On September 29, 2021, CBS’ long-running reality show, Big Brother, reached a major milestone.
Following its July 7 Season 23 premiere, the show, which began airing in the United States way back in 2000, officially announced its very first Black winner. And not just that.
As if it weren’t exciting enough to finally have a Black winner, the show also had a Black runner up in cast member Derek Frazier and Season 23’s "America’s Favorite" went to Tiffany Mitchell, who is also Black.
Xavier Prather Was Victorious
According to a September 29 report from USC’s Annenberg Media, Big Brother is a series that relies heavily on alliances as cast members are regularly voted out of the home. So, in previous years, marginalized communities were always the first ones to be sent home. However, when it came to Season 23, the Black cast members of Big Brother teamed up with one another to ensure that one of them would be the last man or woman standing — and their efforts were successful.
The ‘Big Brother’ Winner’s Award Increased Ahead Of Season 23
Included in the alliance were Azah Awasum, Derek Frazier, Kyland Young, Hannah Chaddha, Tiffany Mitchell, and Xavier Prather, and ultimately, during Wednesday night’s finale, it was Prather who was named as the season champion.
As for how much he won, Screen Rant revealed that prior to the start of Season 23 of Big Brother, host Julie Chen announced that the jackpot would be raised from $ 500,000 to $ 750,000, with other awards also getting a boost for the newest cast of the CBS show.
Xavier Prather Scored $ 750,000 Win The Win
Because he landed in the top spot, Xavier Prather nabbed a $ 750,000 paycheck, which was $ 250,000 more than each winner before him.
As for the rest of the cast, a number of others also won jackpots for their roles on season 23, starting with the runner-up, Fisher, who was given a second place price of $ 75,000 — an increase from $ 50,000 of the seasons prior.
Mitchell, who was named as "America’s Favorite" houseguest, was given a price of $ 50,000, which was up from $ 25,000 of past seasons.
Christian Birkenberger Is Thrilled With Xavier Prather’s Win
During an interview with Anneberg Media, houseguest Christian Birkenberger expressed his excitement in the "historic season” of Big Brother and made it clear that he felt Prather was well-deserving of the win.
“He is extremely well-rounded and has the best social and physical game out of the remaining players,” Birkenberger said. “I’m looking forward to congratulating my boy X on finale night. With a big smile on my face, I once again want to express how happy I am to be a part of the BB23 cast!"
