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Big Brother 20's JC Calls the Controversies Surrounding His Behavior "Unnecessary Drama"

Of course he did

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Sadie Gennis

Very few of the Big Brother 20 houseguests took JC seriously as a competitor. He was a goof -- albeit one who seemingly had some sort of god complex, mercilessly toying with the other houseguests as the self-proclaimed puppet master of the season. But everyone who underestimated JC is probably shaking their heads right now since JC made it all the way to the Final 3 of the season.

But little did JC know that Tyler and Kaycee, the two houseguests he competed against in the three-part HOH competition, had a secret Final 2 deal. After Kaycee won the final HOH, they revealed the truth to JC, who had believed all season that he was Tyler's true Final 2 ally. JC then surprised everyone by taking the news in stride and not holding a grudge against Tyler for deceiving him all summer.

TV Guide spoke to JC about Tyler's betrayal, as well as the series of scandals he found himself in throughout his tenure in the Big Brother house. Check out everything he said below!

How did you feel when you found out about Level 6 and Tyler's real Final 2 deal with Kaycee?
JC:
To be honest, I wasn't really that surprised completely because I knew he was already being weird and sketchy since the double eviction. So I mean, I wish I could say, "Oh my gosh. No, I wasn't expecting that at all." But yeah, you live with those people, you get to know them really well. The fact that I was able to [sense] that something was wrong but at that moment that I realized it [it] was too late already because I didn't have that many other people in the house to turn to. I realized just way too late.

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Even after Tyler blindsided you with Brett's eviction, you stayed loyal to him. Do you think there was anything you could have done with anyone in the house at that point to try and flip them against Tyler or make another alliance of your own?
JC: If in that double eviction Brett wouldn't have gone home, I would have started -- I was already thinking about doing my stuff. I'm way smarter than that. I was just not going to let them get away with it. But it happened to be Tyler that won that double eviction HOH and then he got away with it. He already had Angela in his pocket and yeah, at that point there was nothing I could do. The only thing I could do to make it Top 3 was just stay loyal and then from there, go and win something. And that would have made me Top 2. But it didn't happen because I didn't win anything in the final thing.

​Big Brother 20
CBS All Access

If you had gotten the opportunity, would you have brought Tyler with you to the Final 2?
JC: Yeah, of course. Yeah. One of the things I told myself coming into this game was, you know, I'm going to go there, this is a very dirty game. You have to lie and do a lot of bad things, but I'm always going to try to be happy, make people happy, have a good time, enjoy the summer, do crazy stuff but not that crazy. And the second thing, just stay loyal to someone. And instead of like him going around making Final 2s with everyone --- which is good for him. It worked for him, look -- I just stuck to one and I thought I had it. ... But I'm very proud of my game and my social game because with all this going on and without him being completely loyal to me, I made it to Top 3. The only thing that I needed to do for Top 2 was just win, it was just to win that Part 2. And if I had won Part 2, I would have literally sat with him and told him, "Listen, this is what it is. I know what's going on. But right now, you are completely chained to me and you have no choice." And I would have made it Top 2. And I'm pretty sure with my speech I would have picked up the votes. The only thing I needed was to win Part 2. That was it.

You always chided Tyler for being stupid and easy to manipulate. Do you still think that's the case?
JC: Um, I still think he's stupid. He didn't win first place. I sat there with him when they came up to me and told me about the Top 2 and in a very subtle way -- being very nice because I don't have to go around offending anyone -- I told him yeah, you made Top 2 with someone who there's no way that you are going to win over because Kaycee doesn't have any blood on her hands at all. Zero blood on her hands. So yeah, if that's not being stupid, I don't know what is then.

Big Brother 20 Winner Kaycee Knows a Bitter Jury Helped Her to Victory

You seemed to consider yourself the mastermind of the season. Now knowing about Level 6 and Tyler's deal with Kaycee, do you still feel that way?
JC: I never considered myself the mastermind of the season! These are things that I've heard yesterday. I was just playing the game, literally. I really never considered myself the mastermind of the season. I was just playing the game and I was being loyal to one guy that I made the Top 2 with, and we got [to be] really, really good friends. He's like my brother. I love him. It's just a game. That's what we're there for. But I have to watch the season to see why [people say I thought I was the mastermind]. I thought everyone was playing very good. I was just literally playing the game. But thank you though!

Even though you didn't know about Level 6, you stayed very loyal to Tyler and the people in that alliance all season. Why do you think Level 6 never officially inducted you as a member when they worked with you every week?
JC: This was the thing: I was basically the spy for the other side, right? So I got way too into my spying thing, which I was actually enjoying. And I never really took the time to go to my side and actually work on those relationships, because at the end it's about relationships. ... While I was basically working, they were just becoming friends and making Top 2s and all that kind of stuff. And then I realized and I kind of tried to pitch Angela -- you know what? What really screwed the game is when it starts getting emotional. And at that moment when I came to Angela, I already knew that she was getting emotional with Tyler. I'm like, this is a love case. I don't try to work when I know that it's going to [get] no results. So I know what I have to do now is just play my cards and I did it. I played my cards. I mean, even when I was on the block right there with Sam, I got my two votes. They were as loyal to me as I could make it. We all loved each other. At some point we had to come for each other. The whole alliance made the Top 4, so it really wasn't that bad. We were a really good group working together. We really were.

Who do you wish you had made a Final 2 with instead of Tyler?
JC: It's really hard. The thing is, at the beginning I couldn't even work with Brett because Brett was in the bros thing. And I know Brett was very smart, but there was no way, you know? Like he was trying to be extra smart. Even if I tried to work with him, I knew he was talking with Tyler and trying to make deals with Tyler and stuff. I was literally living there. I would see them walking into the storage room and spending 30 minutes to go and get some butter. So I knew exactly what was going on in the house. With Faysal, yeah, Faysal was listening to me and I said I was the puppet master with him and stuff. Faysal was doing all that I wanted him to do. But at the moment I took Faysal out, it was completely necessary. I was there. Faysal, at that point, wasn't being loyal, wasn't even taking me seriously anymore. He was going around playing an emotional game because he loved Haleigh. ... He was making Top 4 with some other people, making sure that he was safe. He even mentioned to some people using me as a pawn. So, at that moment, I knew I started losing Faysal. So I was like I can't keep this guy in the house right now. I used him for my game. As soon as Angela won her HOH and I still had a voice and I came up with a plan, I [threw] it out and she did it and I took him out. I took him out at the right moment. There was no regrets about that. He wasn't going to work.

Before entering the house, did you ever think there would be somebody so easy to manipulate as Fessy?
JC: [Laughs] To be honest, I was just planning on playing the game. Me and Faysal, we had an amazing relationship. I actually love him. We're going to be friends forever and ever and ever. I'm curious to see how [watching] the show goes, because it was just like a game thing. I was able to get in his head and stuff but it was always love and stuff. It was not in a bad and malicious way. Nothing at all. Faysal's a sweetheart. I mean, I knew I was somehow going to get my way with some stuff. I actually didn't know it was going to be that easy, to be honest with you. Not trying to be cheeky, but yeah, it wasn't really that hard. It was mostly [stressful].

Big Brother 20's Tyler Reveals What He Wishes He'd Told the Jury If He Hadn't Been Rushed

If you had made it to the Final 2, what would your case have been to the jury?
JC: First of all, I was going to let them know one of my biggest moves of the season, which was the Kaitlyn vote. Because I didn't want to be there in the big happy house. I wanted to be a lot of confrontation and keeping the house separated and suspicious and stuff. And what I realized, I was the one who flipped the votes for Kaityln to go. And I'm like, "What? We're going to have a unanimous vote in the fourth or fifth week? Like, no. I have to spice this up." So I flipped all the votes and then flipped mine. And I used that vote the whole season. That vote helped me with so many things. It helped me ... to make people suspicious of others, like until the end. That was a really good move. I was just going to be honest and tell them, "You know, I only wanted you to enjoy your summer, be happy and play the game and I did that and I hope that I did that in the nicest way possible." And I would just tell them some of the other stuff I was doing and that I was going to be loyal and stuff. And just use my words. And I'm pretty sure I could have got those votes.

Do you think you would have stood a chance to beat either Tyler or Kaycee had you made it until the end?
JC: I think I had a chance to beat Tyler. We were very 50-50. We all worked together, and I have all my dirtiness with all the spying and stuff, and he has all his dirtiness, game-related of course, with all the back-dooring. We had a 50-50. With Kaycee, I don't think I had a chance, to be honest with you, with Kaycee. No matter which one of us two would have gone there, we didn't have a chance with Kaycee. I gave Tyler my vote, but I knew she was going to win. Did you see what I said when I put the key in? I said, "Loyal to the end" and I said the name of our alliance and I gave my vote. But I knew putting that key in there that she was going to win. There was no way. Kaycee was super loyal to us, she never came up with a plan, she never did anything but winning Vetoes. We'd just tell her what to do. That was pretty much it. No one had a reason to hate her or be bitter toward her. People gave her the vote because she's a fierce-a** competitor, one of the best competitors. She gets into the game and goes and not only wins, but wins with record times and stuff. There was no way. And at the same time, she didn't back-door anyone. There was no way, girl.

Was it part of your strategy not to win a single comp until the very end of the season?
JC: Well yeah, I did throw a few comps and then I started realizing that even when I wasn't throwing them, I wasn't winning. So I was like uh, no. I have to stop doing this because right now I'm scared. I don't want to [go the entire summer] and not even have one win. So I threw the Pie in the Sky. That was very obvious. I was actually worried that they were going to be suspicious about it. I don't know. But yeah, that was what took me Top 3. I can tell you for a fact that after the double eviction, I didn't throw anything at all. [In] all those I was really trying.

You were involved in several incidents with production over the course of the season. Were you ever considered that you'd be kicked out of the house? Did those incidents make you concerned about how the fans would view you?
JC: No. Listen, I didn't even know that was even an issue until literally like the final day. Like, we were all family there. We were all enjoying each other. I'm very expressive. I don't go around the topic and stuff. If I'm thinking something or I want to express an idea, I just go and say it. And I mean yeah, they told me to take it easy with that and stuff but there was nothing really serious the whole season. This was news for me, the news coming out now and listening to this. That was really, like, nothing. Every single incident that they've been [reprimanding] me [over], there's been a story behind that. ... It's what I like to call unnecessary drama.

Your face during Swaggy's proposal to Bayleigh was absolutely priceless. What was going through your head in that moment?
JC: I was going through my head like literally, it takes five months in my book to start a relationship, five months of dating -- and just to take it to the boyfriend aspect. And then this guy, they've known each other 23 days and they're going to get married? I mean, I love Bayleigh. I never really talk about this, but Bayleigh was my top 5 to go with. And she just got a little bit crazy after her HOH and started being a liability; she wanted to use me as a pawn when there were 11 people in the house, so she had to go. But a proposal after 23 days? I wish them the best. I literally, really, really wish them the best. It's just not how I see things. I believe more in like the power [of] getting to know each other very slowly and seeing if that's the person you completely click with. I don't think 23 days is enough time. But if it works, congratulations, and they better invite me to their wedding.

Celebrity Big Brother returns to CBS this winter.

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