Jackson’s New Role On ‘Big Brother’ Is Already Dividing The House

Spoilers ahead for the BB21 premiere. Camp Big Brother is now in session! The CBS reality competition is back for Season 21, and this time around, the house carries a summer camp theme. But as always, there's a twist. Jackson became Camp Director on BB21 — the first time the title's been used on the show (and likely the last, due to its niche name). The contestant's most formidable opponent proved to be Jessica — a plus-sized model from Chicago — who barely lost out to him. And while most of the women voted for her, it's clear that Jackson is the house's top dog — at least for now.

It was obvious right off the bat that Camp Director wasn't exactly a coveted position. Sure, it would mean you'd get to flex your leadership muscles, but many contestants are careful not to reveal their strengths right away, since it reveals yourself to be a threat and are thus more likely to be eliminated. There were, however, several volunteers, including Jessica, Jackson, Cliff (who got zero votes, much to his chagrin), and David. The houseguests were told by host Julie Chen-Moonves to nominate this Camp Director, so the brave volunteers proceeded to stage reluctant campaigns for why they should be chosen for the role.

So what exactly does the Camp Director do in this newly minted Big Brother role? Audiences knew before the nominations that the individual would be safe during the first live eviction, which was enough for some houseguests to sign up. However, after all of the losing contestants got absolutely covered in goo (Isabella had a particularly extreme reaction), Jackson learned that he will have to choose four people for elimination. While only one will ultimately go home, the four people he chooses will have to duke it out for safety amongst themselves.

As the Tennessean explained in his DR, he will have to select these four people very carefully, since the three remaining houseguests will have it out for the Camp Director (and rightly so). So while audiences didn't learn who Jackson chose, he began preemptively apologizing to everyone after he found out what he'd be forced to do.

Furthermore, it's clear that Jackson's winning out over Jessica (who came in close second) rubbed some fans the wrong way. Not only is the house now virtually divided between men and women, but some viewers were annoyed — but unsurprised — that a white guy got the role.

That said, it's not all doom and gloom. As Redditor cdstoddard said in the subreddit, "Something tells me a lot of the women will be strategic this season. Nicole, Analyse, Kemi, Isabella, & Jessica all had strategic content already. The guys seemed to be given far less strategic focus.... maybe it's just editing but I'm hoping we get some good female players out of this season."

Indeed, most of the female houseguests opted to vote for Jessica (minus Nicole, Isabella, and potentially Christie). And while this means that there is a clear gender divide right now in the house, which would likely backfire, that also means that the houseguests aren't content to follow the first white guy to throw his hat in the ring.

And while we don't know who Jackson will choose, he'll likely pick Jessica, since she poses a threat to him, and David, who also volunteered for the role. But whatever happens during the first live elimination and what Jackson's reign as Camp Director will look like, this is shaping up to be an eventful season of Big Brother.