Jason De Puy, a contestant on "Big Brother 28," suggested that fellow houseguest Kamu Kirk’s decision to target him felt personal. De Puy stated in an exclusive interview that the "Tea Party" segment, where the targeting occurred, felt more significant in hindsight.
"It felt a little personal in the house because at that point I didn’t win the veto and I [was like], what are we doing here? I thought we were really having a beautiful Tea Party," De Puy told Page Six. "So hearing everything outside of the house after the fact, I was like, ‘Well, I think that was a bigger moment than I realized in the Tea Party.'"
De Puy, 35, also reflected on the heated exchange with Kirk, 32, as a moment of self-discovery. "Being pinned against the wall with no one to my rescue, and the way that I felt like I had to drop the persona, drop the drag queen, and just speak for myself, and I’m impressed with myself," he said. "I discovered who Jason was in that Tea Party moment."
Regarding Kirk, De Puy indicated that his initial feelings about the MMA fighter were accurate. "I could tell that he was getting very irritated with me in the house for whatever reason just for me being myself," De Puy explained. "Drag queen taken out of the photo, just who I was was a little threatening to him, and I didn’t know why he was so anti-me." De Puy noted that his "messy gameplay" did not warrant Kirk's intense opposition.
De Puy also discussed his experience entering the game without the "icon" status afforded to other contestants. Despite his background on "RuPaul's Drag Race," he was not placed in the icon group, a decision he believes put him at a disadvantage. He explained that even if he had revealed his "Drag Race" history, it likely would not have granted him the same privileges as the designated icons, leading him to start the game among the newer contestants.
"If had I told the cast I was on ‘Drag Race,’ that still wouldn’t have given me the privileges or advantages that the icons had," De Puy said. "So I was always going to be at the bottom of a totem pole compared to the icons."
He added that not being selected for the fan-voted Time Capsule twist further emphasized his feeling of being on the outside. "I was at a disadvantage as far as being an icon too. And I don’t think the house would have even viewed me as that had I revealed I was on ‘Drag Race,'" he stated. "So I didn’t even feel the need to say it since I was not gonna get anything out of saying that."
"Big Brother 28" airs Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streams the following day on Paramount+.