Big Brother’s house is open once more! Every week, Parade’s Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with this season’s houseguests as they get evicted from the game.
It’s only appropriate for Yash Patel to have a game that was fairly shaved down in the front, then got hairier in the back. The financial analyst initially planned on sitting back and laying low, hoping that would be the path to financial prosperity. But his assets were immediately put in jeopardy when Dee Valladares chose to nominate him, despite promising the group that helped win her the HoH that they were safe. Unfortunately, this set Yash up in a position he would occupy for the first month of the game: A perennial outsider, looking in on the majority “Toolshed” alliance as it ran the game.
The good news: The majority blew up on Day 31 when Lyric Medeiros was evicted. The bad news: Yash was one of only four people left out of the vote. Luckily, he was able to finally get the inside track over the next couple of weeks. Growing closer to La Trice “Lala” Verrett and Taylor Brown, the group ran the next two HoHs, putting the remnants of the Toolshed on the ropes. When Yash took a spin in power, his target landed squarely on the reality TV icons. In a move of desperation, Dee Valladares attempted to negotiate for the trio’s safety with her “BB Bribe” power. But for Yash, $5K did not measure up to the cost of getting rid of a power player. He had no idea that, when power was diminished, another was lurking behind-the-scenes to demolish his plans. Rick Devens chose to use his Diamond Power of Veto on Dee and chose Kamu Kirk as his replacement. In a mere matter of days, Yash left his HoH reign having failed to get out an icon, as well as losing one of his closest allies. If his mood was a DJ Khaled song, it was certifiably not “All I Do Is Win.”
The icons followed up their newfound momentum with another Dee HoH and, yet again, Yash was on the chopping block. Once again, the bribe was made, but with a very different power dynamic. In exchange for safety (and a nice chunk of change), Yash had to agree not to nominate any of the icons on his next HoH. He begrudgingly agreed to it, simultaneously handcuffing and handicapping his game. But, even if Yash was avoiding the most powerful position every week, that’s not to say he wasn’t raking in the competition wins like Chipotle toppings. Over the course of five weeks, he won six competitions, helping save himself from a number of tight spots. But when the icons themselves were in a tight spot, they played their trump card, outing the bribe to HoH Barrett Pfeiffer in a last-minute gambit to get Yash on the block. While it was ultimately unsuccessful, Yash lied about the nature of the deal, leading to yet another Angela Murray blow-up during a nomination ceremony. Perhaps it was her insistence for him to swear on his brother that prompted what happened next.
With the three icons on the block going into eviction, it seemed destined that one of the Survivor players would get snuffed out of the game. But Dee went into “dee-speration” mode, making a massive pitch to Yash and his number one Taylor Brown. She swore both privately and publicly that, if she stayed, she would concentrate all her efforts on the trio of Barrett, Drew Campbell, and Melody Morris, even offering a new four-person alliance. And, yet again, Yash took the “Dee-al,” as he and Taylor chose to take out Angela over the Survivor winner. Despite his new allegiance to the icons, Yash was still looking to get this bribe off his back, winning the next HoH.
And, while his hand was partially forced in his nominations, he felt he had a good situation going into the double eviction. The new four-person alliance was humming along strong, and he had made a deal with Drew during the 13-hour endurance competition to both not vote Taylor out and keep himself safe during his next HoH. But perhaps Yash should have known one core tenet of the Pressure Cooker: Deals can — and will — be broken. Not able to play in HoH, the worst-case scenario unfolded for Yash, as Melody claimed power. And, while she initially targeted the two remaining icons, Devens won safety for the third week in a row, forcing Yash up on the block again. The vote all came down to Drew and, speaking to the weekslong tension between the two, he took Yash out. In a mere matter of minutes, Yash went from HoH to the next evicted, walking out merely with a cup of water and only one thought about the bro: “Bruh.”
On his way to the jury house, Yash talks with Parade about what we didn’t see in the double eviction, how the BB Bribe “neutralized” his game, and how he looks back on the decision to keep Dee over Angela.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Big Brother 28
Walk me through your thoughts throughout the double eviction. After Devens won the veto, what did you think your chances were of staying?
In the beginning of the night, I felt great about going into the double eviction! I thought if the icons won HoH, I would be all right. I thought if Drew won it after we had made the deal, I would be alright. And of course, if Taylor won, I knew no matter what, I was saved. And then Melody, I also felt pretty good about. So going into the double eviction, I honestly felt stress-free. Also, because I knew I would be able to compete in the veto, and I love betting on myself to get the job done. So I knew, regardless of who wins HoH, the fact I’m able to compete in the veto gives me a chance at being safe.
After Devens won the veto. I knew it would get dicey, but I still thought there was a chance because I thought maybe Melody would nominate Taylor. If Melody truly wanted to get an icon out, I thought maybe she would nominate Taylor as a pawn or Drew as the pawn. Because Melody made it clear during the noms that she wants an icon out, and me, her, Taylor, and Drew all said, “Let’s get an icon out,” and we did this weird pinky promise thing that they wanted to do. So I thought, “Okay, if you truly want to get out an icon, I’m not the pawn you put up as a renom.” So I had hope after Devens won the veto that maybe Drew or Taylor would go up instead of me because the “goal” was to get them out.
Now that you’ve had some time to think on it, we’re going to once again ask the question Julie asked you last night. If the “BB Bribe” was not in the picture this season, how do you think you would have played the game after your first HoH?
I think the “BB Bribe” kind of neutralized me. It felt like I was a lion in a cage. I was going into these competitions knowing it wasn’t in my best interest to win, which is a horrible feeling, because a dog wants to bark, and I was unable to bark for so many competitions. So I think it really neutralized me, and it made it difficult to play the game at times because I couldn’t just do what I wanted to do. There was literally decisions that were made for me as a result of the bribe, so it made my game more complicated than it needed to be.
Yes, it gave me short-term safety, but I knew it would have downstream impacts, which it did. But it wouldn’t have affected my first HoH because, in my first HoH, the bribe had not been a thing. D had offered me the bribe, but I had declined it. But it definitely would have affected my second HoH because I would not have nominated Barrett and Melody had it not been for that bribe. My three nominations during my second HoH, would have been Drew, Dee and Devens guaranteed.
Talk to me about you and Taylor deciding to keep Dee and evict Angela in last week’s eviction. How do you look back on the decision now?
I still think that was the right decision, because Dee was a heat-seeking missile towards Barrett, Drew, and Melody after Barrett nominated her. I knew it to be true. I felt it in my heart that she was telling the truth, and I really do believe that Dee wanted to work with us there. The main issue with that was just that Devens won the Block Buster, because had he not won, he would have been going home. But in terms of keeping Dee, I think it was smart. Turns out she wasn’t a bigger shield than me because I went home sitting next to her! But that doesn’t mean that the premises in which we kept her were false, because I still think I had a better chance at staying next to her as opposed to Angela.
You’ve been very open about your feelings on Drew, calling him a weasel, a slime ball, and a “power-hungry little goblin.” Talk to me about your perspective on the game he’s playing, and his choice to evict you.
Outside of the game, I have nothing bad to say. He’s a good kid. He needs well. Did he get under my skin? You could say that, maybe a little bit. But I have nothing bad to say about him outside of this. The game is the game. He’s a great guy, and everything that happened in there stays in there.
Finally, give your rapid-fire thoughts on each of the remaining houseguests. Starting with Dee.
I’ll say guns blazing. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she lets it be known how she’s feeling, what she’s thinking. She does not give an f.
Devens.
Tactician and masterclass. I respect Devens’ game so much. He has played almost a flawless game. Somehow, people don’t view him as a threat. He is competitive. He is great at competitions, even though you would not expect that, judging the book by its cover. And socially, he is a magician. He is phenomenal with his words. He is very convincing, and he gets people to eat out of the palm of his hands.
Drew.
Spineless. Period.
Melody.
Surfboard, ’cause she’s just floating and coasting and riding the wave.
And finally, Taylor.
Real! To me, Taylor’s been the realest person in the house. She’s so legit. She keeps it a buck. I got a lot of love for Taylor.
Related: ‘Big Brother 28’s Barrett Pfeiffer Talks Frustrations Working with Drew: ‘His Game is Full of Mess’ (Exclusive)