The winner of CBS "Big Brother 19" was announced on Wednesday, September 20. Viewers who had watched all season were surprised who the winner turned out to be. It is interesting that the frontrunner did not win. The winner was Josh Martinez, a 23-year-old hair care salesman from Homestead, Florida.
'Big Brother 19'
Season 19 of "Big Brother" premiered on June 28, 2017, and ended on September 20. Host Julie Chen called it the most volatile season in the history of the show. Josh won the game in a 5–4 vote against Paul Abrahamian who returned from Season 18.
Paul came in second in both seasons and lost because of only one vote. He was disappointed and shocked because he thought he had done everything to win this season. He had ruled the game and played puppet master to a house full of followers all season.
Josh was the final Head of Household, and when he nominated Christmas Abbott to be eliminated, fans thought he had made a mistake to go up against Paul. However, Josh thought he had a better chance of winning against Paul than against Christmas. The nine people on the jury who voted remembered how Paul had manipulated them all season. So, instead of voting for Paul, they voted for Josh.
It was a very close call, and it seemed to have been touch and go at first.
The winner needed five votes to win. When Julie began counting the votes, Paul was in the lead at first. Then the votes for Josh began coming in, and the votes were tied 4-4. The last vote came from Cody Nickson, and it was for Josh. Even though Josh has gotten into a lot of arguments with Cody and his showmance, Jessica Graf, Cody cast his vote for the one he disliked the least.
He made it known that he didn't like or trust Paul.
Josh became the winner of the $500,000 grand prize, and Paul won $50,000 for coming in second place just like he did in Season 18. America voted for Cody to receive the title of America's Favorite Player, and he received $25,000.
Reaction to Josh's win
The reaction to Josh's win on social media is mixed.
Some people agreed that Paul played a much better game, but he had backstabbed and lied to members of the jury, and they turned against him. Paul, himself, admitted that he was a puppet master and he manipulated people in the house. Other people said Paul lost because of a bitter jury who voted against him out of spite instead of voting based on the way he played the game.
Chen said she thinks Paul was robbed and the jury got it wrong. She added that Josh did win competitions. He also had a conscience and didn’t mislead people the way Paul did. Julie also pointed out that Paul was so sure he would win that she showed no remorse for the way he treated members of the jury. She said Paul was making faces during Josh's final plea as if he didn't stand a chance.
Julie said Paul was embarrassed that he didn't win mostly because he had miscalculated what the jury would do. Hopefully, CBS will not invite Paul back for a third season. Viewers want to see something new and fresh without Paul's tactics.
Hopefully, CBS will not invite Paul back for a third season. Viewers want to see something new and fresh without Paul's tactics.