Cameron Heard, the 24-year-old microbiologist from Illinois, was the first houseguest to be evicted from Big Brother’s 19th season in the first part of the two-part season premiere on Wednesday (June 28).
In this season’s first twist, Cameron’s fellow houseguest Kevin Schlehuber secretly accepted the temptation of $25,000 which resulted in the return of season 18 runner-up Paul Abarhamian. Per the “new rules,” Paul’s position in the house would be the result of a swap which led to Cameron’s nomination and then eviction.
We had the opportunity to ask Cameron a few questions following his eviction — find out what he has to say about which houseguests he missed out on working with and who he doesn’t think will go far this season.
Looking back, would you have had a different strategy to make an impression on Paul so that he would have given you a friendship bracelet — which would have kept you safe?
I guess if my strategy didn’t work, the only other strategy that I had going forward would have said, “Listen, Paul, there are some people in the house that are already saying you had a second chance and you blew it. You should not give them a friendship bracelet.” Instead, I went the loyalty route, and that might have been a better strategy to have gotten that friendship bracelet.
Which houseguest do you wish you had gotten the chance to work with?
Any of them that would have wanted to work with me. I wasn’t going to deny anyone. They just didn’t want to work with me, so it’s rough when you have your arms wide open… You’re excited to work with anybody, but there’s no reciprocation on their end.
Which houseguest do you think will go far this season and why?
I think Alex will go far. She seems smart and athletic, which is a really good combination. She also seems flirty as well. I think that she has a really good chance at going far in the game.
Are there any houseguests that you don’t see going far this season?
Anyone that voted against me. I hope they are next. The next eight houseguests, are all people who didn’t want to work with me, so I don’t know who they are but hopefully, they are the ones that go out the door next.
What are your thoughts on how the votes fell — do you think they voted you out because they saw you as a threat or was it because there wasn’t enough time to connect with them and form a relationship/alliance?
I think that it’s a combination of both. I had enough time to sway five votes, which I’m surprised with, and I think I was a big threat going into the house given how smart I am. But I didn’t have enough time to build social relationships [either]. That and me being a giant looming threat in the house led it to being a quick eviction.
Big Brother airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Global and CBS. Big Brother After Dark airs from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. ET on Slice in Canada and Pop in the U.S.
