‘Big Brother 24’: Michael on Calling out Turner’s ‘Slimy’ Move and Wanting to ‘Have My Moment’ Before Exit
Big Brother 24 had a new record set for Power of Veto competition wins. Showbiz Cheat Sheet sent Michael Bruner questions about his impressive run and received his prerecorded answers through Zoom on Sept. 9. This is what he had to say about his move against Kyle Capener, calling out Matt “Turner” and how he prepared for competitions.
[SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers ahead for the Big Brother 24 episode on Sept. 8, 2022.]
Michael on his move to get Kyle out of ‘Big Brother 24’
Q: If you played Big Brother again, would you change anything about your strategy?
Michael: I definitely wouldn’t want to be in the same situation where I felt like I had to win if I played the game again. Being put up early, I felt like I had no choice. And then, by the time I felt comfortable in the game, I’d already racked up quite a few wins. So ultimately, if I were blessed with the opportunity to play again, I would love to not have to rely so much on winning competitions.
So if I could do anything to avoid that, I mean, I guess the news is out there that I’m capable of winning these comps, so I don’t know if I would even have the option. So I’m proud of how I played, but I would definitely love to not have to be in that position again.
Q: Brittany [Hoopes] kept claiming your timing to expose Kyle wasn’t about the game and kept saying it was actually hurting your game. But exposing him did buy you another week. Do you agree that decision wasn’t about the game?
Michael: No matter what decisions you make in this game, they’re always going to affect the game. I don’t agree that exposing Kyle bought us another week. At the point where we came forward with this information. I had already won the veto. Britney and I were staying for another week.
So at that point, exposing Kyle wasn’t going to keep me safe that week. The veto was going to keep me safe. If anything, I did feel like this could hurt our game because I knew that people were going to be skeptical. And I completely understand that. Any information in this game is going to be viewed as OK, but what’s in it for you? So I don’t. It would be stupid not to realize that sharing this information impacted the game, that it had the opportunity to potentially benefit my game. But I knew that I was safe for the week regardless.
This wasn’t going to convince Turner to not put me on the block because he couldn’t have put me on the block. And that’s why I felt more comfortable sharing, because I like hopefully, people understand that I’m not gaining anything this week. I’m not putting myself in saving myself by sharing this information. If anything, it could blow back. And we did get some pushback on the information.
So I do agree with Britney’s analysis of the situation that this wasn’t just about game. This wasn’t about how do we save ourselves because we were already safe at that point.
How Michael prepared for ‘Big Brother’ competitions
Q: You spoke about watching some YouTube videos to prep for competitions, but is there anything else you did to prepare?
Michael: I think I’ve been preparing for Big Brother my entire life. Before going into the house, I had seen every season I would rewatch some. I tried to rewatch some of the more iconic comps to look up strategies for those, and I think that it definitely paid off.
But I even said to Julie [Chen Moonves] on stage, like I was a weird kid like I made up all kinds of games and obstacle courses for myself, that I have this really weird skill set that does not apply to any other aspect of my life other than Big Brother, apparently. So, you know, be a weird, creative, imaginative kid, and maybe it’ll help out one day.
Q: You called out Turner right before the veto meeting and eviction for saying he’d never want to take out another member of the LGBTQ community. How do you feel about him going back on that?
Michael: I have mixed feelings about Turner right now. On the one hand, I fully respect that he is playing the game hard, and he is making bold and strategic moves. So I respect that.
I think that where it gets a little dicey for me is that it was an unnecessary lie. Last week he was promising me up and down. I was safe this week. And part of that was that he didn’t want to take out the only other LGBTQ plus person in the game and to immediately go back on that. It rubs me the wrong way because that’s not something that I was ever going to use to manipulate anyone in the game. And it very much feels like that’s exactly what he did to me.
And manipulation [is] part of the game. I can respect it. I just think that it was unnecessary, and there were other ways that you can manipulate people where you’re not bringing in kind of those out-of-game situations. So I don’t know exactly how to feel. I respect the game, but it just felt a little slimy to me that I didn’t like it.
Michael on his memorable entrance and exit
Q: You had a very memorable entrance by opening the door for other houseguests to avoid being the first to walk in. Did you already have a plan for how you were going to exit if you ever did get evicted?
Michael: I always planned to not be the first person to walk in the door. There’s the first-in curse where the first person to walk in does not win the game. So, like, no way am I going in first. I will let everyone go before me.
So I definitely had that planned with my exit. You know, I always knew that I’m not a hugger. I did not want to hug people on my way out. I will see them on finale night, and maybe I’ll stomach some hugs then. But I knew I didn’t want to hug people on the way out, and I was like, ‘You know what? It’s double eviction. It’s dramatic. I’m going to be a little dramatic here, have my moment.’
So I hope everyone in the house knows that I really love and genuinely care for them. And on a personal level, like I’m not mad. Obviously a little salty on a game level, but I have no hard feelings. I just wanted to have a little bit of fun in my moment to leave them guessing and just walk out.
Other Exit Interviews:
‘Big Brother 24’: Terrance on Calling Taylor a ‘Sellout’ and Tanking Brittany With the Jury
‘Big Brother 24’: Kyle Says He Respects Taylor’s Game, Addresses Calling Alyssa ‘Emotional’
‘Big Brother 24’: Jasmine Davis on Taylor’s Protection and Saying Do ‘Not Let Turner Win’
‘Big Brother 24’: Ameerah Jones Reacts to Alyssa’s Betrayal and Turner’s Anti-Bullying Speech
‘Big Brother 24’: Daniel Durston Reacts to Possible Villain Status
