Flirting With Disaster - Entertainment Weekly

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You might think that after such a hostile exit last night from the Big Brother: All-Stars house, Howie Gordon would have calmed down by now. Guess again. Reached by phone at the jury sequester house, Big Boy is foaming at the mouth, taking down Danielle, Erika, and Marcellas at every opportunity. Herewith, his (somewhat toned down) venting session.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Hey, Howie! How's life in sequester?
HOWIE GORDON: This is a beautiful tropical paradise, instead of battling it out with houseguests like Boogie.


Speaking of Boogie, what was up with you two at the end?
I thought you were going to throw some punches.He and Dr. Will are the most untrustworthy guys in the house, and we made a so-called alliance with them. Unfortunately there were a lot of pregame alliances made, and I wasn't aware of all of them. Janey let Boogie and Dr. Will into our close circle, and they betrayed me. So when I left, I said, ''Thanks for the sellout.'' We got in each other's faces. He was like, ''Get out of here. You're a real class act.'' It makes for a great exit. I'm not gonna walk out like some punk. I had a great time walking out the door like that.

Did you know you'd be leaving?
I knew. Erika is emotional wreckage. When I saw her sitting next to me cool and confident, I thought, ''I'm in big trouble here.'' Normally she'd be crying because she's such a big baby. I saw Janelle and James sitting in front of me looking pretty distraught. I saw Janie staring down Erika. Earlier in the day I thought I had a shot of staying, but hey, it's Big Brother. You fumble the ball and you get your head blown off.

I'm not sure what that means, but anyway, were you surprised at how much the house wanted you and Janelle out?
Yeah, getting rid of me was part of the process to getting rid of her. Janelle is probably the biggest badass ever to play. I think she's a more dangerous player than Dr. Will, but she's younger than Dr. Will so she's more apt to believe things and do things you shouldn't do.

Speaking of Dr. Will, what was up with your obsession with him this year?
Dr. Will came in as the most notorious, greatest houseguest of all time. He claimed he was the best looking. Me getting close and personal was great for my strategy. It's fun for viewers, it's fun for the houseguests. I had a great time weirding him out and freaking him out. I'm Howie. I'm comfortable with myself. I don't think I'm gay or bisexual by any means. It's just the nature of who I am. I like to weird people out. I like to mess with people. If I could take Dr. Will away from planning season 6's demise, that was my strategy. At the same time, is he a good-looking guy? Yeah.

It seemed that all of a sudden, you stopped harassing him. Did the producers tell you that you had to?
Will got kind of freaked out, like, ''You're sexually harassing me.'' He can dish it out, but he can't take it. I was like, ''Okay, you skinny little bitch.'' Everyone has a threshold. He got a little annoyed with me.

You mentioned there were alliances before going into the house. What do you mean?
We walked into the house, and it was 10 on 4. Janie didn't even know I was in the running until she saw me in the casting special. This was breached by the other houseguests. They made pacts before moving into the house. They basically cheated because they breached their contracts of confidentiality by setting up pregame alliances.

Like who?
Erika is dating Boogie outside the house. They were fooling around in the house.

Why did you always listen to Janelle? Why didn't you take the power and tell Janelle not to listen to Will?Janie, James, and Kaysar were the ones with the power carrying me through the game. They were keeping BB6 intact. They're like my family members, so of course I'm gonna do what they say. Before it all unraveled, I said to Janelle, ''Do not ever talk to Will and Boogie alone again.'' Me and James go to the backyard, and next thing you know [Janelle nominates] Boogie and Erika. I don't know. Janey started listening to Chill Town. I took Chill Town for granted. I thought they were trying to help us. But they were working with other people undercover because of pregame alliances.

I was shocked that George — who had no pregame alliance and seemed to love you — was the one to put you up.
Georgie's out there in his own world, and he'll be manipulated by anyone who will throw him slop. I took it very personally. If George had won HOH and said, ''Howie, it is in my best interest to put you up,'' I would have been fine with it. But he promised twice he wouldn't. I take it very personally. He's too dumb to think for himself. Even though he deserves to be there, he's a very malicious, deceptive, dumb player in my opinion.

But when you were all sitting together before eviction, why didn't you speak up for yourself?
I don't want to sell out people to their face. Dr. Will had said, ''You can put me up, no problem.'' I thought that was going to be the way. Why should I get into a shouting match? I thought George had his mind set. But Boogie basically threatened him and said, ''Are you willing to take the chance?'' That scared the living daylights out of him. And then Danielle stayed back and made her mark. I should have stayed with Georgie and said, ''Put up the doctor.'' That's the time I should have spoke. It obviously bit me in the ass.

Janelle seemed pretty sure James was betraying your alliance. Did you feel similarly?
Obviously James had a shot at taking out Danielle, and he threw it with the champagne thing. He took himself out of the game. Was he directly going for the demise of BB6? I don't think so. I think he has dreams of going to the finale with Danielle. Was he a direct threat to Janelle and me? I don't think so. I love James. He's my buddy in the real world, but this is business. Was I losing trust week by week? Absolutely.

What was up with your oddly colored hair this past week?
I was growing a goatee, and I didn't shave. Danielle and Erika said, ''You look good with facial hair.'' Not Janie — she never really likes my physical appearance. I shaved and made a goatee. Then the day before, we got the notion it was going to be a prom. So Georgie, Dr. Will, and Boogie put streaks in my hair. It was kind of accidental, but I got a new hairstyle.

Wait a minute. You let George, Will, and Boogie do your hair?
Once again, I put my trust in the untrustworthy. I should have known right then and there I was going home. They were going to do the eyebrows too until Danielle said not to.

So was it nice to see Marcellas at the evictee house?
I saw Marcellas the second I walked in. He was playing cards. We watched a couple of tapes of the HOHs and the power-of-veto ceremonies. I cursed out everyone who planned my demise, and he wasn't happy about that because he's still friends with Boogie and Erika. He was offended. But it's a big house. Lots of grounds. A big beach. I don't see him except meals — lunch and dinner. No biggie. I was never really friends with Marcellas before Big Brother or in the house, so I couldn't really care less. He's a bunch of negative annoying energy.

You seemed to be kissing all the girls every two seconds. Did you have an in-house romance we didn't see? Perhaps a little Boogie-Erika type thing?
I'll be honest with you. Erika dressed up early in the game like Princess Leia, like, ''I like Jedis.'' But [unkind remarks about Erika redacted]. If there was one person I wanted to get it on with, it would be Alison or possibly Diane. You're locked in this house, and it's like, ''This is what the menu is.'' This is who I have to harass, annoy, hit, flirt with. Whether it's comical or not, I had a lot of fun doing it. Usually it gets a big laugh when I say, ''Hey I love your boobies,'' or ''Let's go to the red room together.'' It's part of my personality. It's an extension of who I am.

Do you have a favorite Howie moment of this season?
Riding on the Slip n' Slide with Chicken George, walking around in my birthday suit for Boogie, mimicking sexual gestures to the house, my overall interaction with people. I don't have to say anything, and it can still be pretty funny. I can walk around or put on some clothing, and the house dies because it's so hysterical.

What was more fun for you: BB6 or BB: All-Stars?
I had way more fun last season. Last year I competed in two power of vetos before I got evicted. This year they never went more than five minutes, and they were more about how can we degrade this person or who can get this trip quickest. They're making you earn your money this year. Any Super Bowl champion is going to tell you the first was the sweeter one.

What do you do outside Big Brother?
I was selling pharmaceuticals before BB6 and studying to be a meteorologist. Then I became a quasi celebrity, so to speak. A lot of people were asking for my autograph, like, ''Hey, it's Big Brother Howie!'' I went to a charity event last year in Vegas for Hurricane Katrina, and I was there with Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Kathy Griffin. A lot of people knew me. It was kind of cool. I sold light sabers. I made some money. Can you put on my website? It's howiegordon.com, If people want to chat with me after I come out of sequester. I live with a friend of the family in a suburb in California. I have a nice view of the pool. I also want to go back into meteorology. People ask me if I'm going to start acting, and acting's not really my thing, but we'll see. Maybe I'll try to get back on TV shows to do more reality.

What show do you want to tackle next?
I think I'd be a great Bachelor. I was on Blind Date and Elimidate. I'd say, ''You're too ugly for me,'' or ''You're too loud for me.''

Do you think people want to see you on another show?
I'm truly made for reality television. I'm the greatest person made for reality television.


another Howie interview .....

The Slug