Julie Chen announcing the cliques
A Clique was a group of houseguests, modelled after a social group in high school, formed as part of a twist in Big Brother 11. Each clique started out with three members, with an opportunity to gain a fourth based on how the first competition went. Houseguests competed for food, safety from eviction and luxury prizes as part of their clique. For the first three weeks, whatever clique the Head of Household belonged to was immune from eviction. The cliques officially ended on Day 26, and every houseguest was left fighting for themselves. All the remaining houseguests took part in an endurance HOH competition titled "Graduation", to mark the end of the twist.
About the Cliques
Athletes
The Athlete clique originally consisted of Jeff Schroeder, Natalie Martinez and Russell Kairouz. An extra player would be added to the clique that won the first HOH competition. Natalie and Russell, from the Athlete clique, won the competition and gained an additional member to their clique. Jessie Godderz, from Big Brother 10, was their additional member. Throughout the season, the Athlete clique proved themselves to be very competent at winning competition. They successfully managed to win the first and third HOH competitions, and the first and second POV competitions. As they were so successful in competitions, they put a major target on their backs as people saw them as a threat. Towards the start of the season, the alliance seemed to remain fairly loyal to each other and even aligned themselves with the Brains clique. However, after Russell and Jeff had an argument in the garden, the alliance began to fracture as Jeff began to align himself with the Popular clique. As well as the Brains clique, they did not lose any of their members whilst the clique twist was in progress.
Brains
The Brains consisted of Ronnie Talbott, Chima Simone and Michele Noonan. If they had won the first competition, their fourth member would have been Brian Hart, the first evictee of Big Brother 10. The Brains clique became the first ever houseguests to become Have Nots, after they lost the first Have/Have Not Competition in Week 1. In Week 2, Ronnie was victorious at the HOH competition and was crowned HOH; this meant that the Brains clique had automatic "Have" rights for the week and all gained immunity from eviction. The clique managed to win won POV competition; this was won by Michele. From very early on in the season, the Brains clique formed an alliance with the Athletes clique. The alliance seemed to be working well, until Michele betrayed her alliance and voted out one of her own clique members, Chima. Chima was outraged by this decided to target Michele. As well as the Athletes clique, they did not lose any of their members whilst the clique twist was in progress.
Off-Beat
The Off-Beats consisted of Casey Turner, Lydia Tavera and Kevin Campbell. Had they won the first comeptition, their fourth member would have been Michael Ellis, the runner-up of Big Brother 5. Whilst the clique twist was in progress, the Off-Beats seemed to fly totally under the radar. They did not win any major competitions whilst the clique twist was in progress. The clique seemed to be divided when it came to who they aligned themselves with; Casey aligned himself with the Popular clique, whereas Lydia and Kevin aligned themselves with the Athlete clique. In Week 3, Jessie Godderz hatched a plan to backdoor Casey. The plan was successful and Casey was evicted from the house. The clique did not seem to be very loyal to one another as Kevin and Lydia both voted to evict Casey. After the clique twist was officially over, there were just two Off-Beats remaining in the house.
Populars
The Populars included Braden Bacha, Laura Stein and Jordan Lloyd. Had they won the first HOH competition, their fourth member would have been Jessica Hughbanks from Big Brother 8. The Populars seemed to be targeted every week, whilst the clique twist was in progress; they had at least one of their members nominated every week. In the first week, the Athlete clique hatched a plan to backdoor Popular clique member, Braden, from the house. However, The Populars attempted destroy their plan and vote out Chima Simone. Thinking they had the votes to keep Braden in the house, they followed through with the plan. But Ronnie Talbott double-crossed The Popular clique and voted to evict Braden. In Week 2, Ronnie targeted the houseguests that were out to get him and chose two members of the Popular clique as his final nominees. Once the clique twist was finished, there was just one Popular remaining in the house - Jordan. She eventually succeeded in winning the game.
Trivia
- Each of the four cliques had a member in the Final 4.
- Oddly enough, the first two evicted housguests were Populars, and the winner was a Popular.