It’s been said previously that you can bounce checks in the Big Brother house. But Brandon “Frenchie” French showed what happens when you use an entire checkbook over the course of two weeks. The farmer planted a field of promises as the season’s first Head of Household, making several promises and deals he ended up going back on. And he discovered quickly turnabout was fair play, as one of his nominees won power the very next week, which prompted the rest of the house to send Frenchie to the slaughterhouse. The first week of this season could fill an entire article, but we’ll try to keep it brief. Frenchie started premiere night on a high note, becoming captain of the Jokers team, drafting his group, and winning HoH. When presented with a “double or nothing” opportunity, he declined, which was the most conservative move he made all week. Frenchie spent the first couple of days spinning a roulette wheel of nomination options, all while making promises to various houseguests. Though he settled on a “meathead” first boot, he went back on his word of not nominating women or minorities, intending to aim a showmance that had yet to materialize. When people were understandably furious at his choice, he brought them into an alliance and attempted to target someone else, who happened to go on and win the veto. He got a final target in his crosshairs in Travis Long, but it wasn’t without blood spatter, as he had promised him safety in the very first minutes of the game. Though Frenchie had taken the first shot, he was about to experience return fire. When Kyland Young hit that ball into the shark’s mouth, the house could already smell blood in the water. Feeling like all eyes were on him, Frenchie went kamikaze, selling out his new “Slaughterhouse” alliance to everyone not involved. They, in turn, threw him under the tractor, and Kyland returned the favor from last week and nominated him alongside Britini D’Angelo. And if you think that would have stopped the Frenchie shenanigans, you don’t know Frenchie. He continued to make promises, like saying he would use the veto to take Britini off the block if he won it. When he lost the Veto competition, he was ready to go home right then and there, before realizing that the suntan oil he collected was just greasing the wheels for some more dealing. Unfortunately for him, all those greased wheels did was spin. Frenchie was voted out near-unanimously but walked out with his head held high and the assertion that he “made a change” in the house. Now out of the house, Frenchie talks with Parade.com about going back on his initial promises, why he seemed ready to give up after losing the veto, and whether he felt he showed himself as a person in the house. We’re talking a little over twelve hours after your eviction. Considering all the chaos you were a part of in 16 days, how do you look back on your time in the house? The second I walked out of that game, I knew it was a game. I was able to leave that at the door and be myself. The thing I realized walking in was I had to step myself up completely. When you have a whole bunch of jocks like that, I was not expecting that. You normally have like two to three per season at the most. And when I came in there and saw six, and I’m the smallest guy in the guy, I was like, “Oh my goodness. I’m like a goldfish with a bunch of sharks. I have to become a shark.” It was pretty neat, actually. I’m in great spirits, but I left it at the door. We saw you say as you became HoH that you weren’t going after women or BIPOC houseguests, and you end up nominating Alyssa and Kyland. What changed between those two events? I said they wouldn’t go home. I did not expect the Wildcard Competition, where they were able to spin a wheel to save whoever. I was originally going to put up Christian and Travis. Then I started thinking about it, and I was like, “I can’t put Travis up. He looks like he’s a chiseled Greek god, and he’ll save himself. I can’t do it.” He and Christian are competitors, so one of them had to be backdoored. I thought originally I’d have a pond of nominations, but it turned into a water droplet like that. (Snaps.) I started looking at the keys, and I was thinking back to the dice roll. That made me paranoid, thinking what thing Travis, Christian, or Brent could use to save themselves. I thought I had to have someone on the block that I could trust. That way, if there’s a dice roll or something else, somebody I trust can get that. I trusted Kyland fully. I didn’t tell anyone who I was nominating, but I knew if Kyland and I were there, the chances were pretty good we would keep that in our circle. I also was under the impression that Christian and Alyssa were coming after me. Alyssa got put up simply to send a message to Christian. I said, “You know what? If I can’t get you, I’m gonna get Alyssa.” I had no intention of ever sending Alyssa home. In my heart, I knew it was either Christian or Travis the whole time. Christian saved himself; that left Travis. I knew he had to be backdoored. I absolutely knew it. Alyssa and Kyland were just placeholders, and my absolute end goal was to get Travis out of that house. And it happened. I had a pool that is 99% women and minorities that is eligible to be nominated. Julie said, “Expect the unexpected,” and I definitely got slapped with the unexpected. I thought I was going to have a bunch of people I could nominate, and life would be good, like past seasons. That wasn’t the case. I got sent into a frenzy and thought, “What am I gonna do at this point? I made these promises before I knew any of this.” And as these curveballs came in, I realized I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But my goal was to get Travis out. Let’s talk about that “Frenchie frenzy.” I’m going to push against your assertion you were going after Travis and talk about Derek X. One of the strategies you implemented seemed to be throwing out “rumors” to use as reasons to target people, as we saw with him. What was your intention behind that? Derek F. was my absolute ride or die in that house. He was super nervous of Derek X. to begin with. I saw a trio of Derek X., Kyland, and Travis. I did that simply so I could confirm that alliance, and it worked like a charm. Going into the veto, that told me if Travis or Derek X. won that veto, there was a potential Travis could be saved that week. That made me extremely nervous because I knew in my heart that was who I was ultimately going after. It’s easy for people on the couch watching the show to be like, “Oh, but you said this and that!” In this house, literally everything you say and do is recorded. So a lot of us are saying one thing so people look there, but really we have a plan going on behind the scenes so we can get it accomplished and done. I created chaos upfront so I could get my end goal done behind the scenes. And it worked. With the “meatheads,” you end up targeting Brent, then bring him into a Final 2 alliance all in the course of one week. But this past week and even earlier in this interview, you felt you were done in by having them in the house. What’s your overall feeling on relationships with people like Brent and Christian? It was definitely a roller coaster. Coming in, I didn’t trust any of them. I’m the type of person where, if I really don’t trust you, I’m gonna pull you super close. That’s why Derek F. and my team were on the back burner. Not because I didn’t trust them, but because I did trust them and didn’t worry about them. I wanted to pull in the people I did worry about so I could see how their minds worked. That next week, I knew I wasn’t going to be safe. But if I knew how their heads worked, I could maneuver around to make myself and my team safer. That’s why I called it the Slaughterhouse. Because I would have cut every single one of them except Derek. I want to talk about your behavior on the block this past week. After you lost the veto, you were absolutely ready to walk out the door immediately. What prompted that change in mood? It had nothing to do with Derek X. winning the veto. It was who I was sitting next to. I adore Britini. She’s so full of life and such an amazing person. You can’t help but smile when you’re next to Britini; you just can’t. I knew it was going to be super hard for me in that I wouldn’t campaign against her. As soon as I saw Derek X. had that veto, I knew he wasn’t going to use it. And had I won it, I would have honestly put it around Britini’s neck to make sure she was safe, and a competitor would have had to be put up against me. Then you would have seen a whole different campaign. I would’ve gone super hard to make sure I was safe. But I couldn’t do that next to Britini. When you come out of these doors, there’s the game, and there’s real life. I totally respect Britini, and I couldn’t campaign against her. She was there because of me, and I couldn’t do that to her. If you somehow stayed over Britini this past week, what would you have been your gameplan moving forward? The Slaughterhouse was always temporary, so I wasn’t worried about it at that point. The same thing would have happened had we worked together; I was there just to get to know them more. My go-to would have been Derek F. and Tiffany. The three of us had the biggest connection. I really enjoyed Sarah Beth as well. They would have been the people I would stick with. I would have gone after Brent and Christian. You said at one point this week you would have given a sizable part of your winnings to a children’s hospital if you had won the $750,000. Is that true, or a story you came up with for sympathy? That was 100% true. If I get anything from Big Brother, as I said from the start, half of it is going to the hospital. I’m big on helping people in charity. And if I have any kind of platform coming out, my goal is going to use it for that reason. I was never going to falter on giving, no matter what happened. You have studied this game inside and out. How much can you say you showed yourself as a person versus a player? Nobody can show who they truly are as a person in that game. You don’t know who you can trust. Seeing that many jocks in the house at one time made me turn from a goldfish into a shark. I had no choice, or I was going to get eaten alive. Are there things I would have done differently? Yeah. But at the end of the day, my end goal was what mattered. Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts about your fellow houseguests. Starting with Alyssa. Total sweetheart.Azah. Angel. Absolute angel. She’s a blessing.Brent. Shark.Britini. Again, complete angel. She’s spunky.Christian. Mama’s boy!Claire. Gamer. I instantly knew she was a superfan.Your boy Derek F. Godsend. He was my rock.Derek X. Competitor.Hannah. Very sly, charismatic.Kyland. Angel.Sarah Beth. Amazing person, inside and out.Tiffany. Hilarious.Whitney. Ooh…the popular girl. (Laughs.)And finally, our new HoH Xavier. Charismatic. I adore Xavier. He’s a good person, and I’m happy for him. Next, check out our interview with Travis Long, who was evicted in Week 1.
