Zach & Victoria Went to War Over the Pink Hat

Spoilers abound. As you might have heard, this is a sad week in the Big Brother house. Or, rather, it's a sad week outside of it. Although Ariana Grande and Zach fans tried to save Zach by begging the producers to use the obscure Renom Rule to force Frankie to choose a different replacement nominee, the producers ignored their pleas and Zach is sitting next to Cody on the block for the live eviction on Thursday. However, it appears that nominating him for eviction and letting him know that they are definitely keeping Cody over him wasn't enough humiliation. Victoria, who is mainly surviving in the house via floating and Derrick, decided to take her revenge on Zach for his treatment of her by destroying his signature pink hat.

When I taught you how to dress like Zankie for Halloween, I mentioned that no Zach Rance costume is complete without that pink hat. As it turns out, the pink hat actually belongs to Victoria. When Victoria heard that Zach planned to include the line "To all you great, strong competitors… and Victoria" in his eviction night speech, she got angry. After complaining that she gave Zach his signature look and all he does is destroy her game — and musing that Zach had said that he is nothing without that hat — Victoria decided to take it back then destroy it with a kitchen knife. Was it extreme? Maybe. Is Zach upset? Definitely.

Now without part of his planned eviction night outfit, Zach is claiming that Victoria said that he could have the hat and that she's only doing this to piss him off and Victoria is denying that she ever said such a thing and that she has a right to take back her things. If Zach sued Victoria for ownership of the pink hat, who would have won?

The Plaintiff: Zach Rance

Zach Rance might not be the owner of the pink hat, but the hat has definitely spent the most time with him. If there is anything covering Zach's head, then it is always that pink hat, which he likes to wear in combination with his blue University of Florida Gators shirt. Zach has been having a rough week, between his Gator shirt going missing, being nominated for eviction, and now having his beloved pink hat taken away. He claims Victoria said that he could have it and he isn't giving it up without a fight.

The Defendant: Victoria Rafaeli

Victoria Rafaeli is the one who brought the pink hat into the house and she's been letting Zach wear it for almost the entire Big Brother season. In fact, she hasn't worn the pink hat on the show since she arrived. However, Victoria denies that she ever said that Zach could have her hat and she is taking advantage of her right as its owner to take it back whenever she wants and destroy it whenever she wants. Why should she give Zach her hat when he treats her so badly?

The Case: Does Zach Have Any Claim to the Pink Hat?

• The pink hat probably wouldn't see the light of day outside of Victoria's suitcase if not for Zach. He's the only person in the house who wears it. Even when he doesn't have it on, no one else is wearing it.
• Zach rightfully pointed out that Victoria won't even wear the hat if she takes it back from him, so she should just let him have it.
• Victoria gave Zach her permission to have the pink hat, but that is a privilege not a right. He hasn't been very kind to her, so it's really up to her to revoke that privilege at her leisure.
• Victoria has already destroyed the hat, so this entire case is a moot point anyway.

The Ruling: Victoria Wins

At the end of the day, as much as the pink hat might be associated with Zach, Victoria is the one who paid for it. She might have given it to him, but as its original owner she has the right to take it back unless he has a written contract or actually takes her to court using the live feeds as his proof of their verbal agreement. Victoria shouldn't have destroyed the hat, but Zach taking Victoria's pink hat with him without her permission would be like Caleb keeping Amber's bunny slippers after she got evicted from the house — wrong and vaguely creepy.

Image: CBS