Mirai Nagasu is used to the cold, considering her lifelong career on the ice culminating in a record-setting medal win at the Winter Olympics. But she faced a different type of chill inside the Big Brother house. Targeted almost immediately, Mirai found herself skating between the different sides forming in the game. But her lack of bond with Chris Kirkpatrick didn’t cause that target to shift, even if the HoH did. And so she was frozen out unanimously against Chris Kattan, even when both nominees asked for her to stay in the house. Mirai entered the house not wanting to get blood on her hands. But during her unlucky 13 days in the house, she didn’t get much of an opportunity. In the first week, she ended up getting brought into the new “Formation” alliance alongside her friend Teddi Mellencamp. So when HoH Meisha Tate hinted to her that Teddi would be going up, she put out a warning to her ally. Unfortunately, that came back to bite Mirai, as word got back to Miesha, and she decided to target Mirai, deeming her untrustworthy. Having quickly become the house target, Mirai went to Miesha and offered her loyalty as a fellow athlete. Now brought onto her “team,” Miesha went after the trio of Teddi, Carson Kressley, and Cynthia Bailey. Mirai sat next to Teddi on eviction night, and though she was in no danger of going, her safety was guaranteed when the “Mon Won” curse got Todd Bridges to take her down. But her time out of the nomination chairs was short-lived. When Chris Kirkpatrick won HoH, he renominated Mirai next to Chris Kattan, feeling she was a huge threat who he didn’t connect with. In the lead-up to the live veto and eviction, there was a plan in the works to save Mirai and backdoor a power player, but it ultimately did not go through. In his eviction speech, the SNL star begged the house to give Mirai an encore, citing her passion to stay. But his pleas fell on deaf ears, as players from all sides came together to evict her unanimously. Now out of the house, Mirai talks with Parade.com about how she reacted to Chris Kattan’s speech, her changing loyalty from the Formation to the athletes’ alliance, and how she hoped to continue changing the game of Asian-American contestants on reality TV. We’re talking a few days after your eviction. Your time in the house wasn’t easy, so how do you look back on it after having some time to digest and see the online reaction? I love the Twitterverse! The Big Brother fandom is amazing. I’ve been interacting with them, and the memes and the videos are all so entertaining. Being on the show was an incredible opportunity. I didn’t ever think I would hear some of the celebrities’ personal firsthand accounts. My housemates were mentioning Madonna, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Will Ferrell. I was just like, “How did I get into this cast?” At the end of the day, I’m so incredibly proud that I’m the first Asian American female on the cast of Celebrity Big Brother. And though I was evicted way too early for my liking, I played a strong game, as strong as I could have. And I knew that my game had been blown up just by the way people were acting. And so when I got sent home, and the nominations didn’t change, I thought, “You know what? I did the best I could.” And I walked out incredibly proud of myself. Though you knew you were going, it’s safe to say nobody could predict Chris Kattan throwing himself on his sword to save you in his eviction speech. What was your reaction to that? He is an incredibly kind soul, and he had the wittiest one-liners. Now that I’m out of the house and I’ve been looking at the Twitterverse, Chris Kattan’s videos take the cake. I have a really kind place in my heart for him. I cannot wait to see him perform in his element and see his stand-up. I mean, he already impersonated *NSYNC! How did I not know about these things?! How did you react to your initial nomination, especially after it was done apparently because you had told Teddi about Miesha’s plan to nominate her? I know people question why I went back to the Formation and told them about the athlete alliance’s plan. But I was originally loyal to the Formation, and I said I would play an honest game. And I wanted to protect Teddi. Then I had to turn on the Formation for survival and go into the athletes’ alliance. And I became so loyal to the athletes’ alliance. I played as an honest and loyal person. I agreed to target Carson, and that opportunity became available. But it just didn’t happen for me. It wasn’t in my cards, and so it became my night to leave. But I understood that the game is not personal, and I walked out of there incredibly proud of how I played. So I know in her exit press, Teddi had alluded to a period of 72 hours where you were incredibly emotional before the feeds came on. Are you able to speak to that at all? You know, Teddi’s had a lot to say once she stepped out of the house. I very much admire and respect her. And I know that she did what she had to do inside the house for survival. I would have really liked to go until the bitter end and final two. But she was a formidable player. She outlasted me in the first HoH competition. The Big Brother house is an emotional roller coaster. You’re cut off from the outside world, and I was prepared for it. But you can’t truly prepare for the experience of Big Brother, especially on a celebrity season. But I loved hearing everyone’s life experiences firsthand. Lamar called it “LOX,” living off experience. And that’s what I tried to do. And I walk away from the experience incredibly proud of myself. And I hope that people see that the game is an emotional roller coaster and also incredibly fun and challenging.Leading up to the veto, Chris Kirkpatrick had been floating the idea of using the veto on you and backdooring someone else. What was your reaction to that, especially when it didn’t go through? That is how the game is played! Emotions, feelings, and decisions change at the drop of a hat. I would have played it a little bit differently if I were the current HoH. I would have seen that I was doing middle-of-the-pack work. And I also knew that going forward, I would have been incredibly valuable and useful for the athletes’ alliance. I personally think I would have killed it in Bowlarina. But, they didn’t take the opportunity to backdoor Carson, and Carson had been our target. I truly admire and respect Carson, so much so that if Carson makes it to the end, he’s got my vote. He handled the pressure so well, and he was so likable. So we’ll see how the rest of the game pans out.You spoke a lot about how much you wanted to use this platform to represent and serve as a role model for the Asian-American community. How much do you think you were able to succeed on that goal by being on Celebrity Big Brother? I’m so incredibly grateful to CBS for committing and pledging to making sure the cast is 50% diverse. And I hope to continue to bring more awareness for all minorities in America. I never grew up watching people who look like me on TV. So entertainment wasn’t even a viable option for me. Looking back, I never questioned my skating and my Olympic journey. I know that I had role models like Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan, who I truly looked up to, paved the way for me. I hope that there are others like me on the next seasons. I got to talk to Derek X. [from Big Brother 23]. He said we would have made an amazing alliance and we’d call ourselves “The Takeout.” He would have killed it in the HoH and Veto competitions. And in the beginning, I was killing it in the social game. I think he would have had my back just like I would have had his back. I would have loved to be on the season with Suni Lee. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities for all minorities in America.Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts on the remaining houseguests. Starting with Carson. Charismatic.Chris Kattan. Witty.Chris Kirkpatrick. (Pause.) Chameleon.Cynthia. Genuine.Lamar. LOX! He taught me “living off experience” so I want to give to him.Miesha. Empowered.Shanna. Strategist.Todd. Open.And finally, Todrick. Likable.Next, check out interview with Teddi Mellencamp, who was evicted from Celebrity Big Brother 3 on Day 10.
