‘Big Brother 17’ exclusive: Austin Matelson on eviction, Vanessa, Judas, and more
While Austin Matelson may have been far from the most popular player on “Big Brother 17,” that doesn’t change the fact that he was in a very good spot before Vanessa blindsided him on Tuesday night’s pre-taped eviction episode. Had he made it to the end, it feels pretty likely that he would have been able to win. Against Vanessa, he’d have Julia, Liz, Meg, and James more than likely, that would leave him just one more person to scoop up. Against Liz, he’d probably have everyone other than Julia. Maybe Steve would be his biggest challenge, but he was someone who seemed to have figured a lot of the game out despite stumbling many times and even once famously claiming that he wasn’t even there to win so much as be there for his new girlfriend.
We sent Austin over some questions earlier this week; below are his responses.
CarterMatt – How stunned are you to be sitting here right now, and did you have any sense that this could be coming?
Austin Matelson – I was totally blindsided so I’m definitely stunned but I’m also a realist and I get that it’s part of the game. Yeah, Vanessa, you got me, but I’ll get over it.
You seemed in total shock when you walked out of the house – completely blindsided. What was going through your head at that moment? (Note: This question was added onto our responses by CBS.)
Vanessa completely betrayed me. I knew it was a possibility because it’s Big Brother, but her whole game was about playing with integrity and not betraying me since we made a final two deal on the second day. She swore to me on her family, her girlfriend, the LGBT community and the Bible and she’ll have to deal with those consequences of making those pledges and going back on it. Then, I thought about Liz. I felt so bad that she would have to stay in that environment. Her heart is too good to play with people like this and I can’t be there to protect her. That’s the hardest part for me.
Was there anything you could have done over the past few days to keep this from happening?
Once I was on the block, I was at Vanessa’s mercy. So if it’s something I said that got back to her, that made her paranoid, again, whatever. I was done begging her to let me stay. If she wants to betray her closest ally, that’s on her.
You were clearly aware of the target that a showmance would put on you and Liz, but the two of you did make it fairly far in the game together. What do you think is the reason that the two of you and even Julia were able to stay off the block for so long?
What kept us safe was the fact that Julia came into the house. As soon as our two person showmance became a three person alliance, we had a lot of power and people were afraid to cross us.
What do you think Liz needs to do now to make it to the final two and win?
Win everything.
Over the course of the season we’ve come to know Judas very well, so let’s end with something fun: What wrestling character would you create for Liz, if given the chance?
She would be “Judith The Feisty Temptress”
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