‘Big Brother’ star Jimmy Heagerty reacts to Mickey turning on him

Jimmy Heagerty thought he was solid in the Big Brother house with his Triple Threat alliance. But little did he know that partners Mickey Lee and Morgan Pope viewed him as the threat that needed to go.

After word got back to Mickey and Morgan that Jimmy formed another voting group behind their backs, Head of Household Mickey put her ally on the block. It was a stunning move that led to the 25-year-old strategy consultant from Washington, D.C. being on the wrong side of a 9-2 house vote (which was stunning in itself once Ashley Hollis frantically attempted to change her vote).

What does Jimmy make of Mickey’s move? How does he feel about Keanu Soto and Vince Panaro ratting him out? And why did he do a complete 180 on Rachel Reilly? We asked the fourth one out all that and more the morning after his ouster.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Mickey decided to take you out after hearing about you making another voting group with Keanu, Kelley, and Vince. Proper reaction or overreaction?

JIMMY HEAGERTY: I think it was an overreaction. I think when you take the word of other people over the people you’re working closely with, that says a lot about how much you really trust them. At the end of the day, it was Mickey’s decision to make, but if she had come to me and asked me why I created that group, she would’ve gotten a solid answer. And I don’t think I would’ve been in this situation. I do think it was a strategic blunder for Mickey to take out somebody that frankly would’ve followed her into the sun, but that’s her decision to make. And you know what? She definitely got out a big player early on, so maybe it’s a good résumé builder for her moving forward.

When Mickey was deciding between putting you or Vince up, Morgan said she didn’t want it to be Vince because Vince was her “number 1 guy.” What do you make of her feeling that way and then Mickey letting her keep her number 1 guy instead of you?

Well, if I were Mickey, I would’ve gone for Vince after Morgan said that, because I know Morgan is one of Mickey’s top people in this game. And if you know your top people view other people as their top people, you need to take them out to put yourself in a better position with that person. Morgan will turn on Mickey the first chance she gets, and Mickey again made a strategic blunder by not going after Vince.

Moreover, most people in the game feel like Vince is their number one person. Maybe that means Vince is playing a good game, or maybe that means he’s just good at pulling the wool over people’s eyes. I can’t wait for him to win HOH again and really have to show his cards to the entire house because I don’t think he’ll last much longer than that. And it depends who won HOH, because I can guarantee if my girl Rachel is sitting in that room right now, Vince is going up this week and he’s probably in trouble.

Vince and Keanu both told Mickey about that conversation. What do you make of them doing that?

I’m surprised Vince said something about it. If it had just been Keanu, I probably would’ve been able to talk my way out of it. Nobody trusts Keanu, so it probably would’ve been really easy to pose the question “Who do you trust more: Me or Keanu?” and probably end up on top of that one. But I think Vince giving Mickey information is probably what solidified him staying safe this week over somebody like me.

And, at the end of the day, I do think more people were pushing for me to go up because they see me as a bigger player and a bigger threat to get out earlier on than somebody like Vince. Vince is somebody that people will allow to fly under the radar a little bit, because I don’t think he’s as big of a fish as I am in the game. So I think that that probably worked in his favor a little bit. And when Mickey had the opportunity to put me up and get that résumé builder early on, I do think she took that opportunity.

Explain your relationship with Keanu because you two were so hot and cold.

Yeah, I didn’t like Keanu at all the entire time. I started playing nice with him after my HOH because I had to put up five people. That is a lot of people to put up in one week. And any other season you would need almost three HOHs to put up that many people. So I had to do a massive amount of damage control. And part of that damage control looked like trying to befriend Keanu a little bit.

At the end of the day, am I friends with him? No. Do I like him? No. Was that very painful to pretend to like him and try to work with him? Yes. But at the end of the day, one of my strategies here was to try to neutralize threats before they became threats. So I always wanted Keanu to feel good with me going into an HOH, and I do feel if he had won HOH this past week, he wouldn’t have put me up.

So maybe that does mean it worked a little bit, but at the end of the day, the first chance he had to throw me under the bus, he did. I’m not surprised. If I had won HOH again, he probably would’ve found his butt back on the block. So for him it was probably a smart move. But we could say we were definitely more cold than hot.

At the start of the season, there was nobody more insistent on taking out Rachel Reilly than you. And then she became your biggest supporter. What do you make of that turnaround?

What an arc, right? I was pushing for her to get out. When she got that week of safety, I was saying to everybody, “Whoever gets HOH week two is going to have a smooth and easy week.” And then I won HOH week two, put up five people, and never once considered putting up Rachel. She became my biggest supporter and best friend in the house. And I really don’t know if I would’ve been able to get through this experience without somebody like Rachel. Even if her fashion was sometimes a hit or miss, being around her was definitely one of my favorite parts of the season. And I’ll be watching and rooting for Rachel at this point to be the first double winner of Big Brother.

What’s her worst look? What’s her worst article of clothing?

I think we saw it. I think that ugly shirt that looks like it was made in a preschool art project was definitely one of the ugliest things she brought. And I think I said it at one point that just because it’s vintage doesn’t mean it’s cute. And she certainly got the message. But upon leaving, she actually put that shirt in my bag as a parting gift. So I don’t know if that was meant to be sentimental or that was meant to haunt me, but I think it’ll do a little bit of both.

Well, you wanted her to get rid of it and he got rid of it, right?

She did. Hey, at least she won’t be wearing it..That whole house lied to her and they said it was a good shirt and a good outfit because I love Rachel, but that looked horrendous. But listen, with good fashion, it’s always a hit or miss. You’re never gonna hit a home run every single time. Rachel hits plenty of home runs, but she also has some strikeouts here and there.

Julie told you about the wild scene where Rachel convinces Ashley in the Diary Room hallway to keep you, then Ashley leaves the Diary Room and talks to Will and then runs back in and tries to change her vote to keep Kelley instead. What’s your reaction to that madness?

Yes, I did catch that clip. You know, expect the unexpected. I did think I had Ashley and Rachel locked up, and God bless Rachel for really kicking to the very end, even in that hallway. I know she was really talking to Ashley there a little bit, but Ashley, once you cast your vote, you can’t change it. So I appreciate not going out on a 10 to 1 vote.

But that doesn’t surprise me. Princess Ashley can be a little indecisive sometimes, and I do think at the end of the day, doesn’t want to make many waves considering she was the target week one, and if she hadn’t won that Veto would’ve gone home. And I think at this point she’s trying to protect herself, so I don’t blame her for that.

I think the association with me means that you are probably going to be put up in the next week or two if you don’t win HOH, so I think she was just trying to protect herself. So no love-loss with Ashley. She’s still one of my favorite people, and I’m glad she got her moment.

Rachel was working hard even after the Block Buster to keep you. Did you think you had a chance to stay or even as Rachel was working, did you know that was it for you?

I gave my final pitch to everybody. I explained to them how I was good for their game and with what I do for a living, I always understand my audience and the arguments that are going to best persuade your audience. And so I gave that to each person and felt like I left it all on the field. So I knew at the end of the day, whatever people were going to do was going to be the right decision for them.

I knew if I didn’t win that Block Buster, I was going home. I was too big of a target and too big of a fish in this game to be sitting on the block and to not be voted out. In a way, it’s kind of a compliment. I know people view me as a threat, and getting me out of the way makes it easier for some people to go all the way to the end.

But Rachel fighting for me till the very last second, it, it means the world. And I think really shows not just how valuable I am for her game, but how much she loves me as a person and just enjoys having me around because Rachel and I really connected. And that’s something I’ll leave this house with. Definitely the most special relationship I’ve made.

You mentioned the Block Buster. It looked like what you were trying to do is get the furthest one in first, and then it kind of slipped out and you were back to none. Tell me what happened there.

Yeah, my strategy with the Block Buster was to get the furthest one first. I saw that the first one was really easy to get. And so I wanted to try to get that first one to first off get a feel for how the safe crack actually worked. And not to toot my own horn, but if I had gotten that first one, I probably would’ve ended up winning the Block Buster because I had my second ball in before Rylie had his third. The second that ball fell through and missed the 35, I knew I’d lost my opportunity. But I always keep fighting till the very last breath. And, and that’s exactly what I did.

But once it fell, I realized I needed to catch up a little bit, so I ended up starting a new strategy, going backwards, starting with the first one, then the second one, and then last time around I was going for that furthest code.

You’re clearly a big fan of reality TV. Exactly how much Real Housewives and Drag Race studying did you do for all your dramatic speeches?

Believe it or not, Dalton, that is me at a night out or a family dinner. I did not pare myself down for the show and that’s one of the things I really wanted to do. I am a big fan of reality TV, so I know when you have a moment and you have something to say, it’s always better to say it than to keep it in. I’m not somebody who walks up to the edge and walks back. I walk over the edge and start looking for my parachute on the way down. And that’s exactly what I did in this season. Maybe it might have been a blunder here and there, but I have no regrets because I think I made an entertaining television show. So at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for, right?

If you could go back and change something about your game that maybe would’ve given you a different result and kept you in the house, what would it be?

I think there’s two things. I think a more specific point is I wouldn’t have done the damage control I did after Adrian’s eviction with Kelley and Keanu. I do think that sealed my fate with Mickey’s HOH. That storage room conversation really sunk me a little bit. But that goes to the broader goal of, I think I was over aligned too quickly. I don’t regret how quickly I was playing the game because I think a lot of people right now are not playing the game and are trying to coast to jury. That’s the exact opposite of what I wanna do.

People, the game starts before we even get there. And if you’re not playing… like, who plays Monopoly and leaves their piece on GO just to see what other properties people are gonna buy? I’m going out into the board and trying to buy a property. So I have no regrets there. But the last thing I would’ve done is I would’ve tried to listen more than I spoke. I definitely talked a lot and maybe a little too much here and there. But at the end of the day, those are my big regrets. I over-aligned too quickly. And I probably spoke more than I listened.

I know you’re rooting for Rachel, but who is playing the best game in the house? Critique it for me.

Oh gosh. I would say Rachel if she was had won something. So unless she’s won this last HOH, it’s honestly probably Vince. I don’t know if I fully respect his game a hundred percent, but many people in the house trust him and many people in the house view him as their ride or die or number one. And if you’re able to convince that many people of something that frankly isn’t true — not everybody can be your number one — so if you’re able to convince that many people of that to the point where they’re willing to protect you in most situations, I think that means he’s playing a pretty good game.

I think he should be worried if somebody like Rachel or Ashley wins HOH because I do think they’re coming for him if that’s the case. And even somebody like Kelley may surprise us and go after Vince, because I was planting those seeds before I left, that people need to take him out or he may run away with this thing.

Finally, did you really like Bad Guys 2 that much or were you just amping it up for the camera?

[Laughs] No, I did! Bad Guys 2 too was such a funny movie, and I loved every moment of it. It was such, a great movie for all ages, honestly. And when you’re in the Big Brother house, any form of media you can consume is incredible. Plus, they had a snake in it, so I felt very represented and really enjoyed that on the screen.