Hayden “The Animal” Moss “Big Brother 12″ Winner

Hayden “The Animal” Moss, a ruthless shaggy-haired 24-year-old student and former baseball player from Tempe, Arizona, won the 12th season of Big Brother a $500,000 grand prize on the voyeuristic CBS reality TV competition’s season finale Wednesday.

Moss, who was dubbed “The Animal” by his secret four-man alliance — The Brigade, bested bearded Lane “The Beast” Elenburg, a 24-year-old rig salesman from Decatur, Texas.

Hoffman, who described himself as a “diabolical super-genius,” caused the most controversy this season for telling his housemates that his wife had a crippling disease called melorheostosis in hopes of securing “sympathy votes” if he made it to the end of the competition.

This week, CBS renewed Big Brother through its 13th season. The show follows a group of people living together in a house outfitted with more than 52 cameras and 95 microphones recording their every move 24 hours a day. Each week, the houseguests vote someone out. The next edition will premiere next summer.