“I Did Take It Too Far Sometimes” – An Interview with Big Brother 9’s Joshuah

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.