Danielle Murphree nearly made it to the very end of Big Brother 14 before being cut just short of the Final 2 after her coach and ally Dan lost to Ian in the final HoH competition. Today I had the chance to talk with Danielle and ask her about the game, some of her questionable moves, and what’s in the future for her. Despite falling just shy of the money Danielle was in great spirits and didn’t hold back.
Big Brother Network (BBN): Despite everything Dan did you kept going back to him. Why did you keep being willing to forgive him and try again?
Danielle Murphree: He would make the comment that he hadn’t done anything to hurt me in the game. When I would try to recall, I was still there. He hadn’t hurt my game and had never voted to evict me. I wanted to believe he was a good person because I kept thinking back to season 10 and how he played then and was a good guy. I was completely “Mist-ified.”
BBN: It was hard for viewers to separate fact from fiction when it come to some of your stories. Some of the things you said about conversations with HGs that weren’t really accurate. Was that a strategy you had or were you just playing with the other HGs?
Danielle Murphree: You’re going to have to give me an example.
BBN: When you came back and said Janelle was yelling at you but we saw it was a very calm conversation. Or when you said you made Ian cry the other day and that didn’t really happen.
Danielle Murphree: Ian teared up. Ian teared up. I guess I exaggerated that a little bit. Yeah, Janelle didn’t yell at me. Janelle was very sweet with me. I guess it was more game play because I was more trying to test the waters with Dan. I thought him and Janelle might have some kind of deal. I think that’s who I told it to, correct?
BBN: There were a lot of people.
Danielle Murphree: So yeah, I exaggerated for game play. I shouldn’t have. I do apologize. It wasn’t just to maliciously hurt anybody.
BBN: After you joined the Jury you leaned over and said something to someone off-camera that the mic didn’t pick up. What were you trying to tell the Jury?
Danielle Murphree: I was asking Jenn what was going on. What’s the feel? Because when I sat down it was very awkward vibe in the Jury. I had just heard Britney’s comment before so I was confused and was asking what was going on.
BBN: As it ended up you were the last woman in the house. Was that part of your strategy or just how things worked out?
Danielle Murphree: No, it was just how things worked out. It was never my intention to be the last woman. I’m very proud and flattered to be the last woman, but it would have been nice to have another female present.
BBN: Do you regret the Dan-vote? Would you take it back?
Danielle Murphree: I don’t like to play the woulda-shoulda-coulda game or the what-if’s. I am glad that Ian won. I think it would have be nice for Ian to win 7-0 because I think he deserved it but I did give my word to Dan. I did say I would vote for Dan. I didn’t want to break my word. I just wish I never would have told Dan I’d vote for him.
BBN: When you first sat down with Julie Chen there was a crowd reaction that seemed like you saw something. Did you see something in the house [on the monitors]?
Danielle Murphree: Yeah. I saw them jump around and Dan was giggling. Then Dan did the “suck it” thing. I was just like “are you serious?”
BBN: It was hard to see. We weren’t sure if you could see. We thought it seemed like you saw it, them doing the Renegade move.
Danielle Murphree: Was that a Renegade move? Were they called the Renegades?
BBN: I think that was what they did. They clapped hands, spun, and hands as guns.
Danielle Murphree: Ahh, see, that’s going to get me even more fired up. Yeah, I don’t doubt it at all.
BBN: Thanks, Danielle. Congratulations on making it to Final 3.
We chatted a little bit more from there on Dan’s betrayal and explained that yes, he was planning to take her until after the first round of the last competition. There were also some other nuggets from the call that I’ll just drop in a list here.
- Dan and Danielle are not currently on speaking terms.
- Danielle believes Shane’s feelings were genuine and not game play.
- Danielle is open to pursuing a relationship with Shane.
- Post-show was awkward with her and JoJo and Janelle.
- Danielle believes she would have beat Dan but lost to Ian.
- Danielle would consider going back for another season.
- Danielle won’t go to the Vegas or SuperPass parties so she can avoid negativity.
- If she had won Round 3, she would have taken Shane over Dan.
On that last one, Dan said he doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s trying to save face. Hard to be sure, but I think he could be right.
Overall it was a fun interview. Danielle said the questions were grilling her, but I think things went pretty easy on her. I imagine she had a long rough day of tough interviews. Hopefully she takes some time away from the ol’ innerwebs and lets things calm down before she jumps in and reads what fans had to say.
Check out our preseason interview with Danielle to compare how she played the game to what she planned to do heading in there.