Mirai Nagasu reacts to her unanimous Celebrity Big Brother ouster
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"You should stay and I should go." Those were Chris Kattan's final words to Mirai Nagasu before voting took place on Monday's live eviction episode of Celebrity Big Brother. But even though the former Saturday Night Live funnyman waved the proverbial white towel, it was Mirai who was unanimously voted out 7-0 by her fellow houseguests.
The only player in the house still in her twenties, Mirai didn't make the connections to carry her through the game (with Head of Household Chris Kirkpatrick noting that she never spoke to him). While Mirai was saved at the first vote by the Mon Won twist that took her off the block, there was nowhere to hide in vote number two. We spoke to the former Olympian the morning after her ouster to get the scoop on how it all went wrong, and why the entire ordeal was a "learning experience."
CBS Mirai Nagasu on 'Celebrity Big Brother'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So what went wrong, Mirai? Why are you here talking to me instead of competing to see who can strip out of ski clothes the fastest?
MIRAI NAGASU: It was a perfect opportunity to backdoor a stronger player, but unfortunately that wasn't in my cards, and between Chris Kattan and myself, I was playing the game a little bit harder and I ran out of alliances a little bit sooner. So, unfortunately, I had to go home.
How much does it hurt that it was unanimous even after Chris Kattan essentially asked to be voted out?
I think that now that I'm outside the house, I have a lot of perspective and yeah, it would've been a great opportunity to really backdoor a stronger player. But it wasn't personal. And at the end of the day, I played my best game and I learned a lot about myself.
And being the first Asian American on Celebrity Big Brother, I live a humble lifestyle, and getting to hear what those celebrities' experiences were and growing up on a lot of Madonna and Taylor Swift and Beyonce, and these are people who have real hand experiences with celebrities — that was really great for me to hear and listen to firsthand.
You talked about how you've been out of the house now for a few days and have a little more perspective. When it first happened in the moment, did it feel personal?
I feel like I have a good read on people, but whether you're a celebrity or not, sometimes you're just readable. And I read the room. Unfortunately, that veto could have really saved me depending on what was going on, but the strategy was to get me out. And so, you know, just wasn't my day.
You told the group, "It has been so difficult for me because you all are so much older." Why was that age gap so difficult?
We did have a generational gap and our life experiences are very different. But I got an opportunity to listen to an NBA player's account, and a child actor, and a boy band singer. It was really interesting. Were I to play the game again, would I relate a little bit more to a younger cast? I think so. But I did the best that I could, and I just knew that someone had blown up my game too early.
CBS Mirai Nagasu on 'Celebrity Big Brother'
You also talked with Julie Chen Moonves about how you struggled with being the only Asian American in the house. Give us a little insight into how that was difficult for you.
I think that visibility for minorities is so important, and I actually connected with Derek X from season 23 and I said, "You know, Derek, if we were in there together, we would've made a great team duo." We would've had each other's backs with how strong he was in the HOH competitions and Veto, and I had a pretty good social game at the beginning, so we would've been unstoppable. He tweeted at me on Twitter and said we could create an alliance called the Takeout, and I was there for it.
I hope that I bring more visibility to the fact that Asian Americans have great personalities and great strategy. And I hope that I can encourage more diversity overall for all minorities on Big Brother.
Let's talk about some of the gameplay. You spilled on Miesha's plan to oust Teddi, so then you went up on the block once it got back to her. How did you work your way back into Miesha's good graces?
I have to watch the Big Brother episodes in little increments because it is very weird for me to watch myself, but I was willing to make the deal to take out Carson, which Teddi was not willing to do so. And, and I think that Miesha, at the end of the day, respected that I went back to my alliance and told them the plan, because that was something that Miesha would've wanted from her own alliance.
So she knew that I was loyal to her once I made the deal about helping taking out Carson. And he is very mentally strong and a great puzzle solver. So, you know, with the upcoming challenges, I think that I would've killed Bowlerina. I know Miesha and Todrick fought for me, but it just wasn't my day.
If there had not been the Mon Won twist at the first eviction, who goes home: you or Teddi?
I think that Teddi would've still gone home because she was the stronger player. She outlasted an Olympian in the first a HOH challenge and she is an incredibly strong woman. She was the bigger threat.
CBS Mirai Nagasu and Teddi Mellencamp on 'Celebrity Big Brother'
Had you won the second Head of Household instead of Chris, whom would you have put up on the block?
If I hadn't had to turn on the Formation, I would've backdoored Miesha, because I recognized how intelligent and how strong she is, but the way the game went, I became loyal to Miesha. And so I was on team getting Carson out, even though Carson as a person is so lovely and I enjoyed his cooking so much and I hope he makes it till the end.
I don't know if you looked this far ahead but whom did you want to go to the end with?
I was really loyal to Teddi. We had a final two, but, of course, the game changes so quickly and Miesha was straightforward with me. Once I told Teddi the plan, Miesha said that I became the target. She was very honest with me. I would've gone down for Teddi at the beginning if she had not made a deal to keep herself safe, but in Big Brother, survival comes first.
And so I understand why Teddi did it, and I admire the way that she fought in that first HOH round. It hurt for her to get backdoored, but that is honestly what happens to strong players. And so if I had had things my way, I would've wanted to end up next to Teddi, even though it didn't play out that way.
It's an emotional roller coaster going on this show. So are you glad you did Celebrity Big Brother, all things considered?
I absolutely am. I learned so many life lessons, like how important having diversity in my life is. As much as I love my housemates, living with celebrities was definitely outside of my [comfort zone]. I had the best time with the experiences I got to hear, but I learned a lot about some of the outside things in our lives that we take for granted that I have so much appreciation for.
Now that the live feeds are a thing, I am still very much in the game and I'm trying to stay connected so that I can make a good jury member. Overall, my experience with Big Brother has been a learning experience, and the fact that I was on I'm the first Asian American on Celebrity Big Brother means so much to me.
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