Big Brother 14: The Yak Chats with Runner-Up Dan Gheesling

Winner Ian Terry, Host Julie Chen, and Runner-Up Dan Gheesling

The mastermind of Big Brother, Dan Gheesling, ALMOST took the win for the second time on Big Brother Wednesday night… almost. Dan, who easily won season 10, receiving all seven jury votes in his season over his pal (that we got to hear a lot about this season, Memphis), was just not able to scrape out the win over Ian Terry this year. Dan did however play the game much more ruthless this year which cost him the jury in the long run. Had Dan won that final HOH and taken Danielle with him to the end, this may have ended much differently, but alas, that wasn’t meant to be. The Yak got the chance to chat with Dan this morning on his almost victory to see what he thought of the season, becoming the runner up and his fellow house guests. Keep reading to see what he had to say!

Dan admits that he knew the jury had already made up their mind and he had no chance of winning this season. Had he won that final Head of Household and took Danielle, things may have turned out different… however, even if he had won, he planned on taking Ian anyway. He said both Ian and himself believed that Danielle had too many friends on the jury and that neither had a chance to win against her. In hindsight however, that may not have been true, considering what Britney said on the live show, that she hopes Danielle is the last one evicted so the two that “deserve” to be the final two, are.

On his “Funeral” Dan said he knew he could get away with it once he saw how the people in the house treated him when he came out of solitary, claiming that he felt ill. Everyone hovered over him, worried about what that room had done to him. He knew then that his “funeral” plan would work. He played a ruthless backstabbing game this season for sure, but says that if you are going to play the ruthless game, then you have to go all the way through. He said when he turned that corner (into a ruthless game) you can’t just stab half the people, you have to stab them all. He had to go all the way! Anything he does, he says he does it 110% and he was hoping the jury would see that.

Instead, he admits that he believes the jury voted emotionally. Not to take anything away from Ian, who Dan thinks played a solid game, he just believes his game was better. He knew that he would have a hard time convincing the jury but still blames himself and his speech. Had he said something different maybe in that last 90 seconds, maybe he could have changed their minds… but again, he thinks the jury had their minds made up. In fact, he overheard Britney in a backyard interview after the show say that anyone up against Dan would have won the game. If he had his dream final two, he would have hoped to be able to take Jenn with him, thinking he could beat her.

Dan Gheesling with Danielle after her eviction

About scum bagging Shane, he knew that he had to get rid of him at that point in the game. Had the final three at that point been himself, Shane and Danielle, he knew for sure that Shane would take Danielle to the final two. He contradicted himself about Danielle at one point in the interview however, saying that Danielle would never have done anything against him in the game and taken him. He then stated that he knew she would take Shane, so my feeling from the conversation was he was just unsure what she would have ended up doing so he got rid of Shane to remove any doubt if she had won. He did regret about deceiving Danielle throughout the game, but still noted that he had to do what he had to do to get to the end.

When called out on his over-the-top grandfather’s necklace and Bible use, again he mentioned that because he had played a ruthless game up to that point, he had to follow through. He couldn’t just play a half ruthless game and get by. It was all or nothing.

In his season, the final time with the jury played out differently. The final two house guests had a lot more time to make their case to the jury and have the jury ask questions. Dan admits that this season was a lot harder because of that. Now, you get 90 seconds to prove your case. He believes that had he had the extra time to “mist” the jury, he could have won the game. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

The Big Brother 14 Final 3

Dan is hoping to be able to re-connect with his former house guests now that the show is over. Even Jodi, who he says he cut because he didn’t believe she gave the 110% he was looking for in that first competition and that somehow, in that 8 hours she was in there, she stirred a lot of emotions from other house guests and they wanted her out. (Not sure we buy that, but ok.) He says it’s hard getting back into the real world and was hoping he can help his fellow contestants with the transition. He has no harsh feelings against a single one of them, and hopes they can all separate game play from real life. He loved being able to play against some major competitors from past seasons and thought Britney played a great game. He did say though that he enjoyed his season, Season 10, much better than this one, saying he didn’t have the need to play such a hard core game then.

Our good friends at Big Brother Network mentioned to Dan that they had posted a poll after the show asking “Who Should Have Won? Ian or Dan?” and with over 5000 votes, Dan took it with 58% of the vote at the time of this interview. Dan responded that at least that is a moral victory, but at the end of the day, Ian played a solid game and deserved to win. He is happy for Ian and believes he will do good things with the money.

All in all, Dan seemed satisfied with his runner-up status. He would have loved the win, of course, but still, a one time winner making it into the final 2 a second time is not too shabby. From a fan’s perspective, I for one am so glad that Dan was in the house this season. Had he not been, this season would have been really boring for me. All his scum bagging aside, he played a hard, entertaining game and many of us here at the Yak are so glad he agreed to go back. Would he do it again? You bet. Dan has a love for this game and we love him for it. Of course, Dan is writing yet another book, so be on the look out! We thank Dan for taking the time to talk to us!

Next Up: Click over for a partial transcript of our reporter Jarrod and other outlets time with Dan

Big Brother 14: Interview with 3rd Place Finisher Danielle Murphree

Danielle Murphree, the final Big Brother 14 Juror

Before Big Brother 14 could reveal the Final 2, there was one more eviction and one more Houseguest to add to the Jury. That eviction happened to Danielle Murphree, who was ousted by Ian after his win during Part 3 of the Final HOH competition. Danielle took some time out of her busy post-Big Brother life and held an interview session with the Yak and other press to answer some burning questions from the fans about Shane, her regrets in the game and, of course, putting all her trust in Dan. Here is a what Danielle had to say to all the questions posed! Let us know your thoughts below!

~~~~~~~~~

Q: Hey, Danielle, thanks for talking with us! You sound like you’re doing much better today?
Danielle: Thanks! Yeah, I wasn’t doing too hot last night or this morning either.

Q: Shane didn’t seem to return your affection a whole lot until the very last week when you won the HOH and Veto. Knowing what you know now, do you think his feelings were to secure his safety or do you think they were genuine?
Danielle: I think Shane’s feelings are genuine and I think he was so afraid of having a showmance because of exactly what happened.

Q: Everything that Dan did and said this summer, the one thing that got me the most was when he told Shane that you were playing him (Shane) all along. Have you had a chance to discuss that win Dan and how did you feel about that final lie?
Danielle: When I found that out, I was livid. I’m still mad about it. Why would Dan even do that to me? I talked to Shane about it and I said it was totally, one hundred percent not true. I was never playing him. Dan was just trying to run me under the bus for whatever reason. Dan and I haven’t talked about it. Dan and I are not on speaking terms.

Q: Do you think that will change in the future?
Danielle: I don’t know. I found out a lot of stuff last night after the finale that I’m just really not happy with at all. Right now, I can really answer that question. I’m too mad.

Q: One thing that a lot of your neigh Sayers wanted to know about was when you were telling stories about yourself; you embellished your life resume a lot, including talking about your breasts and being Miss Alabama.
Danielle: I never said I was Miss Alabama. My best friend was Miss Alabama. When we talked about Miss Alabama, it was a joke. They were making fun of my Memory Wall picture because they said it looked like Miss Alabama, like a pageant photo. They knew I was never Miss Alabama. I said I did pageant back in high school. About my boobs, I do have a capsule on my right breast, like a scar tissue mass, and I do have to have it removed. It’s nothing serious, but it does need to be changed.

Q: As the season unfolded, it seems like people underestimated you, so are you underestimated in your daily life?
Danielle: I guess people underestimate me because some people might think I’m too sweet or naïve, where I don’t really know what’s going on. It doesn’t really bother me because I know who I am.

Big Brother 14’s Dan Gheesling & Danielle Murphree

Q: Going back to Dan, you said you’re not talking to him right now, but how long do you think it’ll take you to get over it?
Danielle: I have no idea. Some of the comments he’s made during the interviews since the show ended are worse then some of the things that actually happened on the show.

Q: What did he say? What have you heard?
Danielle: I didn’t hear this directly from his mouth, but that he was really going to take Ian into the Final 2 and that the last speech at the finale was all for show. Whether it’s true or not, I’ll have to wait to see.

Q: As you now know, Dan used you during the whole game to further himself. Even towards the end when you used your Veto to save Dan and put Shane on the block, which compromised your position in the game. Did you know that Shane would possibly be evicted?
Danielle: I truly believed that Dan was going to save Shane. Dan had made a Final 3 with Shane and I. Dan swore to me, and even said to me in my HOH room, “I’ll do whatever you want if you’re HOH.” He was getting a little paranoid and I didn’t want him to pull any more antics on me. I didn’t want Shane to be the one to evict Ian to where Ian wouldn’t vote for Shane [to win]. I regret that decision wholeheartedly.

Q: Did you not think that this could have been another antic of his?
Danielle: He swore up and down to me, and I laugh about it now, about how he would never, ever do it again. His antics were over. He swore on everything, like 5 minutes before we had to sit down for that live show, that Shane was safe. I had no idea about him and Ian.

Q: With that being said, do you agree with what Wil had said during the Finale about how you should take responsibility for believing in Dan’s lies?
Danielle: Yeah, it’s my fault. He fooled me several times. It’s definitely my fault.

Q: After you sat down with the Jury, you appeared to lean over to say something to someone off camera, but the microphones didn’t pick up what you said. What were you trying to tell the Jury at that point?
Danielle: I was just asking Jenn what was going on. I wanted to know what the feeling was because when I sat down there was just a very awkward vibe in the Jury. Plus, I had just heard Britney’s comment before [about hoping she was the last Jury member], so I was just confused.

Q: Going back to some of the stories you told the other Houseguests that didn’t really seem accurate, was that a strategy you had or were you just playing with the other Houseguests? For example, when you came back and said that Janelle was yelling at you when we saw it was a very calm conversation or you said you made Ian cry.
Danielle: Ian did tear up. I did make him cry. I guess I exaggerated that a little bit. Yeah, Janelle didn’t yell at me. Janelle was very sweet with me. I guess it was more game play because I was more trying to test the waters with Dan to see, since I thought that him and Janelle might have some kind of deal. I exaggerated it a bit. It was poor game play. I shouldn’t have. I do apologize, but it wasn’t to maliciously hurt anybody.

Q: Despite everything that Dan kept doing to you, you kept going back to him. Why were you so willing to forgive him and try again?
Danielle: Dan would make the comment that he hadn’t done anything to hurt me in the game. When I would try to recall, he hadn’t hurt my game and he had never voted to evict me. I wanted to believe that he was a good person because I kept thinking back to season 10 and how he was a good guy. I was completely mystified by him.

Danielle sits with host Julie Chen

Q: Talking about Part 1 of the final HOH competition where you threw it to Dan after he proved his point with Ian jumping off, do you regret doing that now and if you hadn’t thrown it, do you think you could have outlasted him?
Danielle: I knew I had to make a decision up there. I knew if I hung on longer, I would lose his trust, and then even if I threw it, it wouldn’t matter since he’d be upset with me. Looking back, yes, I regret it. Yes, I wish I would have hung on. He said that he would have beat me in that competition, but I don’t know. I had a lot of will power and I was so mad that Shane walked out that door.

Q: With all the anger you feel toward Dan, if it had been you, Dan and Shane in the Final 3 and you had the choice, who were you going to take to the Final 2?
Danielle: I would have gone with my heart and could have never wronged Shane since he never wronged me, I would have taken Shane. However, I wouldn’t have let myself get into that position to have to decide. I did not want to decide. I probably would have just let the guys duke it out.

Q: Why do you think you were the only one that voted for Dan?
Danielle: Because I think everyone in the Jury talked about how Dan treated people and what Dan had said to everybody. I think the way you treat people is really important in this game and I think that they were just so mad at how it all went down and how everybody left. I don’t blame them.

Q: Do you think it was that or were they jealous that he might be a 2-time winner? That’s part of the game of Big Brother.
Danielle: Since I wasn’t sitting in Jury, I have no idea. After the show, I only hung out with Wil, Kara, Janelle and Shane. Jojo and I didn’t talk. Dan waved at me from afar.

Q: If you had been able to get into the Final 2, how good do you think your chances were to win?
Danielle: If I would have been against Dan, I think I would have won. I think if I was against Ian, he still would have won cause Ian deserved to win.

Q: You didn’t get to hear this because you were still in the House last night, but the Jury got together to discuss the Final 3 and what they thought of each of you. When she was still in the House, you were pretty close with Britney and you developed a great friendship, but when it came to discussing you with the Jury, she sided with Ian and said that she thought you really didn’t deserve to win. Do you take that personally or are you able to separate the personal from the game?
Danielle: I did take it personal. It did hurt my feelings, but it doesn’t change my outlook on Britney. I didn’t get to defend myself. I didn’t get to say anything, so she’s just going off of he-said/she-said stuff in the Jury. I don’t take it personally, and I still love her to death.

Q: If Big Brother decided to do another twist in the future where player’s return, which obviously is quite common, would you ever be interested in playing again?
Danielle: I wouldn’t say I would never go back, but I’m not going to say it’s a definite possibility. It all depends on who’s playing. At this moment, I really don’t think that I would ever want to play with Dan again because emotionally I can’t go through that stress. I think that if Dan wasn’t coming back with all his antics, I might do it again.

Q: What was your favorite moment of the summer?
Danielle: I loved the Wil impersonations! I loved when Wil would look at the Memory Wall and joke around. Wil definitely made the House more fun!

Q: Will you be going to the Wrap Party in Vegas or the one tonight?
Danielle: I will not be going to the party in Vegas, but it’s possible I’ll attend the one tonight.

Q: Will you be going on Twitter any time soon?
Danielle: Maybe. I don’t know. I really don’t like the negative stuff. It gets to me, so I try not to look at it.

Q: What’s in the future for Danielle? What do you plan on doing now – going back to nursing, staying in Alabama, moving to Hollywood?
Danielle: I’m not moving to Hollywood. I’ll definitely stay in Alabama. I will go back to nursing as soon as some of this stuff dies down.

Q: As it worked out, you ended up being the last woman in the House. Was this part of your strategy or was it just how things worked out?
Danielle: It was just how things worked out. It was never my intention to be the last woman. I’m very proud and flattered to be the last woman, but it would have been nice to have another female presence in the House.

Final 3 – Danielle, Ian, and Dan

Q: You mentioned that it’ll take some time to work up to being friends with Dan again, but looking at how Ian and Dan played the game, do you regret your vote for Dan?
Danielle: I don’t like to play the “Would of/Could of/Should of” or the “What if?” game, but I am glad that Ian won. I think it would have been nice for Ian to win 7-0 because I think he does deserve it, but I did give my word to Dan. I did say I would vote for him, so in that sense, I didn’t want to break my word. I just wish I never would have told Dan that I would have voted for him.

Q: When you first got out of the House and sat down with Julie, it looked like there was a crowd reaction that maybe you saw something going on between Dan and Ian in the House. Did you see anything?
Danielle: Yeah, I saw them jump around and I saw Dan was laughing and giggling when he did the “Suck It” move. I was thinking, “Are you serious?”

Q: For a long time, Dan was going to take you to the Final 2. It was near the end where he panicked and thought he was going to lose to you, so he switched to Ian, so don’t feel too bad.
Danielle: He switched to never take me, even after he got rid of Shane?

Q: It was after he realized that Ian was not going to throw the final part of the HOH.
Danielle: It’s just kind of disappointing, when he did say over and over again that his goal the whole game was to get him and his player to the end and he didn’t have any intention of doing that.

Q: So, what’s the future hold between you and Shane?
Danielle: I guess just to see what happens, but I’m definitely not going to not pursue something. We’re definitely hanging out later today. I think we can make it work, for sure. I know we’re both going to pursue something and try it out. We’ll hope for the best.

Q: What are the obstacles for the two of you?
Danielle: The distance. Alabama and Vermont are a long way away, but he is such a great guy and an amazing, amazing person, that I’m not going to let the distance get between us.

Q: Do you think that you’re in love with him?
Danielle: Mm-hmmm. I could be.

Thanks for taking time to talk with us today, Danielle.
Danielle: Thank you!

~~~~~~~~~

What do you think about what Danielle had to say? Leave us a comment below, then come on in and join us in the forum!

Big Brother 14: The Yak Chats with Shane Meaney

HOH & POV winner Danielle Murphree after Shane’s eviction

Last night on Big Brother 14, Dan Gheesling, Big Brother 10’s champ and this season’s only remaining vet, spread his mist over the house once again with another shocking blindside. Never did Danielle Murphree envision she’d be sending her in-house boyfriend, Shane Meaney, packing when she used the Power of Veto to save her ex-coach, Dan. Saving Dan gave him the sole evicting vote this week, which he cast to Shane, sending the house flipper to the jury house and sending Danielle and Ian to the Final 3 by his side. Check out what Shane had to say after this shocking blindside, including what he really thinks about Danielle and who he would have taken to the finals.

______________________________________

The Yak: When Danielle told you that she was going to use the veto to save Dan, did you fight for her not to do that or did you trust that Dan would keep you? If so, why would you trust Dan after what he was able to pull off following the “Funeral” of his? And looking back, was there something more you could have done to solidify that Danielle kept the nominations the same?
Shane Meaney: I didn’t want Danni to use the veto initially, but I did want to let her know if it was an option that we could all give each others word and move forward with our final three deal. I did trust Dan after what he pulled off at the funeral. He didn’t really do anything wrong at the funeral except save his butt. He didn’t lie.

Shane talks to host Julie Chen after his blindside

The Yak: We have heard you say on the feeds that you really aren’t that attracted to Danielle. Will you be trying to date her once you are out in the real world? Were you just using her attraction to you to get further in the game?
Shane: No – I was never using her to further advance me in the game. I had a true final two deal with her. I held up my end but I don’t know if she held up her end.

The Yak: If the roles were reversed and somehow Danielle was evicted tonight, who would you have taken to the end with you and why?
Shane: I would have taken Dan because I knew I could beat him in the Jury votes.

The Yak: We never really got to see you get into the strategy aspect of the game. Was winning competitions the corner stone of your strategy? If not, how would you best define your strategy?
Shane: Winning comps was definitely part of my strategy but also I wanted to lay low and stay under the radar to prevent a big target on my head.

The Yak: If Kara had stayed longer in the house, do you think things may have shaped up differently for you?
Shane: Yeah – I do. Kara and I hit it off just as well as Danielle and I did.

Big Brother 14: Double Eviction Chats with Frank Eudy & Joe Arvin

Before Frank and Joe headed to the Jury House after Thursday night’s eviction, they were given time to answer questions from various outlets and YakkityYaks got to ask them YOUR questions. After Frank was misled about this week’s target, he left the house on a sour note, not hugging anyone but ally Jenn. With news that this week was a Double Eviction, each houseguests played their hearts out in the HOH competition, with Dan Gheesling coming out on top. Ian and Joe were subsequently nominated. But when Ian used the Power of Veto on himself, Dan was forced to nominate ally Danielle in his place. However, with a clearly one-sided vote, Joe was sent packing by the end of the episode.

Read on below to see what they each had to say and make sure you check out our FORUMS for everything Big Brother, Reality TV and more! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter if you already aren’t – @YakkityYaks!

_______________________________________________________

The Yak: You were a major competitor as far as competitions went. Do you think, looking back, had you played that down a bit or thrown a few your game would have lasted longer?
Frank: I absolutely went into the house not wanting to win competitions, but because my back was against the wall from week one I had to win to stay safe in the game. I originally only wanted to win competitions when it was absolutely necessary.

The Yak: Who would like to see sitting in the final two chairs? Who would you like to join you next in the jury?
Frank: I’d like to see Dan join me next in the jury. I’d like to see Jenn make it far in this game.

The Yak: Do you think your obvious alliance to Mike Boogie is part of why you were constantly targeted?
Frank: I think it is part of it, but I don’t think it’s the main reason. In the beginning I was probably the strongest target Mike had with his players – people saw me as a threat physically and mentally. But at the same time, I knew Dan wanted to work with Mike because he knew he could beat him in the final two. So I was a Dan’s target because he wanted to work with Mike on his own.

The Yak: Were you surprised when you were evicted last night?
Frank: I was absolutely skeptical that I could go home, but because I am a positive thinker, I thought I had a chance to stay. If I weren’t such a positive thinker I probably would have known I was going home. Everyone there had lied to me so many times already there was no way I could really trust them to keep me this time.

The Yak: What is your biggest regret in the game?
Frank: My biggest regret in the game was sending Wil home instead of Joe. I think the game could have turned out differently if I hadn’t done that.

Next Up: Read On to see what Joe Arvin had to say

Big Brother 14: The Yak Chats With Jury Member, Britney Haynes

Last night on Big Brother 14, another veteran was sent home. Britney Haynes was put up on the block after Dan Gheesling’s truly last ditch effort as extending his life in the game. After Jenn used the Veto on Dan, Britney was nominated in his place next to Danielle. By a vote of 4-1 (Ian voted in Britney’s favor), she was sent packing to the jury house to join Ashley. We had the opportunity to ask Britney a few questions before Jury. Read on to see what they had to say. Don’t forget to join all of our Big Brother and TV talk in our FORUMS.

_______________________________

The Yak: You built a close bond with Shane because of the coaching twist, but do you think that bond also hurt your chances to win the game?
Britney: I don’t think it hurt my chances to win. He is a competition beast and as long as he had my back, I felt pretty safe going into every nomination and veto.

The Yak: Would you have still agreed to do this season of BB if you knew you’d eventually be playing the game as a HG & not as a coach?
Britney: Yes, I pretty much already suspected that would be the case going in. I just had to act like I didn’t like it because the houseguests weren’t finding the twist favorable.

The Yak: Looking back, do you think it may have been a mistake to tell Willie your prediction that the coaches would be entering the game?
Britney: Yes, who knew that he would go into total psycho mode and send the house into mass hysteria. I definitely should have kept that one to myself.

The Yak: If you got a do-over, what would you do different?
Britney: Worked harder to get Dan out before the coaches came into the game.

The Yak: Who are you hoping to see sitting in the final two chairs? Who do you hope to see next in the jury house?
Britney: For final two – Danielle and Ian. For the Jury – Frankenstein.

Thanks, Britney. Have fun in the Jury House!

SYTYCD: The Yak Chats with Eliminated Dancers Lindsay & Will

Last night, So You Think You Can Dance trimmed it’s Top 8 by eliminating one guy and one more girl from the competition. En route to finding America’s Favorite Dancers (remember, we have a guy and girl winner this season), ballroom dancer Lindsay Arnold and contemporary king Will Thomas were eliminated from the competition last night after a night full of nearly flawless performances. Judges Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe were joined by Modern Family star and Emmy nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who once again proved that a fan boy can be more as he was entertaining and critical at the same time. While we’re at the point of the competition when tough when the talent is this good, it has to happen. Witney Carson, Eliana Girard, and Tiffany Maher were safe and will compete in the Top 6 alongside Chehon Wespi-Tschopp, Cole Horibe and Cyrus Spencer. This afternoon, we had the pleasure of chatting with Lindsay and Will, who couldn’t be more grateful and positive about this experience of a lifetime. Check it out below!

__________________________________________

Before discussions about their experiences on SYTYCD, Will was given the opportunity to discuss his supportive community in southeastern Michigan and appeared very grateful for the support he’s received.

Lindsay, what was it like being in this whole experience with your best friend, Witney Carson?
Lindsay Arnold: Me and Whitney have been best friends since we were like eight, and just auditioning together we were like okay, we’ll just try it this year, and then maybe hopefully next year we’ll be able to make it for real. But then we both made it, and it was just so amazing, and I was so happy to have her with me, because it was just, it was helpful to have someone that you’re so comfortable with there with you through that experience.

On Their Hardest Style to Pick Up This Season
Will Thomas: For me it was this past week, the hip hop with Christopher Scott. The movement was a different kind of style hip hop that I never even knew existed, so that was a huge challenge I guess, but also the props and the emotion that went with the dance, too. It was just really, really big struggle, but by the time I was showed it, I was like forget it. I’m just going to have fun and so I did. It was very fun.
Lindsay: Same for me, mine was probably hip hop with Christopher Scott. It was really hard and it was hard getting into the character of that piece, so I feel like that probably was my hardest dance on the show.

On Whether Judge’s Comments Foreshadow An Elimination
Lindsay: I think it goes both ways. I mean, yes, when you do get a bad critique, you kind of automatically think, okay, well, I’m going home then. At the same time, they’ve surprised us in a lot of ways, and it’s not always predictable every single night.
Will: Right, yes, I agree with Lindsay. I mean, they know who’s in the bottom already before the show starts, so that is in the back of their head. Then so while we’re performing, say me and Lindsay were in the bottom, while we’re performing, they’re thinking should they stay, should they stay, should they stay; so yes, they might be a little bit harder on us, just so that they can like reason to themselves maybe why, who or what who’s going home. But at the same time, you really never know. I mean this past show they said really nice things to me and I ended up going home, and same with Amelia when she went home, so you never know.

On Their Future Plans
Lindsay: I’m hoping that from this, we’re going to go on tour in the next couple weeks, which is going to be really fun. Then I’m hoping after that, I would love to do TV shows, music videos, everything. I really want to be on “Dancing With The Stars,” so I’m hoping that that will work out for me.
Will: Yes, and for me I would say I just want to keep growing and working as an actor or and a dancer. I’m in acting classes, so I really want to keep going in that. I would love anything like “Gle”e or I don’t know, “Smash”, anything like that. I just want to keep growing and keep taking class and keep auditioning and just see where it takes me.

What pieces are you most looking forward to performing on tour?
Lindsay: From this season I would really love to do my Paso that I did the first week, just because I was in my own style, and it was really fun, and I just feel like me and Cole did really good.
Will: Yes, that Paso was so good. I kind of want to do what I did my first week – the Nappy Tabs hip-hop routine with the trash can. It was just a really good, fun way to start off the season for me, so I don’t know. I’d like to bring that back because it was so much fun.

In addition, they would like to see the “titanic” piece redone on the tour, as well as the Stacey Tookey routine Tiffany and Ade did this week.

On The Emotions of Elimination Night
Lindsay: I cried more tears of happiness and excitement. It was tears of sadness too, because it was hard to leave all my friends and to leave Witney. But at the same time it was just watching my video back and showing when they just showed my experience and stuff. It was just that I was so happy and just so like proud of myself for how far I’ve come.

On Splitting Votes from Utah
Lindsay: Yes, I mean, it was funny because yes, we both were back and forth with being in the bottom. Like if I wasn’t, [Witney] was; if I was, she wasn’t. I think yes, we might have been splitting votes, because we were so much alike. But I don’t know. I mean we ended up being at the bottom together, so hopefully now that Whitney is staying, the people who voted for me are going to vote for her, so she can win, because that would be amazing, and I hope they do that.

On Which Choreographer or Piece They Learned Most From
Will: For me I think it was my very, very, very opening first show when there was “Meet The Top 20.” We all did little small little group dances in our own genre, and Tyce was my choreographer. I learned the most from him. He literally is so inspiring and just brings things out of you that you didn’t realize you could and yes, he’s amazing.
Lindsay: I think for me it was when we did the tribute to Mia and I did the addiction piece. That was just like a really hard week for me, because I have so much to live up to just because that’s the first time that piece was so amazing. But then it was just so helpful because through the week, Mia helped me gain confidence in that piece, and then I just realized that I just had to do it to the best of my abilities and not really worry about living up to anything.

On The Seemingly Polarizing Mia Michaels Week
Lindsay: I mean it was hard going into that week just because we all knew that we had to live up to so much. I think it was good and bad. I mean it’s hard, because you can’t ever replace something. You can’t redo the pieces that were already done because they were so amazing. So it was hard because I feel like the judges are expecting a lot, and even though we gave something different, it was really hard to top the performances that had already been done.
Will: Yes, I think it was a great week, and I’m so honored to be able to be a part of that week; but at the same time it was very hard going into it trying to recreate a moment that was so amazing on the show that was unlike any other routine that we would have done. So just trying to recreate that moment all over again was intimidating.

On Their Perceptions About Different Styles of Dance
Lindsay: Being on the show really just like made me honestly appreciate all the other styles, because they’re all do different and all so hard. You really do have to bring a different vibe to every dance. So I feel like I learned that from this show and I learned that like even though I’m a ballroom dancer, if I get another style, I have to bring something to that style to make it what it is.
Will: Yes, I think it’s definitely brought in me I never in a million years would I imagine myself in Bollywood, but it was so much fun and like honestly in a heartbeat I would do it again. So I think it just made me more excited about going forward from here.

On Will Tapping Into his Serious Side
Will: It really actually wasn’t that bad. I know they make it seem like it was, but like I’m a contemporary dancer, so I’m used to being like more on the emotional side, especially when I’m on stage. So it wasn’t that hard to channel that and the frustration of this piece itself with the movement and the style was already really hard for me, so honestly I just used that while I was dancing. So that’s literally what my face was doing while I was dancing, but it was also telling a story about what was going on in the piece.

On The Importance of Arts in Schools
Will: I was always down. I really never came home from school. I would come home and just run in my room and just not come out. I was just always sad. I just wanted everyone to like me, but it’s hard to find that. Whereas if I’m dancing, it’s literally a new me, so I was still me, but I channeled all my creative energy more in the positive way rather than a nonsense way. I think that the arts would be most important because then if you don’t have art and something kids can find fun in and reach out of their element and then it’s just going to be school; math, history, science and English. You can look for that one hour of relaxing and fun and just let them go and do what you want.

On SYTYCD’s New Format
Lindsay: I think the new format was a little bit hard, because it was hard doing a performance night and having the height of that and then all of a sudden going straight into eliminations. It was really hard emotionally every night because it was like we can never just have a night of fun performances. It was like it always ended with a sad note, but I mean I think that’s just how I have to go with it. It helped us all grow a lot, I think, because we had to deal with those things emotionally and so it helped us like to be able to cope with it much better.
Will: Yes, I completely agree with that. I think in another way, I feel America didn’t really get to know us as they did maybe other seasons, where they get to see us two nights a week, rather than just one night a week. So that was also another hard thing, but mainly, mainly because we were just so happy with our performance, and then boom, they kick off eliminations so fast. The most crazy rollercoaster ever.

Lindsay and Will also addressed rumors that this might be the final season of SYTYCD. They both believe and hope that the show will continue, so that other dancers will get the experience that they did. Lindsay noted that those behind the scenes are preparing as if a season 10 is in the future. They were both a pleasure to talk to and we wish them the best in their future endeavors!

Big Brother 14: Dan’s Shocking Speech, Plus Draw Something Preview

CBS has released two separate previews of Big Brother “must-see” moments, according to fans. Without spoiling the events of the house, catch a sneak peek of the shocking speech Dan held after being put on the block. How did that affect the Power of Veto? Find out tonight as the Houseguests participate in a Draw Something themed POV competition!

For full details about the events in the Big Brother 14 house this week, click HERE. Please note, this will contains spoilers of all of the events after the HOH made his nominations at the end of Sunday’s episode.



Big Brother 14: The Yak Chats with Mike “Boogie” Malin

Last night’s eviction of Mike “Boogie” Malin was one of those evenings on Big Brother where it polarized fans – either you were happy to see him leave or you were upset that he missed his chance to defend his title. There’s usually very little feeling in between about the Season 7 winner. Boogie is aware of the impression that he leaves on the viewers, and took some time to sit down with YakkityYaks today to talk about his thoughts on who’s an idiot, if he regrets taking any money during the competitions and, of course, the mastermind himself, Ian.


<div > 

______________________________________________

OK, so I must know…now that you’ve had time to process Ian being the one behind your eviction, what are your thoughts?
Mike “Boogie”: I’m impressed. I thought Ian was just a super fan; a young kid who was happy to be there. I gave him very little credit as far as game play, and I was 100% completely fooled. I salute him; I tip my cap to him; I love him still the same. It sent chills down my spine. I had no idea.

Several times, you and Frank had conversations about if there was a chance that Ian was betraying you. You even mentioned that it would be a great play of his. Do you still feel that way?
Mike “Boogie”: I’m glad the way this went down. If I was evicted simply because Joe was too much of an idiot to join us, and I lost [by a vote of] 4-3 because of that, I would have been bitter. This way, I’m super proud of Ian. I loved his Goodbye Message to me. It gave me chills. I’ve been saying it’s like “Primal Fear” – there’s an innocent choir boy accused of murder and then at the end [it shows] he planned the whole thing. He fools Richard Gere. That’s exactly how I felt.

I’m going to be frank with you (no pun intended): I watched past seasons and I was never a Boogie fan. You started changed me around this year. Were you trying to change your style from previous seasons?
Mike “Boogie”: I realized I’m not one of the more popular people. I play an aggressive style. I play a villainous style. When I’m down, I’m down, and I express myself sometimes in negative ways. I can honestly say this time around was a little different for me. I did stay loyal to Frank, and we fought as hard as we could, but everyone thought we knew each other and that was some sort of twist because we were so tight. We were just in trouble pretty much every week. If Frank didn’t win HOH, we were fighting for our lives and I knew that it was going to be really hard for me to go far once the twist happened.

Speaking of the twist, you were the only Coach to not hit the reset button this season.
Mike “Boogie”: Did you say I was the only person not to hit the button? [loud bursts of laughter] That’s even more impressive because I knew that Dan pressed it, I figured Janelle pressed it, but I’ll give it to that little Britney, she’s a good actress. I thought she had enough confidence in Shane and that she did not press it, so I’m kind of surprised that she pressed it, but I was sure the other two did. [Boogie had the most surprising reaction to our question here. He sounded GENUINELY convinced that Britney did not press the reset button, as she claimed.]

What did you think of both Britney’s goodbye message to you and that Dan’s vote to evict were basically as payback for Janelle?
Mike “Boogie”: I loved Britney’s goodbye message, for one thing. I thought that was awesome. When I do the goodbyes, I can expect them in return to come back to me, so I thought it was great TV. I’m a monster player in this game that they all needed to get out. I was going for them. They were going for me. I got Janelle. They got me. Frank is going to get one of them. That’s just the nature of this game. I think it would have been good to play with Dan a bit more, but people were very threatened by Frank and me, so we had to go.

It seems like a lot of the players turned on you when you went for the $10,000 rather then safety or HOH. How do you feel about that? Do you think that was your ultimate mistake in your game plan?
Mike “Boogie”: Absolutely not. I have no regrets for the $10,000 or any other comp that I played. At the time I completely trusted the Silent Six Alliance, which seems so ridiculous to say now, but I’m happy that I took the prizes. With the way things had gone, it would have been an uphill battle for me to win this game. I basically left with 3rd place money. I’ll make more than the person who finishes in 3rd place, so if I can’t sit in the final 2 seats, I’m ecstatic that I took the money.

However, a lot of other players (like Britney and Ian) talked about you going for the money.
Mike “Boogie”: There was always a thing about me having money in my real life and them not. You’re always going to deal with that when you go on these types of shows. I took $16,000 away from the experience. As soon as the twist happened, I knew it would be almost impossible for me to win the $500,000 again, so now I don’t have to sit there all summer. I can go be with my family and friends, and enjoy the rest of my summer and everyone else has to be on the Jury. One person is going to leave happy and eight others are going to leave unhappy.

Focusing on the Coaches, you really did have a tight team together to go against the newbies, but then you broke down after the reset. What was the reason behind that?
Mike “Boogie”: Janelle was playing such a nasty game. One strategy that I learned by playing with rookies again, which I haven’t done in 11 years, was if you got to somebody first and you said that somebody said something about them, they believed it. I kind of forgot that you could do that, and I wasn’t going to stoop to that level. Janelle really bought into that game this year, and she couldn’t be trusted. The person I disliked the most in the House was Joe, and for some reason, Janelle kind of didn’t put much stock in Wil and Ashley, so she sort of used Joe as her Number One guy. They disgusted me so much. That week, no one was willing to put up one of their own players. I told Janelle, “OK, you want to work together? Put up one of your guys,” but she wouldn’t do it.

What was your favorite experience from the whole summer?
Mike “Boogie”: Voting out Janelle.

Was that a personal or strategic decision?
Mike “Boogie”: It would typically be strategic, but because of the way she was badmouthing me, I felt really, really satisfied not only in voting her out, but getting all those people together to get her out. It took a lot of work, it saved Frank, and it got out Janelle, so to me that was the most satisfying.

Who did you have the most trouble reading in the House?
Mike “Boogie”: Ian. [laughs] I was obviously the most wrong about Ian, but as far as the person that I never really knew what was up was Joe. He’s a classic power chaser. For me, last night, I wouldn’t have wasted my speech time on him, but I really thought I had three votes and I just needed his. I played a sympathy card for two days, and I really thought I might be able to pull on his heartstrings a little bit by mentioning his family, but ultimately with what Ian had going on, that clearly didn’t matter. Don’t get it confused; I’m certainly not saying he’s some smart player. He’s basically an idiot.

If Frank and Ian can’t get to the Final 2, who would you like to see make it there?
Mike “Boogie”: I think Dan would totally deserve it. If Dan sits in the Final 2 seats against anyone but Frank, he’ll win. If you want my pick of someone who I think might sneak up, it’s Danielle. She might be a classic 2nd-placer, like a Porsche or an Erica. I do think Danielle might find her way to one of those final 2 seats.

Why were you interested in trading Jenn when you were still a Coach?
Mike “Boogie”: Jenn to me was playing the classic 2nd place game – stay out of the fray, play a decent social game, and float to the end – but you can’t stand up to get the votes. There’s no speech you can give that will talk people into giving you the vote. I didn’t want a player like that, especially in a cast of rookies. Perhaps in an All-star season you can bring someone like that who can talk their way into it, but if a floater is sitting against someone who won 5 competitions, it’s not going to happen.

Did you know that you have a Twitter account now?
Mike “Boogie”: I didn’t realize that.

Before we go, I wanted to tell you that you had a very classy exit last night.
Mike “Boogie”: Thank so much! I appreciate your time!

Big Brother 14: The Yak Chats with Ashley Iocca

As the second casualty of the double eviction, Ashley Iocca was available to answer questions to members of the media before heading off to sequester. Ashley was evicted after Ian won HOH and nominated Frank and Ashley for eviction. Frank was able to save himself with the Power of Veto, but Ashley was left on the block with a silent Joe. The Yak was lucky enough to get to poke at Ashley’s brain before she headed off to the jury house. Did we find more than unicorns and lollipops? Check out our brief interview below. Per protocol, we were only able to submit a few of our questions, but we appreciate all of your suggestions in our forum and on twitter!

________________________________

The Yak: Ashley, at what point in the game did you think that going with Boogie and Frank’s side of the house would benefit you? Do you regret that or do you still think that was the move for you?

Ashley: It was last week…I decided that I didn’t want to just be a floater anymore and I wanted to be a part of a Team. I felt like they were just going to pick the floaters off and that’s why I made my decision. I hate to have regrets, but yes.

The Yak: Were you surprised that Ian put you on the block after he made his crush on you very apparent in the house?

Ashley: I was extremely surprised and it hurt me. I think he’s just a puppet for Dan. I hope he’s happy for what he did to me.

The Yak: Was your back injury real or did you use it as a strategy to get a little more time in the house? Same thing with Frank, were your feelings for him real or were you trying to remain in the house?

Ashley: Back pain was very real…not strategy. Very real. In terms of Frank, yes, it was strategy.

The Yak: If you could go back and change just one thing that might have given you a different outcome, what would it be? Would you have rather had a different coach?

Ashley: I would have played my role as a ‘floater’ longer in the game…and hopefully till the end. In terms of the coach…I initially wanted Dan as a coach, but now I don’t. It’s a very tough question. There are a lot of factors to consider.

The Yak:At the end of the day, was Big Brother what you expected it to be? How did it end up being different from your initial impressions?

Ashley: It was all that and more.

CBS Drops Lawsuit Against ABC’s The Glass House

Some say this might be long overdue. Others might be surprised to hear this hasn’t already been done, but CBS announced today that they will be dropping the lawsuit against ABC’s reality show, “The Glass House.” But first … there’s a twist.

CBS cited low viewership number of “The Glass House” was the reason they were no longer interested in pursuing the case. The network will, however, continue to pursue claims against the show’s top producers who allegedly violated confidentiality agreements while working on the CBS show “Big Brother.” This motion will continue privately and not in a federal courtroom, as has been the case since May.

Read Our Eviction Interview with Big Brother’s Wil Heuser

From the Associated Press, CBS claimed the show copied “Big Brother” too closely. A judge refused to grant CBS’ request to block the show’s broadcast, saying the unpredictable nature of reality television meant that the two shows were likely to be very different, despite some similarities in their format.

In a statement released today, CBS wrote that “The viewers have spoken and delivered the ultimate form of justice against ‘The Glass House.'”

“The Glass House” has filmed it’s final episode, which will air Monday at 10/9c on ABC. “Big Brother 14” airs Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday nights on CBS.