Bad Girl Gets Big Brother's First Boot
Alison Irwin, Big Brother 7: All-Stars
Alison Irwin earned a reputation as a backstabbing flirt during her stint on CBS' Big Brother 4, so it isn't all that surprising that her attempts at scheming with Danielle in a failed plan to oust Janelle caused her to be the first booted out the front door of Big Brother 7: All-Stars (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 pm/ET). TVGuide.com caught up with Alison — who also had a hated turn on The Amazing Race 5 — the day after her eviction, to find out how she feels about her bad-girl rep.
TVGuide.com: It was kind of a whirlwind week for you: you got chosen for the house, you got nominated, and then you were evicted.
Alison Irwin: In and out.
TVGuide.com: Did you know going into All-Stars that you were going to be a target because you were such a strong player your first time around?
Alison: Absolutely. I knew. I wasn't that shocked at all that I was first off.
TVGuide.com: Did you have a strategy, perhaps to lay low a little?
Alison: Yeah, but it was hard to lay low when there are two brains working together [as HOH]. It was difficult to do that this time.
TVGuide.com: I think they would have gone after someone else if Danielle hadn't stirred up her drama. Maybe you should have let Danielle do all the talking?
Alison: I wanted to, but I didn't want to take the chance of not having the votes. I found out she was campaigning so hard and that she was actually swaying the jury. It would go back and forth each day.
TVGuide.com: But before the nominations, when she came up with the scheme to have Jase up against Janelle, do you think that telling the other houseguests about her plan cast a bad shadow on you?
Alison: It may have a little bit, but I don't think that is what did it. I really don't. I definitely think it was [because of] my previous season that a lot of people were all for that plan.
TVGuide.com: When you first heard about All-Stars, did you really want to be on it?
Alison: No. I definitely was over it. I was like, "OK, that's something I could have handled three years ago, when I just got out of college. But I don't know if, now in my life, I'm going to be ready for it and up to my devious stuff that I was up to before." It was a pretty hard decision. But I'm glad that I did it.
TVGuide.com: Were you surprised that you weren't among America's picks?
Alison: Not at all. Not at all!
TVGuide.com: A lot of people wanted you to stay because they were waiting to see you stir up trouble.
Alison: I know. I guess I was notorious for that, and I usually am fun. I won't even deny it. That's what I'm good at doing in the Big Brother house, stirring up some trouble and getting the focus off of me. That is what I wanted to do [on All-Stars], but it didn't work out in my favor.
TVGuide.com: I thought, since Dr. Will was also known for his evil doings, that the two of you would team up.
Alison: That was something that was in the works, but there was not enough time to get anything done. It was too new. It was still the meet-and-greet period. The honeymoon is over now.
TVGuide.com: We got to see your cute boyfriend on Thursday night.
Alison: Aww, thanks. He is cute.
TVGuide.com: He seemed very smitten, but I've got to know: Had he watched your first appearance on Big Brother?
Alison: [Laughs] Um, I never really told him about it.
TVGuide.com: He seemed to think you were a sweet girl and that you wouldn't do anything bad.
Alison: When we first started dating, he found out and went and bought the DVD, and he and all his friends watched it together. He was like, "That's not you." I was like, "Oh, but it can be. Just don't get on my bad side."
TVGuide.com: Did you have an agreement with him along the lines of, "If it makes me a half-million dollars, I'll let Howie touch my boobs"?
Alison: No. That was just a joke that Howie had made because he knew I was untouchable. There were no deals between my boyfriend and I. We were like, "Hey, it is three months, and it is a lot of money. Whatever happens, happens." I went in there thinking I was going to eliminate all his insecurities. I was going to try to cover up and not flirt and show him that I care about him even though I am far away.
TVGuide.com: Did you get to talk to him yet?
Alison: Yeah, we went to sleep last night with our cell phones on so we could hear each other snore.
TVGuide.com: What did he think of how you did?
Alison: I didn't cry at all when I got evicted, but when I talked to him finally, the first thing he said was, "You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen in my life," and I just started bawling. He said he was very proud of me and how I played the game. That means a lot to me from someone like him, who I respect so much.
TVGuide.com: You now seem very different than the Alison we've seen on Big Brother and Amazing Race.
Alison: Everybody says that!
TVGuide.com: Is that a personality you put on for the show?
Alison: No. The Big Brother thing... I guess I get uglier on there because it is a competition and I'm just a very competitive person by nature. But outside of it, when there is no stress and no competition involved, I can be a pretty nice person, I'd like to think.
TVGuide.com: It often seems like you just say whatever is on your mind in the diary room.
Alison: Of course. The diary room is somewhere where you are all alone. You go to the bathroom and you shower with cameras on you, so the diary room is, like, a place to mentally release anything and totally vent. People like me, Danielle and even Marcellas take advantage of that, and then we look like the bad guys. The other people don't [vent], and they are usually the ones who end up with problems after the show. I'm not regretful of that at all.
TVGuide.com: We only saw you making mean comments about Janelle. Was there anyone else you went after?
Alison: No, just Janelle.
TVGuide.com: Why her? Jase nominated you, too.
Alison: I know, but she sealed the deal. Jase came up to me at one point and said, "Hey, [Janelle] wants to put you up and I don't, but we have to agree on something." So I wanted to blame Janelle for that.
TVGuide.com: What did you think of Erika's tear-jerking goodbye? Was that sincere?
Alison: Um... no. I think she's just really confused. She's probably still hurt from when I betrayed her on Season 4. I don't mind. She had to play the game for her, and I totally understand that and respect it. It was smart on her behalf to get rid of me because if someone betrays you once it is their fault; if they do it twice it is your fault. And I definitely would have [betrayed her] again.
TVGuide.com: Just how gross was the garbage challenge?
Alison: It made me want to throw up. Seriously. My bathing suit still smells like crap. I have it in a Ziploc bag in my luggage right now because I'll just die if I smell it.
TVGuide.com: Were you relieved that there is no PB&J this year?
Alison: Definitely. In the house you get so stressed out that all you do is eat and sleep. I guess peanut butter and jelly would have been good because everybody would have lost some weight.
TVGuide.com: Well, we did see you working out like crazy. One of the guys said that keeping in shape was part of your strategy because you'd look good and thus could manipulate the men.
Alison: Well, no. I've been working out since the last Big Brother, and it's a hobby that my boyfriend and I share so we do it all the time together. So no, not strategy; that's just me.
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