‘Big Brother 27’ Star Jimmy Heagerty Does Not Blame Mickey For His Shocking Blindside (Exclusive) originally appeared on Parade.
WARNING! This interview contains spoilers about the next Head of Household. Please do not read further if you don’t intend to know who the new HoH is before Sunday’s episode of Big Brother 27.
Big Brother’s house is open once more! Every week, Parade’s Mike Bloom will be bringing you interviews with this season’s houseguests as they get evicted from the game.
A month ago, Jimmy Heagerty entered the Werkroom of the Big Brother house, confident his experience in DC politics, as well as his charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent would make him a winner, baby. And it’s this attitude that had him playing hard from the beginning, starting his engines while others were idling alongside him. Simultaneously, he was trying to cover himself from all sides, with some renomination choices during his HoH that had his closest allies questioning, “What is going up here on this day?” Those seeds of dissent blossomed into a blindside bouquet a couple of weeks later, as Mickey Lee had the cheek, the nerve, the gall, the audacity and the gumption to put him on the block. As much as Jimmy fought, he knew his perception of being a big player, as well as a “snake,” would come back to bite him. And so, after losing the “BB Blockbuster,” his attitude shifted from “Not today, Satan!” to “They got me, gals!” as he walked out of the house.
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From the very beginning, Jimmy showed he was here to play hard and not afraid to mince words. Despite being one of the most vocal critics of former winner Rachel Reilly entering the house, he soon after decided to work with her, bringing her into the “Heavy Hitters” alliance he was creating. Simultaneously, the triplet found a new in-house threesome, forming the “Triple Threat” with Mickey and Morgan Pope. After picking Vince Panaro to play for the first HoH, Jimmy felt he was running things as a proxy. And so he suggested that he go after Keanu Soto, looking to target the big men. This kicked off the most major feud of the season to date as, while Jimmy was unsuccessful in his pitch, he made sure he had the last word, hijacking the Veto ceremony to deliver a dramatic diatribe in reaction to being called the “head of the snake.”
After feeling he ruled the HoH room from the outside, Jimmy got his chance at the job proper in Week 2. While his nominations were simple and straightforward to begin, things got infinitely more complicated when Keanu and Kelley Jorgensen’s powers allowed them to both get off the block. Having to put two people up, Jimmy decided to try to curry favor with both sides of the last eviction vote, wanting to play it safe with Amy Bingham and Cliffton “Will” Williams. This frustrated Mickey and Morgan, who complained about not only deciding to not make a big move with his nominations, but not consulting with them about his final decision. With the tennis player in power, they were not feeling the love.
Which is what makes what happened this past week all the more ironic. Rylie Jeffries initially won HoH, but the bull rider was quickly bucked off when Mickey accurately clocked he would target her. She used her power to overthrow his reign, and Jimmy felt safe to sit back and spend the week continuing to criticize Rachel’s outfits. But, after Keanu won the Veto, he went to Mickey and Morgan, telling them that Jimmy had made an alliance with him and was playing all sides of the house. Compounded with his HoH behavior, they felt his loyalties lie with other people over the two of them. And so, in a move that stunned most of the house – including Jimmy himself – Mickey put him up at the Veto ceremony. In an instant, his ride-or-dies had tossed him away like a pair of fake designer sunglasses.
Now out of the house, Jimmy talks with Parade about the reaction to his blindside, his choice to publicly call out Keanu and how his relationship with Rachel transformed from enemy to friend.
Related: Everything to Know About Big Brother 27
Jimmy, we know you’re one to never mince words. And you had talked in the days leading up to your eviction about possibly calling out Morgan, Vince and Zach on your way out, even saying, “Sit down, you fake f–ks” if they tried to hug you. What led you to ultimately decide not to do that?
Well, Mike, I got to plant seeds before I left, letting people know they shouldn’t trust Morgan. Letting people know if they let Vince keep playing this game the way he’s playing it, there’s a chance he may run away with it. And that Zach is their little puppy they’re kind of dragging along on a leash reluctantly, not really wanting to go on the walk. So I think I planted enough seeds to go out in a way that, as Rachel Reilly always says, “Go out classy, not sassy.”
And so I really wanted to do that, because for a second I was getting ready to stand up and tell everybody to sit down, because I had a little lecture to give them on my way out. But at the end of the day, I knew they were expecting fireworks. And the last thing I want to give this cast is something they’re expecting. Because, at the end of the day, this show is “expect the unexpected.” So if they’re expecting fireworks, I’m going to give them a classy exit. I’ll toss them something to remember me by, and I’ll head right out to talk to Julie, because that’s at the end of the day who I wanted to talk to.
You talk about “expect the unexpected.” And you got a major dose of that on Night 1, as you saw Rachel Reilly descend those stairs – in one of her rare outfits you won’t criticize. You were one of the people most vocal about not wanting her to play, considering she had two chances beforehand. Cut to your eviction, where she’s only one of two people you hug on the way out. Talk to me about how that relationship transformed.Was it as simple as just getting to know her as a person?
Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I think we know this. To know Rachel Reilly is to love Rachel Reilly. And of course, I wanted her out when she walked in. This is a cast of newbies, and Rachel’s done this before, not once, but twice, and she’s won it already. Why are you here, Rachel? Go home!
But then you learn and start meeting who Rachel is, and seeing the badass mom she is, the kick-ass friend she is. She’s always there for people in their time of need. And as I think we’ve seen, [she] is a solid ride or die, not just as a person, but as a game player. I also think she was an underutilized resource. I think a lot of this cast overlooks her expertise and skill. I mean, she’s been in the ring for a while. She’s done the game already, and again, she’s won it before. And I think leveraging that experience to help better your game while you’re playing it is something I probably could have done better, but I know the rest of the cast is sleeping on. So I can definitely say Rachel and I have had a certain arc in our friendship for sure.
Well, let’s go from someone who goes from enemy to friend to perhaps someone who goes from friend to enemy. You were told minutes before the Veto ceremony by Mickey that you would be her replacement nominee, and both then and in the days following, she tried to explain the reasons why. What was your reaction to finding out that news?
Yeah, I was blindsided, to say the least. I really thought it was four for four with not shaking in my boots this week, because I’d felt like I was either driving the HoH or in the passenger seat giving directions. Little did I know that when Mickey took over the car, she would have left me at the rest stop, and I wouldn’t realize until I walked out of the bathroom and saw the car missing.
But I was shocked. Mickey and Morgan were my ride or dies. And I always say that perception doesn’t define my intention, and their perception of my gameplay certainly didn’t define my intention. At the end of the day, everything I was doing was to prevent “Triple Threat” from being on the block together. And while it may not have looked like it to them in the moment, without getting the chance to defend myself, I don’t blame her for making this move. Because when you hear from multiple people that if I’m going up, they’re sending me home, it makes your HoH a little easier. And I was under no impression that I was potentially going to stay. I mean, the last few weeks, the renom has gone home. So to think that you could stay just because you may have the votes or because you have people behind you, don’t think so fast. Again, the second you expect something, it’s gonna flip right on its head. So I don’t quite understand the move for Mickey’s game, but I think she definitely started to build her resume.
Mickey did say at one point that putting you up was a “faith-based decision.” What’s your reaction to that?
Well, Mickey, if you’re gonna play the game based on faith, then you’re gonna be going home very shortly. So we’ll get to talk very soon, I think.
I’m not sure if you know this either. But one of the major things to spur this along was, after Keanu won the Veto this week, he went up to Mickey and Morgan to clear the air. He said that he was working with you and that you had pitted them against each other which, combined with their preconceived notions, caused them to turn on you. What’s your reaction to that?
Did I expect Keanu to hold that to his chest? No. Was I pitting Keanu against them? No, Keanu was pitting himself against Mickey and Morgan, but I certainly wasn’t dissuading him from that. If he went from viewing me as a target to viewing somebody else as a target, that’s good for my game for him to think that way. Especially if he had won HoH and he had put up somebody like Mickey and Morgan and maybe somebody else like Ashley. As long as it’s not me, I was happy about it. So was I under the impression Keanu had my back? Absolutely not. Because if I had won HoH again, his butt would have been right back on the block.
To that point, let’s talk about what kicked off this rivalry, when you stood up at the first Veto ceremony to call him out, saying you were coming after him. You’re a big fan of this show, so you know that, while these moments can be entertaining, they can also make you a big presence in the house So talk to me about that choice.
Well, Mike, I was a presence either way. But I definitely cemented it at that first Beto ceremony. I’ve learned a lot about the show just by being on it, but if I have something to say in any situation, I’m just gonna say it. I always think it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission sometimes. And again, we’re not here to just hide the way we feel.
And so I always wanted to express the way I felt and make sure, in some ways, I did it in front of the whole house. There’s a big game of snowball and telephone that goes around the house. I think we learned that with “Showergate,” that things really do get blown out of proportion. So, especially with what I had to say to Keanu that day, I wanted to make sure the whole house heard what I had to say before it got whispered around and everybody heard a different story. And I think I definitely did that. Could I have tamped down on the dramatics? Just a little bit. But if I had done that, I wouldn’t have been true to myself. That’s how I act on a night out or at a family dinner. So you guys definitely got the real Jimmy, that’s for sure.
During your HoH, you had two difficult decisions to make in your renominations. You chose to put up Amy and Will, which angered your allies for not consulting with them. Mickey and Morgan in particular were pitching for Rylie to go up, while you responded you had “no other options.” Talk to me about the choices you made, and how do you look back on them now?
Well, for Morgan and Mickey, we had an issue building a relationship beyond the beginning stages of the game. Because to avoid suspicion, they never wanted to be around me, so we weren’t able to develop a relationship as much as somebody like Rachel and I were. So, at the end of the day, when I have HoH, and I’m spending a lot of time with Katherine and Lauren, and they pop up to my room to tell me what I should do. I’m probably gonna do the opposite.
I don’t like being told what to do, and, especially with Morgan, it was always, “Here’s what you should do.” It’s not “let’s flesh it out.” With Mickey, we were able to talk through things a little bit more, and I was able to understand her perspective better. Morgan would come up to my room for all of five minutes, tell me what I had to do, and then leave because she didn’t want to look “suspicious.” And I was never down for the “my way or the highway “sort of approach in that instance. And offering Rylie up as a suggestion. I don’t know if we saw this, but it happened an hour before the renom ceremony. And I was not about to put somebody up when I didn’t have the ability to lay the groundwork for nominating them. I didn’t want anybody to feel blindsided, and at the end of the day, maybe that’s why I got blindsided.
To finish, give your rapid-fire thoughts on each of the remaining houseguests. Starting with Ashley.
Late. [Laughs.]
Ava.
Funny.
I don’t know if you know this, but she’s the new HoH.
Ava?! [Laughs.] Oh, this is gonna be good, y’all! [Laughs.]
Katherine.
Funny, beautiful.
Keanu.
Boring.
I do want to ask, we saw, after Keanu won the Veto, he told Ava, “I believe you have a prompt,” which caused her to blow up on him. Was there anything we missed in the edit that led to that reaction from her?
I think you saw it all. Keanu knows the house is against him at this point. I would be surprised if Ava didn’t put him up, because she even told me last week, “How iconic would it be if I was the HoH to send him home?” So I think he should be worried this week. I haven’t seen the episode, but from what I’ve seen, it probably made it all. Listen, when Ava walked down with that Veto, she swinging it next to her hand. We all thought she was about a deck him with it. She’s from New York, okay? We didn’t put anything past her.
How about your fellow blockmate Kelley?
I love Kelley, but she is an instigator.
Lauren.
Boring
Mickey.
Entertaining. I love Mickey. No love lost with Mickey.
Morgan.
Also love Morgan. I don’t love the way she’s playing this game, but as people, Morgan and Mickey are some of my favorite people in the house.
Rachel.
Oh, icon, queen, legend, mother! Rachel Reilly, I do not have enough good things to say about her. And she’s definitely the one person I might have might have shed a tear over after leaving the house.
Rylie.
Oh, he’s a sweetheart.
Vince.
Conniving.
Will.
Naps.
And, finally, Zach.
Also boring. I love Zach, and he’s funny. But, yeah, he’s also in the boring camp for me. Sorry, Zach.
Related: ‘Big Brother 27’s Adrian Rocha Says Vince and Zach Are ‘Running Scared’ for Evicting Him (Exclusive)
‘Big Brother 27’ Star Jimmy Heagerty Does Not Blame Mickey For His Shocking Blindside (Exclusive) first appeared on Parade on Aug 8, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
