Big Brother legend Janelle Pierzina is a contestant on the upcoming The Traitors season 2, and her gameplay on the former show makes her the perfect competitor for the latter. Janelle, a 43-year-old real estate agent from Minnesota, got her reality television start on Big Brother 6, during which she placed 3rd. She returned the following year for Big Brother 7, the first all-stars season, and again placed 3rd. Janelle also won the first-ever fan-voted America’s Favorite Houseguest prize. Janelle then came back for Big Brother 14 as a coach, and placed 12th after a twist in which the coaches entered the game.
Janelle’s most recent appearance was on Big Brother 22, the second all-stars season, during which she became an immediate target and placed 14th. Janelle has also competed on The Amazing Race and Snake in the Grass, the latter of which she won, along with Big Brother winner and Amazing Race contestant Rachel Reilly and Survivor legend, Big Brother 25 houseguest, and The Traitors season 1 winner, Cirie Fields. Over the years, Janelle has established herself as a reality television icon. Here’s why Janelle’s Big Brother gameplay makes her an ideal contestant for The Traitors season 2, and why she could easily win.
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1 Janelle Does What It Takes To Win
Janelle Pierzina Plays For Herself
Although Janelle is loyal to her allies, she ultimately knows that she’s playing the game for herself and her family, which consists of her husband, Jess DeSanto and three children. On The Traitors, if Janelle is chosen to be a traitor, she’ll have to lie throughout the entire game in order to make it to the end undetected, but she’ll definitely be up to the task. During Big Brother 6, Janelle was nominated for eviction six times, followed by five times during Big Brother 7. Being able to escape elimination that many times proves that Janelle has what it takes to win.
2 Janelle Is A Competition Beast
Janelle Held A Big Brother Record For 16 Years
When Janelle competed on Big Brother 6, she proved herself to be one of the greatest competitors in the history of the show. During Big Brother 7, Janelle set the record for the most single-season Power of Veto wins with five, earning the title of Veto Queen. This record stood for 16 years until Michael Bruner broke it during Big Brother 24. Janelle also held the record for the most single-season combined Head of Household (HOH) and Power of Veto wins with nine, which wasn’t broken until 17 years later by Big Brother 25 winner Jag Bains with ten total wins.
The Traitors is very different from Big Brother because the competitions don’t win the contestants power, but rather money for the prize pot. However, if Janelle proves herself to be a valuable team member who can help win the challenges, her fellow contestants might want to keep her around longer in order to continue to add money to the total prize winnings. Janelle will be a strong asset in that aspect of the game.
3 Janelle Isn’t Afraid To Speak Her Mind
Janelle Doesn’t Hold Back
Throughout her Big Brother tenure, Janelle didn’t hold anything back when it came to her fellow houseguests and the game. She’s continued to be both an enthusiastic cheerleader for and an outspoken critic of former and current houseguests on social media. From her infamous argument with Beau Beasley during Big Brother 6 (the pair are now great friends) to her ongoing feud with Nicole Franzel, Janelle has never been afraid to speak her mind.
In fact, one of her most memorable quotes came after she nominated her Big Brother 6 enemies in the game, Jennifer Vasquez and eventual winner Maggie Ausburn for eviction. She was then carried away by Howie Gordon, calmly saying, “Bye Bye, b******.” It became such an iconic line that it was painted on the wall of the Big Brother 25 house, and some of the houseguests used it as an alliance name. It’s not hard to imagine a fiesty and fiery Janelle at The Traitors round table, calling out traitors or defending herself from possible banishment.
4 Janelle Is Strategic
Janelle Is Intentional With Her Actions
Although Janelle can be emotional in the game, she’s not reckless. She’s very intentional with her actions, and thinks things through. Because The Traitors is mostly a psychological game, Janelle will excel at it. She’s observant and savvy. If she’s not chosen to be a traitor herself, she’ll be certain to come up with a great strategy to figure out who they are.
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5 Janelle Is Loyal To Her Allies
Janelle Won’t Betray Her Friends
When Janelle chooses someone to be her friend, she will remain loyal to that person. The strongest example of this is Janelle’s friendship with Kaysar Ridha, which began during Big Brother 6. Known as Jaysar, Janelle and Kaysar stayed loyal to each other throughout Big Brother 6, 7, and 22. Unlike other houseguests, Janelle never tried to hide her alliances, but instead played proudly with them, boldly celebrating their victories. She has an old-school style of gameplay that isn’t seen much on Big Brother anymore.
On The Traitors, loyalty is everything. Cirie proved this during season 1, when her allies, Quentin Jiles and Andie Vanacore were so loyal to her that they couldn’t imagine that she was a traitor, and lost the game because of it. If Janelle becomes a traitor, she’ll earn people’s trust by sticking by them. If she’s a faithful, she’ll stay true to whomever she aligns with in order to take down the traitors. On the other hand, Janelle can also be lethal to anyone she deems untrustworthy, so her enemies would be smart to watch their backs.
6 Janelle Knows It’s Just A Game
Janelle Spices Things Up
Janelle understands that reality television competitions are just games, and players can’t take things too personally during them. It’ll be interesting to see Janelle spice things up by bringing her old-school style of gameplay to The Traitors, especially because she’ll be competing against contestants such as Peter Weber from The Bachelor, Maksim Chmerkovskiy from Dancing With The Stars, and Real Housewives franchise stars, who aren’t used to playing games of strategy on television. Janelle definitely has an advantage because of her Big Brother stints, which taught her that, ultimately, it’s just a game.
7 Janelle Is Intelligent
Janelle Is As Smart As She Is Strong
Janelle was not only a Big Brother competition beast, but she is incredibly smart. During Big Brother 14, she began the game as a coach. She was selected because she was someone who would be able to offer great advice to her team. On The Traitors, players not only have to solve puzzles during challenges, but they also have to be smart about figuring out who the traitors are or protecting their identities if they’re the traitors. Janelle’s intelligence will be another asset to her on The Traitors.
8 Janelle Takes Risks
Janelle Plays Fearlessly
Janelle was willing to take risks while playing Big Brother. During Big Brother 22, in week one, a Safety Suite competition was introduced into the game. The winner and their chosen plus-one would be safe for the week. Some of the houseguests were afraid to make such a bold move so early in the game. However, Janelle and Kaysar both played in the Safety Suite competition, which Kaysar won. He chose Janelle as his plus-one and kept them both safe. They did this to guarantee that they’d both be safe for the week.
Janelle knew that she and Kaysar would be huge targets in the game, and she fearlessly fought for their safety, not caring that she might’ve been putting a bigger target on her back moving forward. She knew that she had to get through week one, and, with Cody Calafiore as the HOH, that might not happen. Janelle’s decision to compete in the Safety Suite game was risky, especially since she could only use her pass once. However, she did what she had to do to get herself past that first possible nomination and eviction.
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9 Janelle Has A Strong & Likeable Personality
Janelle Will Create Some Great TV
There are certain to be a lot of fireworks on The Traitors when Janelle is on-screen. During Big Brother 6, Janelle’s Sovereign Six alliance had a great time playing the game and became fan favorites, while their opposing alliance, The Friendship, also known as “the Nerd Herd,” spent a lot of their time upset by the Sovereign Six’s antics. Any other houseguest would’ve been considered a villain by the viewers, but Janelle is so charming that fans can’t help but love her. In fact, she was literally voted America’s Favorite Houseguest during Big Brother 7.
During Big Brother 6, America voted for Janelle to win a phone call from someone outside of the house. The Friendship had a hard time believing that Janelle really won, and felt that Big Brother rigged the competition. Janelle spoke to her evicted short-lived showmance, Michael Donnellan, instead of her family, on the phone, further upsetting The Friendship when she asked him if Britney Spears had her baby yet after Maggie told her to ask him about world events. Janelle knew exactly how to create a great television moment, and gave the fans who voted for her to win that phone call exactly what they wanted. It’s easy to imagine her creating similar chaos during The Traitors.
10 Janelle Is A Legend
Janelle Is Reality TV Royalty
The biggest reason that Janelle is perfect for The Traitors is simply because she’s Janelle. She’s reality TV royalty, and is always such fun to watch. Janelle is an expert at creating unforgettable moments, and she’ll certainly deliver on a show such as The Traitors. At once sweet and diabolical, kind and cunning, Janelle’s contradictions will keep her fellow contestants guessing about her. Whether she’s stirring up trouble or winning competition after competition, fans love her, which is why she won the first-ever America’s Favorite Houseguest prize. It’s easy to imagine her winning The Traitors as well. Janelle is a true legend.
The first three episodes of The Traitors will be available to stream on Peacock on January 12, 2024.
Sources: Janelle Pierzina/Instagram, Bloop aloop/YouTube, Janelle Pierzina/Instagram, RaiNhawK05/YouTube
