‘Big Brother 17’ exclusive: Clay Honeycutt on social game, competitions, relationships, and more

Let’s start here with the bad news: Today is our last extensive “Big Brother 17” exit interview before the finale. In some past years we’ve gotten some email answers during the jury phase of the game, and hopefully that is still going to be going on.

The good news is that we’re talking today with Clay Honeycutt, and we feel like this was a rather good chat. If you want to know if he’s going to continue dating Shelli or really anything on the present state of their relationship, this is not the place for you. It just feels like those questions have been asked so many times now that there’s no point in bringing them up again. Clelli seems to still be going strong, and there’s not much else you’re going to get in the way of an update on that until the finale.

CarterMatt – Have you went back and watched any old episodes yet?

Clay Honeycutt – Honestly, I haven’t seen anything. I’ve only seen this past episode on Sunday, which is the episode after I was evicted. I haven’t gone back into any of it; I’ve just been kind of laying low.

Is it kind of a weird thing trying to watch yourself on TV? I know it can sometimes feel a little strange. Is that something you are in your head about?

A little bit. I’m really just enjoying this time with my family and uncoiling a bit. I intend to go watch everything, but I’m really trying to get my back to the real world.

I know that you’d watched a lot of the show right before going in, but you haven’t been a viewer of the show for a long time. Was it surreal or overwhelming for you to see the reaction to your game?

I honestly didn’t think it would be this big. I really had no idea, but [when it comes to] the fans supporting me, I love all of [them] so much. It definitely caught me off-guard to see the big following that would turn out from this experience, but being there was awesome, I loved every part of it, and it was a blessing to be a part of this whole experience.

I don’t want to ask the same questions about Shelli or Clelli that everyone else has, but what I am curious about is this: Is it bizarre to have so many people specifically interested in a single relationship? Before this show, I imagine your dating life was something that was only [discussed among] a few people.

It’s not that weird. I understand you sign up for this. You sign up for ‘Big Brother’ and to be a part of this show. I know people want to know what’s going on with that whole situation. I understand where they are coming from. It’s not annoying and it’s not weird; I get the questions, I understand what they want to know. It doesn’t bother me.

Going back to the very beginning, you obviously had to know with your athletic background that you were going to be a target. Did you try to throw some of the early competitions, or maybe not try as hard to win them?

I didn’t try to throw anything, but in the back of my mind early on I was thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be the best to win every competition. However, I was trying to win; I was just that bad at them. (Laughs.) The thing that I took away from all the comps is that you have to be able do adjust your strategy before the comp as well as during the comp … When you’re in it, you can realize ‘oh wow, I need to change my strategy’ because there are so many different variables that come about that you have to adjust to in order to win them. I didn’t really understand why physical threats were such a threat, because a lot of these comps were more than just physical comps. A lot of people in the house were thinking the same thing, [wondering] why all these physical guys are being targeted when more comps are like mental-type comps.

You bring up a good point because that is something that happens a lot. The next HoH competition from Sunday’s episode actually was one that I think you would’ve done well in. A lot of people who are similar to you have done well in it.

Yeah, I was waiting for that comp. I think I would have done pretty well, but Becky did blow out everyone else. I feel like it would’ve been a pretty good comp between me and Becky.

What was your relationship like with Becky in the house?

Becky was one that I never connected to. Not by choice, but we never spent much time together and never talked much about game until late into the show. When we did talk to her, she did mention that she always wanted to work with myself and Shelli and Johnny Mac all together. However, with James winning HoH, she was already connected to that side and people tend to gravitate towards power in this game. She got through next week and then she won next week and they pulled her in more.

Becky, for a long time, was kind of flying solo.

Early on, one of the things I think you did well was that you did get a lot of social connections going. Not all of them were alliances, but you did [at one point] get along with many people in the house. Was this a goal for you early on, just to get to know so many people?

I just tried to be myself. I know outside of this house I’m a social guy, and I enjoy establishing relationships with people and actually getting to know people. Coming into the house, that ended up being one of my strengths and also one of my weaknesses, actually caring for these people, and really wanting to help them and have their back. At the same time, maybe people didn’t express the same interest with me. This is ‘Big Brother,’ and maybe I was a little bit naive to think that people would be as trusting and loyal to me as I was to them.

But yeah, I think that was part of my strategy: Come in, be genuine, and hopefully they will like me.

In trying to figure out what was your real Achilles’ heel, I feel like it was more Vanessa than James, since she was one of those people who seemed to be more about preserving her own game before doing anything to protect you.

Yeah. We put a lot of trust in Vanessa, and we thought early on in the game that we were getting that back. But then, as the game went on, we slowly started to realize that she was kind of a loose cannon, and she wasn’t as loyal to us as we were to her. I think we just picked the wrong person, plain and simple. We really put a lot of our trust in her, and that was a big downfall for us … I think Shelli is still backing her after she threw her under the bus so much in this game. She just doesn’t know it.

So who is the right person then? Who do you wish you had aligned with more?

Honestly, looking back I wish we would’ve stayed with Jason, Meg, James, and that side, because I think they really had my back and they really supported me before Jason went home. I think that’s when it made a turn for the worse for our game. It’s understandable; I know they are really close with Jason, and somehow this whole Jason then got pinned on us and they felt betrayed. I couldn’t agree more with them; they had their right to feel that way because we were playing the middle a little too long, and I think if we [had just] stayed with that [Meg, James, and Jason] group … We really liked them, and from what I saw [they liked us].

Well let’s talk about the person who stayed [off the block that week] for a minute here in Austin. What was your take on him? I’ve commented on this a little in that it seems like he played a good game early on, but then started to lose his mind with Liz. It was definitely a little different than you a Shelli, since you guys were more mutual [in terms of your feelings]. 

I don’t know what Austin’s gameplan or strategy was. I know he’s really into Liz, and maybe he just lost sight. I don’t know if he actually had a gameplan or strategy going into this, but I think he was more focused on spending time with Liz than being in the house. I’m sure people said the same thing about me and Shelli, but I would’ve had her back in [the same way she had mine]. We were still playing the game. I’m not sure what Austin’s motives were as far as being in the house, playing the game, and being with Liz.

As we start to wrap this up, let’s talk about you being evicted. I know she’s on the block now, but do you feel as though Shelli will be able to integrate into the group and go further in the game than you would have [had you stayed]?

It’s hard to say because I really don’t know. You can play the ‘what if’ game … Even if I stayed, I would be a target this week just like she is. I think she needs to stay with Johnny Mac, because that’s really all she has right now. There is already a split in the house right now, and her best bet is to have these two sides target each other and get each other out while Johnny Mac and her stay in the middle and work both sides. That’s just what I would’ve done, because if you join a side, you’re going to be the bottom of the totem pole and you’ll be the first one out when they decide to turn on each other. That would’ve been my strategy in the game, and I’m hoping she does the same. That’s kind of all she has right now.

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Thanks to Clay for all of his time, and for a pretty in-depth interview! You can see more of our “Big Brother” highlights right now at this link, and be sure to also sign up now to score some additional updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)