Donny Thompson was a leading fan favorite and definitely ruled our popularity polls for the past several weeks. It was a loss for fans to see him walk out of the Big Brother 16 house on Thursday, but even Donny admitted his challenge was insurmountable.
Now that he’s out of the house and free from the Team America mission I wanted to get his thoughts on the season’s twist and its impact on his game. Plus we also asked Donny who he would have targeted, who he hopes to see win it all, and much more.
Matthew Boyer – Big Brother Network (BBN): As a superfan of Big Brother, how did the experience compare with your expectations?
Donny Thompson: It was all I ever thought about and then some. It was a lot better than you can think and a lot worse than you can think.
BBN: Your social game was often quiet and reserved. Was that always your plan or a result of an early incident in the season?
Donny: If you would have polled everyone in the house on who they liked, I would have probably been on the top of most of their list. Just because I wasn’t loud and talkative doesn’t mean I wasn’t playing a good social game. I was going in trying to be likable and let people come to me, so that was my plan.
BBN: If you had stayed and won the next HoH, which two HGs would you have nominated?
Donny: The leaders of the big alliance.
BBN: How do you feel about the Team America twist? If you could rewind & had a choice, would you do it again?
Donny: I was personally flattered to be chosen for Team America. But to be put with these two people that I would not have personally chose to work with made it more difficult.
BBN: What do you think was your best game move & what might have been your worst move?
Donny: My best move was in week one, winning the Veto competition “Miami Lice” with the word “Splitters.” I was definitely the main target and would have gone home that first week.
My worst move was getting into a heart-to-heart conversation with my arch-nemesis Christine about a week ago about how I thought things would play out, and she even offered for us to potentially work together. And then she went and told everyone about our conversation.
BBN: Who do you HOPE will go far in the game?
Donny: I would like Nicole to go as far as possible, but of course she is outnumbered. If she joins me in the jury house, I will be going for Cody or Caleb because they are good-hearted people.
BBN: What will be your favorite memory from your time on Big Brother?
Donny: The Veto competition during the Double Eviction episode. I twisted my ankle and still beat Beast Mode Cowboy, Zach Attack, Hayden and Cody! Four of the youngest, fittest guys in the house.
BBN: If you were asked back for All-Stars 2, would you return to the Big Brother house?
Donny: After recently being evicted, and still recovering from that, I’d have to say it wouldn’t be anytime soon. But I still love the game!
BBN: What’s next for Donny Thompson? What are you are most looking forward to after the season is over?
Donny: Seeing my family and my beautiful girlfriend, Kristine. I had to resign my position at my job, and I’d love to confirm that I will have that position back again because I love working as a groundskeeper and that’s my life.
BBN: Thank you, Donny! We really enjoyed you as a Houseguest and hope maybe we’ll get to see you in there again.
Class act. I know who I am voting for in the America’s Favorite poll.
he gets my vote too
absolutely! the way he carried himself with class and dignity on the show, I see no reason for his old job to give him back his position!
opps, meant I see no reason for his job to not give him back his position!
Love him!
What a guy? He is not trying to be famous or go Hollywood, he just wants he old job back! Unbelievable. I really say through Derrick and Frankie, it seems judging from the comment he made about who he would like to win.
I meant “he really say through …”
Did anyone else read his interview with his southern voice in their head? lol
Lol. I imitate him all of the time and I was reading it with his accent, or at least trying to.
How could you NOT???!!! LOL
Omg, yes!
What a nice guy. He should have won and I think he will win favorite house gust ln a landslide
Donny, I hope you find out how beloved you are! I wish you all the happiness that you can handle in life. My gut tells me that you’re going to be very happy and loved. That’s the best kind of success. Good luck on your upcoming wedding to Kristine!
I didn’t know they were getting married! Oh that makes me happy!
I assumed that they were, since they are engaged.
I’d like to meet Mr. Donny Thompson one day, just to shake his hand for being such a gentleman. A truly ‘gentle man’.
Exactly what I was thinking.
I’d take a vacation just to shake his hand and wish him well.
He’s an excellent example of a gentle human being.
Super class act! Hope to see Donny again on BB All Stars!
Donny has been my favorite since the first day of BB. He was able to maintain his humility , sense of humor and dignity until the end. I will certainly vote for him for America’s Favorite player.
I’ve never cried at an eviction before and I did with Donny. You’re a good guy Donny. I hope you get your job back! I’m going to miss seeing you on Big Brother.
Donny what can we say other than it was an absolute pleasure watching you in the big brother house. I applaud you for being the bigger man and keeping your grace, dignity, and charm intact. Don’t you worry I have a feeling after this experience you will experience a large outpouring of support and love from the whole country. You are the definition of a fine southern gentleman in my book.
I hope BBN after the finale you show Donny this page so he can see the love and respect most of the viewers have had for him. Thanks
Loved your questions, and I definitely loved all his answers. Such a nice man !
I never felt so badly for a contestant leaving that it made me cry like it did with Donny. I hope he gets his job back if thats what he loves doing. He did such a great job on the show and was so likeable and a pleasure to watch.
Donny WILL get his job back…surely the company he worked for knows how much of an outcry there would be if Donny did NOT get his job back!
He works for the public school system – not a company. He probably will get something back but they probably had to fill his position.
Donny is worried that he won’t get his job back, and Julie said that she doesn’t think he has anything to worry about. Then she says that The Bold and the Beautiful wants him to guest star. He probably will win America’s favorite and he already won $15,000 from the TA missions in the house. I think he may not have time to go back to his old job. He may even get a better one.
Donnie didn’t really play to change his life though. He was happy with his girlfriend, his job, his family, etc…He just loved Big Brother and the opportunity to play and if he won, that would be icing on the cake. Just getting to go into the Big Brother house was thrilling…..
Yeah cuz 1 guest star on a soap will keep you busy for a year
He will get paid to guest star on that show and with the total amount that he’ll make this year is a lot more than a groundkeeper’s annual salary. I also said that he will probably get a better job which did not imply that the soap gig was going to be his annual salary.
I loved Donny’s answer about his social game. He had a valid point that most of the house guests would say he was their friend. Except maybe those HGs who are having an attack of jealousy when they find out Donny is AFP
I love Donny’s genuineness and humbleness. He definitely has my vote for America’s favorite. And he’s the only one from this lackluster season that is like to see on an all stars season of Big Brother.
OMG, he still doesn’t understand that his social game SUCKED. People liking you is not enough. They need to want to KEEP you. Poor, clueless Donny.
Really? You think Donny is clueless? They wanted him out because if he had made it to the end he would have won. They did not WANT to keep him because, as I am sure you know, you vote out the competitors. This is why Victoria is still in the house. Her “social” game is really horrible but she is kept because she can’t win.
LOL, I guess you have to drag the weakest player (Victoria) into the discussion to try to make Donny look good in comparison. That’s desperate. I’m thrilled Donny is gone, and the bitterness of his rabid fans pleases me. :D
Donny’s social game was a lot more laid back than the others, he still had one…his social game was certainly no worse than Victoria’s who’s only being kept around because she’ll be easy to beat – they had to get rid of Donny because he would have been DIFFICULT for anyone to have beaten – half of the jurors were friends of his who would have automatically voted for him!
Everyone had a social game, but that doesn’t mean they all had good ones. Donny’s reeked.
I wouldn’t call Donny clueless at all. He figured out who the ring leaders were much earlier then rest of the HG’s but non of them would listen to him and make a big move when they had the few chances they had.
He’s clueless about why he got voted out and why his social game sucked.
It’s hard to have a 40 something simple country guy with a bunch of 20 year old, most of whom could be his kids.
Just because he doesn’t kiss ass like the rest of the houseguests and act fake doesn’t make him clueless, it makes him classy. The man has enough respect for himself to stay true to the man he walked in the door as. He obviously had a social game or every houseguest who has left wouldn’t have named him as their most likeable! Sometimes TOO GOOD of a social game is scary for people so they want you out
If he’d had a truly good social game, he wouldn’t be gone right now, plain and simple.
Are you Ariana Grande incognito? Because only someone connected with the Grandes would make such inane posts. I mean, you’re the only one with that skewed perspective. Or maybe you’re just the one who’s clueless. Donny’s tried to integrate himself in with the other houseguests but, as he explained, a 42 year old man with a beard was not welcome amongst those vapid 20 somethings. He went to bed early to rest up for the comps and from his interview with Jeff Schroeder, he had the whole game figured out. He knows who and what the “big alliance” is and that even AT members were not to be trusted. He knew that he couldn’t trust any of those people. He was smart and strong enough to avoid eviction 6 times. And when he gets AFP, your buddy, Frankie will, once again, know how Americia feels. BTW. Say hi to the Grandes from all Donny’s suppoters…LOL.
You’re a very rude person.
Yeah you’re absolutely right, NO ONE in the history of big brother with a good social game has ever been evicted…EVER.SMH
If you want to be classy, you probably don’t go on big brother. If he’s a fan, he knows it’s about Iying and backstabbing to win.
He’s so clueless he knew exactly who controlled the house. And everyone loved him so yep his social game sucked. What do you call Victoria and Cody’s social game?
LOL, I see that Donny isn’t the only one who doesn’t get it.
Cody pretty good. The girls think he’s cute and like his touching them and the guys havennothing bad to say. He actually seems like a great guy. Victoria now is cluelessabout eeverything and as entitled and spoiled as Frankie
Donny by far was the favorite in the house. they should bring him back
when do we start voting for favorite fan, I don’t want to miss out and I do want to vote as often as we are able
The final week
you are the best keep your head up high you are a real man and will make a great husband you got my vote
He is getting as many votes as I can manage for America’s Favorite.
You better start creating multiple CBS accounts on each browser and get someone with more Twitter followers than Ariana Grande to tweet for him
I am so glad he is out of the BB House.
I am glad he is out and away from the mean spirited people that were hurting his feelings. I really wanted him to win but hated seeing such sadness in his eyes. What a great guy!!
Mean spirited people? LOL. Did you forget this is Big Brother? Donny had the opportunity to win the veto but he didn’t win….bye bye Donny!
I’m so glad Donny has $15K from #TeamAmerica & will win another $10K for America’s favorite! I think he’ll have many more opportunities like the one to be on The Bold and the Beautiful. Kristine is a lucky woman to have such a great man like Donny in her life! I can’t wait to see the looks on certain house guests when they find out he really is a groundskeeper!
If he wins AFP (I’ sure he ill) that’s 25k so he will end up with 40k before taxes of course.
Plus I believe he still gets his stipen too. If I am not mistaken, only the first and second place people do not get the stipen.
What does stipen mean
The word is stipend. It means to pay someone a small amount regularly. I’ve read that the house guests get a stipend of $1,000/week in the house plus $5,000 for being on the jury. The final 2 do not get the stipend, since they are winning $500,000 or $50,000.
So Donny should get $15K (TA) + $25K (AFP) + $9K (weeks) + $5K (jury) = $54K before taxes
Is BB EVER going to raise that $500,000? I think after 16 years, $1 million should be the new prize!!!
There’s no incentive. It won’t get them an extra viewer. Simon Cowell found that by offering 5 mill. They should do a twist like if you win the first hoh and the whole game, you get a million… Or something like that to incentive them. But otherwise, if you’re a producer, why spend another half million. Give everyone a raise instead
The amount of money they get at the end of the season. I think they get somewhere in the neighborhood of %1,000.00 a week per week they are on the show for a total of $13,000.00 for those hat last even the ones in jury. First and Second place only get’s the money but I believe the AFP get’s $25,000.00 plus the stipen. All player’s that earn extra money get’s to keep that too.
I have watched each Big Brother from year one, and do not remember ever a gentleman like Donny. And I have not heard one person the whole season say anthing against him. Love Donny. I really wanted him to win, but he is just too nice to make it to number 1, unfortunately.
You must not watch the feeds or BBAD last night
Or listened to Christine
BBN: What will be your favorite memory from your time on Big Brother?
Donny: The Veto competition during the Double Eviction episode. I twisted my ankle and still beat Beast Mode Cowboy, Zach Attack, Hayden and Cody! Four of the youngest, fittest guys in the house.
Cody didn’t participate, Donny. You beat Caleb, Victoria, Christine, Zach and Hayden. Still pretty good though.
Congrats overall Donny, you’ll be missed.
Donny is proof you don’t have to have a million dollar home or fancy car and big important job. You love life God , your family and be happy in what you have. Donny will always be a winner because of his outlook on life.
Donnnnnnyyyyyyyy =( the show is over without you. God bless, good man.
Very happy Donny is such a smart guy. He really is something special, I look up to him. I believe his game play was smart even though reserved, and he kicked it into high gear whenever he was in danger and managed to save himself.
He’s the only one who figured out Derrick was the one running everything. He still has never been on the block and still isn’t on anyone’s radars. He’s also working for every jury vote
Donny is a real man! He wasn’t afraid to cry and show his true emotions to the world. I respect and love that about him. God Bless you, Donny!
Well Donny, sad to see you go. You were a great competitor, but your social play was too reserved for your own good. That being said, one of the most genuinely kind-hearted BB players I’ve ever seen, and I hope he wins America’s Favourite.
Donny is the most real, likeable houseguest BB has had in years. BB needs to cast more people like him. I loved that he was a fan of the game, thats who should be playing, not these wannabe models and actors. I won’t be watching now that Donny is gone. I hope he gets his job back.
Ya da yada. If it was a house full of my nice people, no one would watch
I never vote but I will definitely be voting Donny as afp
Me too! I can’t wait to see Frankie, Caleb and Christine’s face’s when they announce it!!!! I love you Donny :) Kristine you are a very lucky woman. Donny you are so loved oxo.
Donny has my vote for AFP. Love him. Donny was real and not fake on the show. He truly is a genuine, sincere, caring person. I expected no one to get Donny, because Donny doesn’t care about Twitter and all that other useless crap like the other braindead HG do. Caleb thinks if he’s friends with Frankie he’ll get more followers…and this, my friends, is what our youth has come to.
You better hope Ariana continues to be so busy with her promotional tour that she forgets rs to tweet 17 million people to vote for her brother. Hard to beat a horde of delusional 12 year old tweens in a Grande cult
As much as I would love to see him come back as all star…..think it would be very painful for him. He would be number one target again because we all love him!
He said he wouldn’t want to come back.
Donny is a cool, cool guy.
Wonder what role Donny be playing on the Bold and Beautiful? A Professor from Harvard as a Medical Doctor and/or as a CIA Spook from the Government investigating an homegrown terrorist plot?? Ha !!!
I guess CBS really is committed to not letting donny shave off his beard
Hi Donny I was in tears with you when I see the tears running down your face . I’ve never cry with someone like your spirt was of a humble person ! And to see you go it hurts but you get my vote for being honest on the BB! And my favorite you and Nickole . Have a bless day
Donny’s lack of hair on his legs is likely the result of LOW T(testosterone). It may also have to do with getting overly emotional. I hope somebody he knows reads this and tells him. My husband had the same problem and that is what it turned out to be. Since getting testosterone injections, the hair on his legs is coming back and his mood has become less easily upset.
please get this message to him or his family.
you are my favorite player ever…I can’t even stand Christines laugh (er, cackle) anymore
Or its just genetic. My dad had that & so do I. No big deal. Nothing caused it
agree Dakota, my Dad is part Cherokee and doesn’t have much hair, only shaves once a week. Common among native Amerians
Getting overly emotional is also a sign for depression.
I’m Canadian, I wish I could vote for Donny.
One of the greatest men to ever exist.
Does anyone know where in NC Donny is from
How could ANYONE dislike Donny? It’s impossible. What a wonderful human being. He lived his BB life with honor, integrity, compassion, grace and elegance. I wish him EVERYTHING good in life. He deserves no less! I’ll be voting for Donny to be AFP, along with the rest of America. Love you, Donny!
Donny I,ve never enjoyed a houseguest more then you in all the yrs I,ve watched big brother…..your one class act!
Would love to see Donny play again, without the beard.