The 23rd season of Big Brother came to a historic end on Wednesday, September 29, as 27-year-old attorney from Milwaukee, Xavier Prather, was the first-ever African American winner for the U.S. edition of the popular reality franchise.
Following the finale, The TV Watercooler had the opportunity to speak with the three finalists. In this interview, we chat with Philadelphia’s Derek Frazier, who won second place. We spoke to the 29-year-old Safety Officer about wanting to carve out a name for himself in the house outside his family’s legacy, scrambling his words during the evictions, and who the hardest person for him to vote out was.
Congratulations! It was great watching you this season!
Thank you. I hope so! I’m glad someone said it. [Laughs] I don’t know, but I swear I was having a good time. I felt like I was!
How important was it for you to place this game as your own person and not immediately be attached to who your father (Smokin’ Joe Frazier) was? This must have been the first time in your life that you could shape people’s perceptions of who you are as a person first and not your family’s legacy?
Yes! This was the first time that I was able to do that. I come from a background where when people hear that Smokin’ Joe Frazier is my dad, they always think “Oh, he has money, he’s good. His life is great.” And this was the first time that I was able to tell my story without saying that part. Everything that I said was true. Nothing was a lie about my lifestyle.
When it came to my dad, I wanted people to understand that it was something that I wanted to keep inside because I didn’t want people to Frankie Grande me! Where it’s like “He’s got money, send him out!” It was something where I felt that I wanted to come in and be myself and build a name for myself, without having to worry about that stigma.
I’m here for myself and yes, I’m Joe Frazier’s son, but this is Derek. Y’all know him as Big D! This is me. Let me show you. Let’s have a good time. Let’s have a good summer!
You also managed to keep this secret for the whole game! What was it like once you and Xavier found out both of each other’s secrets? Although you had a feeling he was a lawyer early on!
I knew it! I knew it! It was amazing just because of the fact that Xavier and I started this together and I wanted to be able to not say anything at that moment, but I’m glad we were able to share that. Like, “Hey! We made it here together but guess what? We both got secrets!” So, that was great. I didn’t feel any pressure, let’s say it!
But, I knew it [that Xavier was a lawyer]. Just the way he reacted; I knew right there!
Let’s get one thing straight… who created the Cookout? Was it you or Tiffany?
Okay, here we go. Let’s break down Cookoutgate! We all came into this house knowing what our goal was. I went to each individual [of the Cookout] and said “Hey, we’re going to work together and look out for each other.” Everyone was like “Yeah, I already know the deal! Okay, we’re all going to get together, and this is what it’s going to be!” We had an understanding, which then turned into an alliance.
Tiffany was also on the same page with me already. We were then in the kitchen and that’s where we came up with the name, The Cookout. Xavier said the name. That’s what happened! But me being the villain that I am, no one wants to give me the credit because I slept all day…So! I’ll just sleep all day because it got me to second place! [Laughs]
I can’t wait for you to see some of the memes. I’m not sure if you did this intentionally but when you voted to evict houseguests, you’d say, “I evict to vote…” Was that something that you did intentionally?
[Laughs] I have my own dictionary. I don’t know if it was picked up on this season, but I speak my own language. At that moment, I’d go blank. You go blank when you’re in there because you’re thinking “Who am I going to say to vote out?” and then Julie’s talking to you, and you’re also thinking “don’t let me forget my shoutouts!” And then I’m like “I…I…evote!”
I didn’t mean to, but I seem to have done it every week! If it became a meme, then it became a meme! I didn’t know that! I didn’t mean to do it on purpose. Anything I do is not on purpose! I’m just a silly goofy guy who says whatever I want.
It always did give us something to look out for on eviction night! That being said, who was the hardest person to “evict to vote?”
[Laughs] The hardest person for me to “evict to vote” was Kyland. It was very hard for me. I call him my man and my showmance, but I would never pick a guy over my best friend [Azah]. No matter what. I had deals with Kyland and I had no deals with Azah, and I still thought, “I’m going to take her because she deserves to be here.” She earned her spot and that was it.
Look for the third edition of Celebrity Big Brother to premiere in February 2022, followed by the 10th season of Big Brother Canada. A new season of Big Brother will premiere in Summer 2022.