Avid Big Brother fans have been rocked by the recent elimination of a returning winner in season 27. Big Brother season 27 premiered on July 10, 2025. The season features 17 contestants living in the Big Brother house and being filmed 24/7, and nine of the contestants have already been evicted from the house.

The theme of the latest Big Brother season revolves around a fictional murder mystery at a hotel. The season also serves as a celebration of Big Brother‘s 25th anniversary on the air. Big Brother season 27 airs every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday on CBS, and is also available to stream on Paramount+.

Rachel Reilly, who was brought back as the special 17th contestant for Big Brother season 27’s cast after winning season 13 of Big Brother, was eliminated from the show during day 59. Rachel was eliminated when the live feeds were down due to a competition that is part of the show’s White Locust twist.

Fans, as well as Big Brother alums like Jun Song, Janelle Pierzina, and Cory Wurtenberger have expressed dismay over this sudden and major decision. Many viewers of the reality show are saying that Rachel had been doing a great job as a contestant on the show, and did not deserve to go home. Check out Pierzina’s comment below, along with the thoughts of some fans:

Big Brother 4 winner Jun Song laments how Rachel has been eliminated after the reality series delivers more “stupid twists nobody ever asks for.”

Four-time Big Brother player Janelle Pierzina declares that the whole show should be canceled and that no one cares about the season now that Rachel has been eliminated.

Big Brother 25 contestant Cory Wurtenberger expresses his frustration about how the show sabotaged itself after “such a good season” with Rachel.

@girl0203418004 emphasizes that there is no point to Big Brother anymore if live feeds can simply be shut off and eliminate a frontrunner.

@drifkea shares how perplexing it is to watch Rachel play a flawless game in which she never goes on the block or is voted out, only for her to be eliminated via a twist.

@SelfEvicted_BB points out that competitions should not have such a significant impact and be the defining factor in the social strategy game.

What This Means For Big Brother 27

Credit: Image via CBS

Some fans believe that since Rachel was not voted out by her housemates, but eliminated because of a twist made by producers, there is some chance that Rachel could return to the televised competition. Reality shows do bring back eliminated contestants from the same season regularly, so this wouldn’t completely come out of left field.

In total, there have been 508 seasons of Big Brother across 63 different franchises.

Many fans online have stated that they won’t continue to watch season 27 because of Rachel’s elimination, which was perceived as being unfair to many. Some social media users even suggested they will never tune in to the show ever again, even if they were once big fans. If these people stay true to their word and do stop watching the show for good, ratings could be impacted catastrophically.

Our Take On The Backlash Surrounding Rachel’s Elimination

Rachel Reilly holding a teacup and laughing in the Traitors breakfast room.

Rachel is not only a Big Brother fan favorite, but is a previous winner. There were likely viewers who tuned in solely for Rachel, so to take out someone in the middle of the competition who was doing well and has a huge fanbase just wasn’t a smart move. Upsetting fans when they are what makes ratings go up isn’t ideal for either producers or audience members.

Since reality shows love twists, the chance of Rachel returning is possible. However, Rachel’s elimination is already a buzz-worthy moment for Big Brother season 27, and that may be all producers wanted in the first place with the White Locust twist.