Brent was the third houseguest to be evicted on Big Brother 23. We spoke to Brent about the unanimous vote, when he realized he was going to be sent home, and if he regrets not lobbying for the Power of Veto to be used to take him off the block.
Not even a sympathy vote! Were you counting on at least one vote?
I was hopeful! But I’m not surprised. The whole “follow the heard scenario,” where you don’t want to stray far from it. If you do, it’s hard to come back. You’re no longer going to be close to the rest of them and it’s an easy way to get yourself on the block.
If anyone did want to, which I’m sure a few wanted to, game-wise it just doesn’t make sense. Don’t go against the grain because if anyone learned anything from the first week, those two votes to keep Travis made a lot of things sticky. There was a lot of paranoia, from myself included. It was unnecessary. It is what it is.
Do you feel betrayed by anyone? Particularly members of your Mafia alliance?
I know that a lot of people aren’t going to believe this, but I don’t really feel betrayed. It’s a logical move and I would have done the same.
If I did have to say someone, it would be Alyssa. Just because we were good friends. At the same time, you have to be able to separate the game from friendship. You have to know how to separate the two. I totally understand why she did what she did. Even in her goodbye message, granted we’re going to heighten things up in the Diary Room and it’s a “Goodbye Message,” but we still have plans to hang out and see each other on Halloween. She made it a point to say that which speaks volumes.
At which point did you realize that you were going home?
I kind of always suspected that it could go that way. I kind of would have been more shocked if I had stayed. I think it would have given you guys [the viewers] the face you would have wanted, as far as the betrayal. But everything didn’t make sense, as far as the way people were reacting.
I guess if it really came down it, it was sitting in that chair on eviction night right before Julie read the votes. The people coming back [from voting] were way too comfortable with everyone else around them. So, when you are looking around at how comfortable everyone was, and we know that when it doesn’t go according to plan, people would be upset, nervous, or paranoid. Not a single person’s energy portrayed any of that type of narrative playing out.
Was there any specific kind of havoc that you wanted to create? You had mentioned something to Julie about that.
Yes! Oh, I would have definitely gone after Xavier and Christian. It would have been more my delivery if anything. I would have looked Xavier in the eyes and said “I’m going to do exactly what you couldn’t do to me.” Then looked into the windows of his soul, as a man, and told him that he was my target. Then, I would have looked at Christian and been like “If you win. I’m not even going to let you get selected Houseguest’s Choice! If you’re gonna win and take yourself off with the Veto, great, but if you don’t win and Xavier is up there, you are most likely going to be going home.
In a perfect world where I would have stayed and won HOH, it would have been exactly that. The ratings would have gone… to the moon! Because it’s all about the delivery! You know?
Which one of the characteristics was more of a threat? Being a physical player or your personality?
So, physically, I wasn’t able to prove anything or display anything. So, the fact that everyone in the house keeps saying that annoys me. “Oh! You’re a competition beast!” I’ve done nothing to even display an ounce of that. I wish I did. But I did not. All I did was almost pass out from motion sickness and puke in a bucket. You know what I mean?
Xavier still stuck with that in his goodbye message, that I was his competition. To me, it leans more to my personality and social game being strong. My confidence, to a lot of people, was either intimidating or worrisome because it came up a lot.
Hannah even mistakes it as arrogance. Her goodbye message said that I had arrogance with the way I said things.
Christian’s on record saying that he wouldn’t describe me as arrogant – I was “confident AF.” I never rubbed anyone’s face in anything. I never made anyone feel belittled. I think that arrogance and confidence are two separate things. If you’d like to go and call me cocky, I can understand that. It just comes from my competitive nature.
But as far as the arrogance and confidence, I think that Hannah is severely mistaken and ill-informed. It is what it is. I couldn’t get the target off my back even if I tried! I was more or less just trying to play with what I had and it wasn’t much. I was trying to make a fire with two rocks and nothing in between.
Looking back, do you regret not lobbying for the Veto?
So, this is the thing… I asked Alyssa and Christian, “Would use the Veto?” And they said no. Alyssa said that she can’t go against her team, and I didn’t expect her to. I wanted to know if she’d hesitate or think about it. All those things give you the information that you need to know that their decision and mindset is locked and loaded.
Christian is a great guy but he’s very fond of Alyssa, so there’s no way that he’d go against what she’s thinking or what she’s doing to save me. It’s too much for him to risk, especially when he’s trying to develop some sort of a romantic connection with her, which I believe he’s probably successful with now…So, I’m happy for them!
There was no one else I needed to convince [to keep me] at that point. Christian was the one with the power. Xavier is the one who put me up in the first place, so why even try to talk to him? Why try to make the whole pawn narrative stick? I’m a lot of things, but I’m not dumb.
So yeah, once Alyssa said no, I knew that the rest would follow. There was no point in trying to beg because I did say in my Veto speech that I was not one to beg and I wouldn’t start now.
Is there anyone you are rooting for?
I think Hannah will win. I think that Christian deserves to win, especially if he keeps winning and doesn’t become a threat. If you can win over and over again – he’s won a different competition each week – and still not be a threat, but then they want to get rid of me, who can actually have some chance of defeating him, that’s impressive! It really is.
I guess it’s a compliment. It’s flattering, but I didn’t even get to have any one on ones, but I didn’t even get a chance to display a competitive nature. But I guess it gives you a reason to come back, right? I mean, I have a lot to display, and I promise you that it’s not just talk. It’s just so unfortunate that none of them could see that Christian was the real threat.
But you did have fun! You mentioned that during the last competition when you were by the puke bucket.
I did! Oh yeah, we have fun! Absolutely. It’s all about perspective, man. I knew we
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