“I Never Did Forgive Them, Ever”: An Interview with Big Brother: All-Stars’ Janelle
by David Bloomberg -- 09/08/2006
Janelle has been out of the Big Brother: All-Stars house for little more than 12 hours, and RealityNewsOnline had a chance to talk to her. What does she think about how she played the game this time? What about her past and future relationship with Dr. Will? Janelle tells us what she did right and what she did wrong, so click to read on!
Janelle made it to the final three twice in a row. She holds a number of Big Brother records. What mistakes does she think she made? What does she think she did right, no matter whether others might think they were mistakes? And where is her relationship with Dr. Will going? Janelle tells all, so just read on!
RealityNewsOnline: Hi, Janelle, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for RealityNewsOnline! First, congrats on making it to the final three and on winning so many competitions!
Janelle: Thank you.
RNO: What made you want to come back to Big Brother less than a year after you finished your season?
Janelle: Obviously I wanted to win the money. I thought it was a challenge and I wanted to compete again. It’s just a fun experience. It’s a once in a lifetime experience – how could you not do it?
RNO: Given that you were going in with three of your fellow season six participants, was your strategy to stick with them the entire way, or did you plan to turn on them at some point?
Janelle: Oh no, I never planned to turn on them. I wanted to stay together as long as possible. I thought that would be the best strategy because we were targeted. I thought the best thing for us was to stick together, absolutely.
RNO: Did you trust James, or were you afraid he might screw you over?
Janelle: In the beginning, I did trust James. I was worried about him because I knew how he played. I was a little concerned. I knew he would never put me up, but I knew he could create other people to come after me. He was a dangerous player for me.
RNO: Do you feel James was right in saying you broke your word about evicting Chill Town after he took out Jase?
Janelle: Yeah, I do. Kaysar and I and Howie wanted Jase out because he was more of a threat. I was looking out for my own interests, I would have said pretty much anything. I was like yeah, I’ll put up Chill Town next week. And I did, I just didn’t put Will up.
RNO: Looking back at this season, how many of your decisions do you think were influenced by Will?
Janelle: Putting up Marcellas was fingerprinted by Chill Town all over the place. That was the biggest thing. And also he didn’t want me to put up Boogie. I was trying to put up Boogie week 10 and he was influencing me not to. I was protecting Will but I wanted to get rid of Boogie. I didn’t know Erika was protecting Boogie. Will convinced me to put up Erika and Chicken George. I was hoping Erika would win veto and I could put up Boogie, but that didn’t happen. That was the two biggest things.
RNO: Why did you forgive Will after Chill Town voted out Marcellas and Howie?
Janelle: I never did forgive them, ever. Last year I felt like I didn’t have anyone in the house and like I could play differently. I didn’t have a true alliance I could stick with. Chill Town wasn’t trying to target me, I knew they would come after James and Danielle. I figured I was safe with them for a few weeks.
RNO: Do you think the two of you were just playing each other, or was there something more there?
Janelle: I think it started out as obviously light flirting, then it led into more flirting, and then it was more like this is just a game and I’m going to try to get on this guy’s good side – I did – I’m sure he felt the same way about me. After Howie left, he knew I didn’t have anyone. Even though we both thought we were playing each other, we maybe started to like each other more than we thought we would.
RNO: Where do you foresee things going with him, outside the house?
Janelle: I can’t really answer the question right now. I still have to call – I don’t know if he’s my ex-boyfriend or my boyfriend. I have to call him. I don’t know. Will’s crazy. He was telling me he’s breaking up with his girlfriend. I don’t know what he’s doing.
RNO: Early on, was your relationship with Marcellas a social one, in that you were friends, or a strategic one, in that you were keeping him as a backup in case the season six alliance broke apart?
Janelle: He keeps on saying we had a final two deal, but we made that week 1. It’s, like, not really rational to say that. But it was both. I adored Marcellas. He made me laugh and spent a lot of time with me, before I felt like he turned on me. He was my backup plan, like James had Danielle. And if things were to go bad for season six, I felt like m would be there for me and I’d be there for him.
RNO: If you had to rate yourself on your strategic game play this season, what would you say about it?
Janelle: I’d say an 8 out 10.
RNO: How would you compare your play this season to last?
Janelle: I think I played a lot better than last year. Last year I could have done a few different things that would have changed the game a lot more. I played a lot better this year.
RNO: Looking back, do you think it would have been better to target Chill Town early rather than letting them get as far as they did?
Janelle: Not really, because Chill Town wasn’t a danger to me. We targeted Nakomis and Jase in the beginning. If we hadn’t done that, we would have ended up with them in the end. There’s only so many weeks to evict people. It worked out for the best – I made it to the final three and could have won the whole thing if I had just won one of those last competitions. They were a danger to season six but I don’t feel they were as dangerous to me.
RNO: Speaking of the challenge, have you seen the film of you taking your hand off the key?
Janelle: No I haven’t, they haven’t shown it to me. It was just a weird competition. Usually they don’t start the competition ‘til the producer comes out and gives the rules. Julie was still talking. I think my hand came off, but my hand didn’t come off when Mike jumped off, it was when Julie talking.
RNO: Just so you know, having watched it, your hand did come off after Mike jumped. That’s what we saw. Anyway, if you had won HOH, who would you have taken to the final two?
Janelle: I would have taken Erika.
RNO: Why?
Janelle: I thought I had a better chance of beating her. As much as Mike is hated, he played a better game than Erika.
RNO: How did you feel when you were evicted, only to have Julie Chen immediately start asking you about mistakes in the game?
Janelle: I made mistakes, but I still made it to the final three. Yes, I made mistakes, who knows how it could have turned out. I made it as far as I did by winning competitions and doing the best I could. The only mistake was not winning the last competition. The other mistakes were more personal mistakes. Those were not strategic mistakes.
RNO: By the way, you probably have the record for the most days in the Big Brother house, don’t you?
Janelle: Yes, they told me last night I have the records for surviving the most evictions, being nominated more than anyone, winning more vetoes, most HOHs, and most days in the house.
RNO: Who do you think will win?
Janelle: I think it’s 50/50. There are six other people voting. I know where Will’s vote is going. I think Marcellas will vote with his heart. I don’t know what Howie’s going to do. I think a lot of people in the jury house are huge game players, and I think they want the person with the best game play to win, they won’t vote personally, especially Danielle and James.
RNO: Do you have anything else to say to your fans?
Janelle: I love everyone who supported me from last year and this year, and thank you America – and Canada as well. And I will be on the internet after I get out of the house and be on the boards.
RNO: Thanks again, Janelle!
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?mode=4&article=article6427.art&page=1