“Things Were Said That I Didn’t Mean to Be Said” – RealityNewsOnline’s Exclusive Interview with Big Brother 11’s Braden

Readers: If you only saw the TV show, not the live feeds (and didn’t read the recap here), you might not fully understand some of the questions I’m asking Braden about. They were cut from the TV show and when Chima brought them up in her final speech, those comments were even censored then. But you’ll still probably get the gist of it.

Some things, you just need to read with your own eyes. Braden tried to explain away and apologize for his comments, but later said he didn’t regret anything. Maybe he didn’t mean it that way – I don’t know. Some of his comments also seem a bit random, such as you’ll see him talking about China when I bring up his comments about Mexicans, or talking about Ronnie being married when discussing Ronnie’s play. Read on to get the whole story.

RealityNewsOnline: Hi, Braden, and thanks for taking the time to talk to us here at RealityNewsOnline! Let’s start at the beginning. Did you have a specific planned strategy coming into the game?

Braden: Coming into the game, I had a theory that I wanted to keep me and another person strong to me, and then have a secret alliance on the other side of the table to be kind of a spy. Unfortunately, I had to cut that short because of a few lies that were spread to the HOH that jeopardized me hugely and put me on the block and took Lydia off. I had to go to guns blazing theory and say, “Hey, I need to build a strong team to keep me in this game.” I campaigned and I was so darned close, I could smell the new week, but it didn’t happen, unfortunately.

RNO: We might as well dive right into the next topic. How did you go from laid back surfer guy to suddenly throwing around racial epithets like “beaner”?

Braden: Good question. Basically, I am a very calm, strong person and I don’t go to race at any level. I had gone to Lydia and Kevin politely and calm and said, “I know you put me on the block and told lies to Jessie that I was out to get them, which was untrue, to save your butt.” She had enough votes to save herself but she went and stabbed me in the back. Unfortunately, things got escalated and heated up and things were said that I didn’t mean to be said, out of no malice. I apologized and didn’t mean any harm out of that. You go crazy in that house with all the yelling and controversy and all that. Unfortunately, the words came out and it’s unfortunate.

RNO: When did you find out that Kevin is half-black/half-Japanese, thus making your epithet wrong in any case?

Braden: I don’t care what race he is. He’s Kevin, he’s a backstabber. We’re all human, we’re all the same in God’s eyes. It just came out the wrong way. The whole reason it might have came out was that he lives right on the border. When you’re mad, something triggers you and I apologized, that’s all I can do. And I was just in china, I like Chinese people, they’re great.

RNO: What did you think of Chima bringing up your “beaner” statement and other insults in her final speech?

Braden: Chima was going full bore and she needed a retaliation, so she went out of her way to make me look bad and she did a great job. She needed a vote badly and she went all out. I think, honestly, Ronnie had made his decision earlier in the game because I saw him talking to Jessie earlier. He’s a sneaky pete.

RNO: I think he made his decision earlier as well. That brings me to my next question – do you think Ronnie is playing too hard, too fast?

Braden: Ronnie put himself in a terrible situation right now. There are plenty of people – half the house was on my side. With him jeopardizing that, I don’t think it’s going to last too long for him. He totally screwed me over. He’s got another thing coming.

RNO: I agree. I think after he is done being HOH, he’s likely to be nominated and evicted the following week.

Braden: I just watched a little segment of that [Ronnie voting]. He was like, “Oh I’m going to hell,” and he voted my name. He’s married and stuff, it’s crazy. He jumped on the wrong team – I thought he was on our team. He’s definitely conniving and tricky.

RNO: What was your plan to save yourself after the POV meeting?

Braden: Build a team. I knew Jessie had put me up for a reasons, and one was I’m a strong competitor. Build the votes so I could stick around. At the end, it just took one person to fall short and stab me in the back with a giant dagger.

RNO: If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

Braden: (Pause) Bring more socks. I don’t know. I think I was pretty genuine and I stuck to my word and my aspects in life were all portrayed. I was good and I was legit and sticking to your word is tough in there, which is a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately, a couple people were envious or jealous and they were scared I might use that demeanor to run the house.

RNO: You didn’t seem terribly surprised to be evicted, but before the vote, did you think you were going to be safe?

Braden: I accepted that three days prior to the eviction. Fortunately, I bit the bullet and grabbed a strong team and I went for it all the way ‘til the end and I did not give up. I think that should be a great thing for everybody out there – don’t give up, even if you go down, you know you went down trying.

RNO: Why do you think people believed you would be such a threat in the game?

Braden: The way I got along with most of the people in the house, the way I carried myself, [I was a] strong competitor and I was pretty intuitive with what was going on around there.

RNO: Do you think that’s the main reason you were nominated, or were there other causes?

Braden: That’s the main reason. Also the lies that Lydia said. They have to pick teams somehow, so a couple lies were made up and that definitely put a damper on things.

RNO: What do you want viewers of Big Brother to know about you that might not have been apparent from the live feeds?

Braden: I’m just a down-to-earth wholesome individual. I’m trying to give back to society as much as possible. I’m respectful of all races. I’ve been around the world and have traveled to Mexico many times – I feel we’re all equal. This is a tough time for everyone and we need to stay strong. I’m trying to help out in the world.

RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Big Brother?

Braden: I think it was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. And I don’t regret anything in there and hope to keep on trucking. It was just something you can’t explain – super-incredible.

RNO: Thanks again, Braden!

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