9:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network and live streaming on Paramount+. Pictured: Monte Taylor and Taylor Hale

CBS

Are you beating yourself up for taking her instead of Turner?

No, I mean, in my head I think about it. If I were to sit next to Turner, then I think the narrative around my story versus his, it could be very similar. So then I think it comes down to who made the biggest moves in the game. And I thought Turner made the biggest moves on his HOHs. He took out a big social threat and competitive threat in Ameerah on week three. And then with Kyle, although the circumstances were what they were, another physical threat, another social threat. And then Michael, the best Big Brother competitor I've ever seen. Although I won the Veto, it was on his HOH.

So I'm looking at my résumé, I'm like, "All right, I've taken out Nicole, Alyssa, and I voted out Brittany, and then if I choose to keep Turner, then they're going to be like, 'Oh, he was scared to make a big move.'" So I thought in my mind that Taylor would be the best option because I thought there was a bigger margin between our game and how I controlled my destiny versus — in her situation, she had to overcome a lot, unfortunately — but I thought my moves were clear and the résumé was there.

Whom would you have voted for between Turner and Taylor if you'd been sitting on the jury?

The crazy thing is, hearing that speech, maybe I would've voted for Taylor too. Man, I don't know. I think she did a wonderful job of communicating the importance of the vote in the jury, and I think she did a wonderful job of laying out all that had happened this season for her, and I don't think Turner probably would've in a similar way. We're both very old school sort of guys. Although we're younger, we tend to have old souls. So we're just like, "All right, this is what I did and this is what I got done. Here's my résumé. Take it or leave it." So I think Taylor would've done a great job communicating and probably would've swayed me, to be honest. So maybe Taylor, in that right.

Well, look, you knew this last question was coming, and Julie Chen Moonves asked it, and you did a very admirable job of side-stepping it. But I'm going to ask you again anyway about you and Taylor — very topsy-turvy. You weren't feeling her at the start of the game, then you guys became alliance partners, then you became something more. What do you want to say about it?

It's hard to say right now, man. I think there was some intimacy towards the end of the season, and I think we're still getting to know each other as friends as well. So I'm open minded to wherever that goes, but I can't say anything concrete right now.

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