Carson Kressley on his Celebrity Big Brother exit: 'Cynthia and I were two lambs being led to slaughter.'
After securing a Power of Veto and a Head of Household victory, Carson Kressley was voted out of the Celebrity Big Brother house this week in a 2-1 vote. But despite facing the nomination block three times and being labeled as a target early on, the former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star managed to make it to the final 6.
On his way out, Kressley told his competitors to "keep it classy," a mantra he lived by throughout the game. He says he never played sneakily, remaining loyal to The Real Housewives of Atlanta's Cynthia Bailey and Miss USA Shanna Moakler. However, dancer Todrick Hall, a friend of Kressley's outside the house, and Hall's partner-in-crime, MMA fighter Miesha Tate, turned the RuPaul's Drag Race judge against Moakler. During his reign as HOH, Kressley sent home an ally, in a move he describes as "the only thing I regret about the show."
Still, Kressley's bonds with his fellow houseguests made for an entertaining 24 days. His cake and pie baking and friendship with Lamar Odom are just some of his shining moments. We caught up with Carson the morning after his eviction to hear about his roller-coaster experience and get his predictions for the rest of the season.
CBS Carson Kressley on 'Celebrity Big Brother'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Carson, you were nominated three times to go home this season, but you lasted until the final 6. What was your key to making it this far? Was it the chocolate cake?
CARSON KRESSLEY: Oh gosh, no, it was sheer stupidity. I just did not prepare and do enough research on how to play this game. I just wound up saving myself, you know, once with a veto win, the other time with a veto win that was used on me, and then... did I save myself three times? Or did I get booted on the third time? Right, yeah, the third time didn't work out. So I needed a little more education on how to play Big Brother, obviously.
Well, you had Cynthia as your ride-or-die, and you tried to partner her up with Lamar as you were leaving. Do you think Cynthia has a chance to make it to the end?
Oh, well, I hope Cynthia has a shot — that would be such a sweet redemption. If all the chatter I hear online is true, it sounds like Todrick and Miesha were pretty diabolical. It seems like they're the lock to win. But, God, who would you pick out of those two? That would be a hard choice. So I'm hoping Lamar and Cynthia, or Todd [Bridges] and Cynthia. Anybody and Cynthia would be a win.
As you mentioned, Todrick, who was someone you trusted early on in the game, maybe didn't have your best interest at heart. Looking back, how do you see that relationship unfolding in the house?
I know it's a game, and I know being sneaky is part of it, but I had my first radar going up when he left our first alliance. I thought, 'Oh gosh, that's so sudden. We just got here and you're leaving already.' I think he was playing his best game and saw somebody really strong in Miesha and literally struck up a deal the first five seconds of the HOH competition. That's been his ride-or-die, and I understand the ride-or-die. I just would have loved a little more transparency, I think.
Early on, you were all in for the "Girls and Gays" alliance. How did that come about?
In the beginning, really organically. I think that's probably my biggest flaw: that Cynthia and I were kind of two lambs being led to slaughter because we didn't really know how this all worked. We just organically picked people we liked. I love Teddi [Mellencamp], who was, I think, a very smart player and a wonderful person. And Shanna, who we should have trusted all along, obviously. The alliance just kind of unfolded with people that felt right. Mirai [Nagasu] was always kind of a wild card — we didn't know much about her. She left early, then Todrick left early, so in the end, it was still the gays and the girls. It was just a gay and a girl.
When you were entering the house, you saw a lot of familiar faces. Did that help you or hurt you as you were starting the game?
It would have helped me in the game had I known that you should keep that a secret, because then you can have all kinds of little side deals. I'm just not that sneaky, and I'm a real blabbermouth, and I also wanted to play with integrity. I wasn't really thinking about being surreptitious at any time. I was just trying to be smart, play a great social game, try to win competitions, and let the chips fall where they may. That's really not how this game is designed to be played, obviously.
You did win competitions. You won a veto, you won an HOH, and you ended up sending Shanna home. Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
I would have done everything differently. Looking back, I feel awful having done that to Shanna. She was an original ally. Everybody in the house, at that point, was trying to turn us on Shanna, saying, "She's playing both sides" and "You can't trust her." I don't know why we believed Miesha and Todrick, the ringleaders who have been trying to get rid of me the entire time. But I honestly thought Todrick had my back. They were so convincing. They had Cynthia convinced as well. We were just like, "Better the devil we know, Miesha, versus somebody we think is playing both sides." I'm so regretful, and I want to send a big apology to Shanna. She did not deserve that. I made a terrible mistake, and I just hate the way that turned out. That is the only thing I regret about the show. Otherwise, I was challenged. It was fun. I met amazing people. I have a great friendship with Cynthia.
Once you're able to catch up on the season and see how everything went down in the house, what are you most interested to watch? Is there anyone you're curious to see?
Yeah, I've gotten the 411 on Todrick and Miesha, so I feel like I've got their number. I think Todd Bridges was so interesting, and, again, little old naive me thought, "He's been sleeping half of the competition." When he got there, he was complaining about different health problems. I was like, "This guy doesn't even really want to be here." I think that was all just a master class in acting. He was flying under the radar, but he really kicked into gear towards the end of the competition. When he was hanging on that wall with me, I was like, "Todd Bridges is still up on the wall?!" I would love to see what he was saying to other people and what his true gameplay was from the very beginning. I'd also love to know what Lamar was up to. Did he have a game plan? He was wavering back and forth the entire time: "I don't want to be here, you can send me home," "I want to win," "I want to separate Miesha and Todrick." So he was all over the place. Chris Kattan, I would love to know, why did he say yes to this? This doesn't seem like something he would enjoy, but he was so lovely.
When you reflect on the experience as a whole, how does it compare to what you imagined it would be?
It was nothing like I imagined it would be. I just thought there would be rules of civility because we were all celebrities, and it's not like the regular game and wouldn't be so cutthroat. I knew so many people, I just assumed people would be more honest and transparent. I know it's just a game, and that's how the game is played, but I was surprised. I guess I'm just naive, but it was a little more precarious than I had imagined.
You told EW before entering the house that I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! might have prepared you and that you were most nervous about sharing the communal bathrooms. Did you find either to be true?
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a much harder show because you're literally living in a jungle and eating, like, deer legs. This was actually quite comfortable. We had fantastic food. Cynthia and I whipped up great food almost all the time. Those people should all thank us. We had cozy beds. The one bathroom? Not great for 11 people, but we could manage, and after a while, you just got used to this weird communal living situation. Being here out of the house for the first time in 24 days, I'm just like, "Wait, I have my own room with a bathtub." I'm thrilled.
Now that you're out of the house, how are you planning to decompress and get back into the swing of things?
We nap a lot in the house, so I thought when I'd get out of there, I'd be raring to go. But I'm exhausted. We're going to be back for the live finale on Wednesday, which will be very interesting, and I can't wait to see what happens on the show on Monday. After that, I'm going to go on a little Palm Springs vacation, decompress, and get some Vitamin D. I've been indoors for 24 days, and then we quarantine seven days before that, so I have not seen the sun in quite a while.
And you'll be there with Lamar?
Lammy wants to come, but I don't know what Lammy's schedule is like. I'm sure Lammy would be a hit, though, and I would love to have him poolside with me. And we can have some "Lamargaritas."
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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