Big Brother's Joe Dishes on His Ex and a "Brilliant Twist"

Last Thursday, bubbly 23-year-old Joe Barber II was the second houseguest sent packing, by a nearly unanimous (9 to 1) vote. The former receptionist, who's now looking for a job, pulls no punches about "stirring the pot" and seeking closure with his ex, Dustin.

TVGuide.com: Are you disappointed about going home?
Joe Barber II: Extremely. I'm a gamer, and I didn't get an opportunity. I had a feeling I'd either go out in the first week or I'd win the whole thing; Carol [who was evicted last week] was kind of a freebie — everyone wanted her gone because she wanted herself gone — so this was like the "first" week. People figured out that I was going to be a contender, and that's why I was targeted. I think it's a crock when people send strong players such as myself home early so that they can play with weaker players. That just makes for bad TV. And in addition, it's a game! You want to win against the best players; you don't want to win against people who never even try.

TVGuide.com: You weren't punished for stirring the pot?
Joe: My stirring the pot was no better or worse than anyone else's, except that I did it openly and honestly. I did it with a smile on my face, and I don't have any regrets about it.

TVGuide.com: Were you surprised by the vote?
Joe: I had a discussion with the people I was closest to — Jessica, Jameka and Nick. I said, "If it doesn't seem like I'm going to stay, vote for the other person," so they wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. Nick vacillated on whether he should vote for me or not, which really drove home everyone's insecurities.

TVGuide.com: As you were leaving, you thanked Kail. Why?
Joe: I knew that she was the one vote I had. After Dick yelled at her yet again in front of everybody, she told me that she really had no choice but to vote for me, because it would be obnoxious if she voted for Dick. So she gave me the one vote, and I appreciate that.

TVGuide.com: How was it to spend time with Dustin?
Joe: My immediate reaction when he walked down those stairs was, "Get me out of here!" This was not the situation I wanted to be in. It was basically my worst fear actualized.

TVGuide.com: Did you two work anything out?
Joe: He didn't talk to me for a straight year, when all I'd wanted to do was tell him that I was sorry. We had a conversation on the hammock where I told him basically all the malicious things I did to him, and I apologized for it. After that, I felt free as a bird. I got closure, but he was extremely upset and began to bad-mouth me. I said, "Don't do something you're going to regret later, because I'm probably not going to talk to you ever again, and you're not going to get the chance to apologize to me."

TVGuide.com: Did you believe that Jen wanted to rid the house of "negative vibes" with her nominations?
Joe: Dick's yelling at Kail and Jen really does create animosity. [Update: As HoH this week, Dick nominated Kail and Jen for eviction] Everybody feels the pressure. And Daniele's obviously a decent competitor. Also, she constantly gets more attention than Jen. My initial impression of Jen was that she is a conceited, self-absorbed individual who had not a brain in her head. My impression now is that she is a self-absorbed individual who's actually pretty smart!

TVGuide.com: Let me ask you about a couple of houseguests we haven't seen as much of... like Jameka.
Joe: She's two people: There's Jameka and then there's Jameka-on-slop. She's been on slop for two straight weeks now, and it's starting to wear her down. When she's not on slop, she's lively and hilarious, she makes jokes, she does impressions. She's led by her heart; she's really insightful.

TVGuide.com: And what about Mike?
Joe: Mike is gorgeous and whatnot, but it seems like he's not got much going on. He's a simple farm-bred Wisconsin boy. He likes to paint, lift weights, and eat his plates of meat and cheese. That's one thing I won't miss — seeing those straight boys eat. Oh, it's disgusting. It was something else. Have you ever seen someone just sit down four times a day to a plate of meat? It was appalling.

TVGuide.com: What do you think of Eric as "America's Player"?
Joe: It's a brilliant twist. Eric is the perfect choice because he's extremely outgoing and he's friends with everyone in the house, so he's really aptly placed to do whatever America wants him to do. He's a no-BS type of guy — as opposed to, say, Amber, who's crying at everything, and you don't buy it half the time.

TVGuide.com: So why were the first two evictees both part of the "twist"?
Joe: There are no coincidences in the Big Brother house — originally the targets were the pairs. Everyone viewed us as possible allies. I felt handicapped from the beginning. It was difficult working through the game as well as your emotional baggage.

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