From Reality News Online....
Josh's interview:
Some reality show contestants are done with their seasons and realize they really don’t want to talk about what happened. Not so with Joshuah, as you’ll see here. Indeed, several times Josh answered questions I was planning to ask him about his more controversial moments before I even had the chance! Read on to see what he has to say.
RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Joshuah, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at RealityNewsOnline. Starting at the beginning, did you have a specific planned strategy coming into the game?
Joshuah: I actually did, my strategy in the beginning was that I was going to try to go straight or gay, not talk about my sexuality, and use that to just flirt with everybody and be everyone’s friend, the all-American guy. That’s what I was shooting for. That’s what I was planning on doing. Then the first five seconds, with the couples, it was shot right there. After I was, I guess you could say “outed,” I went with it and I changed my character to be the funny, quirky, snappy, gay guy. I wanted to be catty and bitchy and come off harmless. I wasn’t trying to be malicious or evil.
That quickly snowballed into frustrations running high, me losing my partner, and a lot of stress in the house. Once you’re in there, you can plan to be calm and play a smart game, but you are surrounded by so many conflicting personalities – they’re your nemesis and it starts to wear on you. People don’t understand how lonely you are. Even though you’re surrounded by people, they are all competing with you.
I was blessed to have Neil and Sharon as my partners, and everyone else was out to get you. That changes the mood and your personality in the game. You start playing defense because you feel like people are attacking you, and that sometimes blows up into huge loud situations that I’m definitely known for.
RNO: Speaking of Neil, what happened to him?
Joshuah: Neil was called into the diary room and then he was there for about two hours. Then I’m called in, which is kind of weird when somebody else is still in there. I saw a cup on the ground and maybe a plate, and I knew he had been taken out of the game. I was informed he had a family emergency and I had the option of Sharon or Jacob. I didn’t even have time to think at that point. I was in so much shock and said Sharon, and she was in the room with me. It was very surreal. I was told to pack Neil’s stuff, and that was all that was talked about. They said please don’t bring up Neil because he’s going through a tough time.
That was the last I saw and heard of Neil. Since I’ve been out of the house, I haven’t heard anything more than some rumors. As far as I know, everything’s okay. I haven’t heard any family situation that was that dire, so I don’t know. A mystery that I don’t know if will ever be solved.
RNO: How much Big Brother had you seen before going into the house?
Joshuah: I’ve been watching since around Season 2 when Dr. Will was on. I’m a big Big Brother fan. I loved Season 2 with Dr. Will and Season 6 with Janelle and 7 with All-Stars.
RNO: What did you think of the couples twist?
Joshuah: The couples twist was very unexpected. I kind of felt like the twist would have something to do with some secret couples since it was Valentine’s day. But the couples were completely unexpected with everybody playing pairs. It definitely took everybody by surprise.
RNO: What about the various other twists, such as splitting the couples and bringing back James?
Joshuah: I think that definitely helped the show. It kept it exciting. As soon as we found out about the siren and somebody could come back and playing as singles, it felt like every week there was a twist – we didn’t know what was going to happen. I was just ready for another twist – another couple we don’t know about? It kept you on edge. It made the house very paranoid to live in. Tensions were running very high. Definitely a lot of twists this season – probably the season with the most twists.
RNO: What would you do differently if you had it to do over again?
Joshuah: I’d do a lot of things. I’d definitely try to play a more cool under control game. I tried to do that in first two weeks, but then I let the pressure get to me and I cracked.
The Amanda hot tub moment – I just snapped. It was not so much to do with Amanda – she was in the wrong place at the right time. I would defintely take all that back. She’s a great girl.
Same with the Allison thing. She lied to me about the gay thing, but I knew she was out to get me. She is a great manipulator and I knew I had to get her before she got me. But a lot of the cattiness was not supposed to be as hurtful. I’m really loving and caring and will do anything for you if you’re in my circle of family and friends.
But we’re there to win money, so everyone’s your competition. I was basically going after them and it happened to be verbal. As soon as I attacked Amanda, she was evicted. As soon as I attacked Allison, she was evicted. So it did work.
The same can be said to Natalie and Sheila. They’re all great people. It just seemed easier to take it out on innocent people that really were doing things in the game. I regret saying some of the things I said, for sure towards Amanda and Allison. I apologized to their families and their mothers. Their mothers said they understand. I did take it too far sometimes, but what is too far when you’re competing for half a million dollars? That’s a moral question.
RNO: When you were in the house, what did you think viewer reaction would be to you?
Joshuah: I went in to the house thinking everyone would love me, I was a great guy, the boy next door, people woudl really like me. Then two little conflicts happened… My parents watched the whole show holding their breath, not knowing what was going to come out of my mouth. I came off as somebody who was a hothead raging maniac and out of control. They did a wonderful job of editing me that way. There was a lot more good that outweighed the bad in the house, but they did a good job of editing me and not showing that side.
The side of Josh that is real is the one my parents saw when they did the interview. I thought that was [my mom] trying to portray who the real Josh was. The people who love me know it’s not really me. In real life, I don’t act like that. I don’t push old ladies in front of buses or use the c-word or attack people. It’s definitely one thing I would do differently if I was asked to come back on Big Brother.
RNO: Several times, you were called into the diary room and apparently told to stay a certain distance from somebody. What did they say to you?
Joshuah: A lot of times I was called in when I would get into a heated conversation with one of the women. They defintely wanted me to stay away from the women, just to make sure everyone felt safe in the house and I wasn’t going to get in their face any more. They wanted to make sure I didn’t make anybody feel physically threatened. I was several times warned not to violate anybody’s physical space when you’re having a conversation.
RNO: And how viewer reaction actually been since you got out of the house?
Joshuah: I definitely am very well known in the world. Everywhere I go, someone knows who I am. People have very mixed reviews. Some people come up to me cautious because they don’t know what will happen, but others love me.
Two people came up to me today for my autograph – but other people in the restaurant hated me. They love to hate me. They hated to watch me go off on people but loved to watch me. It’s just crazy. No matter what, they want to talk to me and see if they can figure it out. I’m happy with the fans, I appreciate everyone who supported the show and watched me, and hopefully I added some dynamic qualities to it.
RNO: At what point did you decide to vote for Ryan instead of Adam?
Joshuah: In the very end, I definitely thought that when you’re looking at the overall game, Ryan was on the block more times and won more competitions, he was in a secret alliance with me for a while. I felt he played a better game. I didn’t think he should have been penalized because he was dating Jen. Jen’s cocky behavior definitely hurt him in the end. I think Ryan was a great competitor. I don’t give in to pressure as I did in the house – nobody’s going to tell me what to. I’m going to vote how I want to vote.
RNO: Were you aware you’d be the only person voting for Ryan?
Joshuah: I thought maybe I could pull another couple votes. In the end, I kind thought I would be the only one. I thought maybe I would get Sheila. It was definitely something I felt like I wanted to do personally.
RNO: Why did you get so upset with Adam during the jury questioning?
Joshuah: I felt like I was in the jury and we’re trying to decide who gets half a million dollars. The last thing I need is somebody screaming at me as if he already thought he won the money. I thought that was something that needed to be addressed. I thought he needed to be gracious and work the jury in a more pacifistic manner than he was doing. Adam has a loud voice and gets worked up and I thought it was too much for that situation.
RNO: Have you had a chance to watch any of the show yet?
Joshuah: I’ve watched the whole show up to my eviction. I watched all the CBS shows, and my friends are burning me disks of the Showtime after Dark, which I hear are some of my really finer moments.
RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you’ve seen that you didn’t know about while you were there?
Joshuah: I was actually surprised at how Sheila was able to flip the house several times. I definitely underestimated her in the house and didn’t realize how manipulative she was behind the scenes. It was really her that did a lot of stuff I didn’t know about. Good for her, she was underestimated, which is probably why she made the final three.
RNO: How did you get along with the other jurors?
Joshuah: Once you’re out of the game, it’s like a breath of fresh air, you can actually go to the jury house and have a good time. Everyone’s there and we have no reasons to be mad, we’re just there to have a good time. No one fought, everyone got along, it was great.
RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Big Brother?
Joshuah: I am very – ironically, I said this in my speech – I’m so proud of who I am. I’m a hothead at times, but who Isn’t? Maybe everybody has done something hateful – I was caught on tape doing it. We all have tempers and regret things. I happened to get caught on TV with everybody watching. Everybody thinks I’m horrible, but I’m really not like that.
The problem with Big Brother is that it shows the lack of humanity. It’s a house where you are locked in there and you’re in there to fight and it’s a competition. I felt like I don’t regret going on Big Brother or who I am. I feel privileged to go on the show. I was picked out of thousands upon thousands to go on the show and I was very happy about that. There’s obviously something that stands out and I’m happy to know people wanted to know about that. I’m not an arrogant prick who will refuse to answer questions. I just definitely lost control a few times and regret it, but I can’t put my head in the sand.
I didn’t get out and say I’m not doing interviews. I’m back working and my co-workers love me and my fans love me. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I’m proud of who I am and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
RNO: Thanks again, Joshuah!