'Big Brother': Taylor Hale Talks About Being The Show's First Black Champion

Taylor Hale was proclaimed "Big Brother" season 24's winner and made history as the first Black woman ever to win a non-celebrity edition of the show.

"It just blows my mind," Hale said in an exclusive interview with ET after the finale. "Because I was just someone who was a very passive, casual enjoyer, I can't really say fan, of the show. I started watching last season. That's what brought me in and started going back and watching other seasons. So knowing I made a mark on the franchise in this way is unbelievable. It doesn't feel real."

While inside the Big Brother house, the 27-year-old endured being excluded by other women in the show and even being criticized unfairly by some of the men. Hale, who was almost evicted in the first week and later became one of the most disliked houseguests of the season, and was almost always in the lineup for evictees each week.

The race, however, changed its course when Hale joined a new alliance of houseguests called "The Leftovers" which eventually helped her make strong social connections with other people in the house.

Hale's participation in the group gave her the confidence to craft meaningful goodbye messages to those who were booted out of the house, ET noted. Hale also maintained her graceful poise while being bullied by others and in turn, earned many fans on social media. Her refusal to quit while bonding with The Leftovers also gave her the confidence to create the convincing finale speech which, in turn, led her to receive eight out of nine votes from Sunday's jury.

"I think it's a testament to the mechanics of the game over 24 seasons. We have had Black women play this game over and over and they have been bullied many times, they have been ostracized in other ways and evicted very early," she told the outlet. "It's a very big deal. It's not because I was a Black woman who was well liked -- because I was not well liked in this house. It's that I was a Black woman who took on a lot of the pain and burden and stereotypes that have happened over and over again in the show and I still made it to the end."

Hale took home a $750,000 cash prize and an additional $50,000 for being voted America's Favorite Player.