Joey Van Pelt – Eviction Interview On Big Brother 16

Joey Van Pelt was the first Big Brother 16 cast member to be evicted during Thursday’s live show, but she sure won’t be the last. I spoke with her today about her experience on the show and what she’d be doing next now that she’s home and out of the Big Brother house.

Normally these interviews are held the day after a Big Brother eviction, but with the holiday on Friday I was lucky to still get a chance to talk with her today. Here’s what she had to say about BB16:

Matthew Boyer – Big Brother Network (BBN): Looking back, what was your best move and your worst move of the season?

Joey Van Pelt: Worst move was not laying low enough. Best move was Alex [her Tough Guy alter-ego].

BBN: Preseason you told me the ladies would be your saving grace with how well you get along. What went wrong there?

Joey: I think it was the wrong women in the house. They were very nice women, but something about their environment in the real life made them feel unsafe about starting an all-girl alliance in the Big Brother house.

The way my parents raised me, I can do anything I set my mind too and I don’t need to be protected by men. I don’t need the go-ahead from men to do what I need to do. It was maybe just the wrong women in the house to create an all-ladies alliance.

BBN: What was going through your head when you found out you had been voted a Fan Favorite in a way with the Team America twist?

Joey: That was so cool. It was such a compliment. It was like the first form of communication I had gotten after a couple of days in to the house. The communication was huge for me. I don’t think I realized how big it was until I was out of the house though.

BBN: What motivated you to reveal Team America to Hayden?

Joey: Hayden was really sweet in that situation. I think he knew that I didn’t really know what to do in that moment with that knowledge. I was floundering for votes. I wanted to stay in the house. Could I use this as a way to rally up enough people last minute? It was something I had and I didn’t have a lot.

BBN: Why was Hayden the only one you talked to about Team America as a campaign strategy?

Joey: By him shutting it down like that, I knew it wasn’t a smart decision to talk about it like that. He’s a smart guy. He knows the game. So I was going to take that as smart advice and say no to that.

BBN: Why oh why did you decide to go confront Devin head on that night about your plans to get him renom’d?

Joey: At that point I knew I was going to be a replacement nominee for the block. I heard around the house that they were being annoyed by Devin. I thought, ‘this is an opportunity to rally some troops.’

Caleb was saying he’d do what the house wants. Obviously Caleb wasn’t going to put Devin up, but I didn’t know that at the time. I thought if the house forced Caleb to put Devin up, then he’d put Devin up. That wasn’t the situation.

BBN: On the topic of speaking to Devin, did you ever feel scared talking to Devin? Was there ever anything that made you hold back?

Joey: No, no. I never felt frightened for my life or anything like that. It was more of a bigger person than you would see in normal life and he’s an emotional person. You’ve got emotions. You’ve got muscles. If you’ve got the emotions going up and down, I think any animal or mammal would feel just a little uneasy. It’s just common sense. ‘Okay, I’m smaller, you’re bigger.”

BBN: You mentioned Alex was your best move. It entertained Donny who started clapping, but it also scared some people. Did it really go as you had hoped?

Joey: I’ve watched the footage now and it did exactly what I wanted it to do. It woke up the house. You’re in this prison of boredom and anxiety. So I was “let’s think of a character. Let’s shake it up.”

I wanted to tell people, ‘if you’re voting because you’re afraid now, you’re going to be afraid later. I might be gone, but you’re pretty much going to be helping these people win.’

It’s a little too late. I’m out of the house, but it did make them think.

BBN: You talked about going in to the house not knowing the game. If you could pass along one piece of advice to future HGs of something you wish you had known, what would it be?

Joey: It would be just to lay low. Unfortunately men can make bigger moves earlier on in this game and it’s not seen as a huge threat. But you have to lay low. You can’t really know the game. Yes, you can watch the previous seasons, but they are always going to throw something different at you. There are always going to be different personalities in there. Your strategy always has to be changing.

To say I didn’t know the game, I guess is somebody’s opinion. If they were in the situation, they would think very differently about what they just said. *chuckles*

BBN: Talking with Julie Chen after your eviction she mentioned there was an undercover cop and a celebrity’s sibling in the house with you. Who did you think on the spot were those two HGs?

Joey: She actually told me really fast so I didn’t get a chance to guess on Frankie. Then who was the other person? Oh, it was Derrick. Derrick is a big runner for this game. I think he’s going to win honestly.

BBN: What is next for Joey Van Pelt?

Joey: You know, the whole feminist vibe I put out on the show has given me some opportunities in Seattle. I didn’t think that would happen, but I resonated with some people. There was a great article that came out on why women feel like they can’t work together professionally. I’ve been asked to speak at a couple of things. I’m going to do that and see where it goes.

BBN: Fans want to know if you’re on Twitter?

Joey: I am getting on Twitter. My great friend saw me on the cast and instantly started an account for me on Twitter. So I will be on there starting later this evening. The account is @JoeyVanPelt1.

BBN: Thank you so much for keeping us entertained and best of luck with what you’re doing next.