Marcellas would be proud.
After Zach Cornell was voted off “Big Brother 27” with an unused secret power, he was greeted by Julie Chen Moonves — who smacked him upside the head with her notecards. The host did just the same to Marcellas Reynolds after he didn’t use the Power of Veto on “Big Brother 3” in 2002.
“It’s iconic, right?” Cornell exclusively told The Post about his exchange with Chen Moonves, 55.
“I can be the first ‘Big Brother’ player to ever say that I saved Julie on day one, but then also got smacked upside the head by her in my final day leaving,” the marketing manager continued. “I love Julie. My family loves Julie. She’s a fantastic person. I did a podcast with her and I really respected her because we prayed into the podcast and we left with prayer as well.”
“I know her faith is something that means so much to her, and I really think that’s an incredible thing because I really try and do the same,” Cornell shared. “So I love her as a person.”
Cornell had a secret power where he could take himself off the block by giving the $10K he won to the current Head of Household. But fearing his ally Morgan Pope would be the replacement nominee, Cornell didn’t use his power and was subsequently evicted.
“At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason, right?” he told The Post. “If I had a little bit of a different perspective when I was in the house, I would have used the power. But in that moment, in that time, I really did believe that I was in a decent spot. I felt really good in my position.”
“It was a waste to use that power since all three of us, Vince, Morgan and myself, were so close because I was really trying to move as a unit with those other two,” Cornell explained. “So, I would have rolled the dice to basically get us all to the following week.”
The baseball player also pointed out that he could’ve used the power this week since Rachel Reilly won HOH and likely would’ve nominated him.
“That’s a perfect reason to use the power. Take myself off and then we’re still fighting, right?” he said. “So it is what it is. Hindsight’s always 20/20.”
Cornell also opened up about his relationship with Pope, 33, and said she had his back “in every single step of the house.”
“She was fighting tooth and nail for me that final week. I give her her flowers for that,” he said. “She was one of the first people to actually have deep conversations with me. So I do respect her as a person. I think she is trying to fight for her life in there to stay in the game. But she really did have my back in there and I respect her for that.”
“Big Brother 27” airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on CBS and streams on Paramount+.
