Big Brother Exclusive: Brooklyn Rivera reflects on her loyalty to the Pentagon
By Diana Nosa
A social powerhouse. A fierce competitor. A Disney...villain. A married mother. All these words (and so much more) describe none other than Big Brother season 26's Brooklyn Rivera, the fifth evictee of the season.
Brooklyn may not have won any competitions during her time in the Big Brother house. But she greatly made up for this by being one of the most influential houseguests of the season. Simply put, whatever Brooklyn wanted, she got. She was a trusted person, so much so that everyone (and we mean everyone) wanted her in their alliance. However, this proved to be her downfall, as she had a bit too many eggs in her basket.
With Brooklyn out of the house, her alliance, The Pentagon, is suffering greatly since they are now down two members; a reality that Brooklyn wanted to avoid. Now, all she can do is watch the rest of the season play out from the comfort of her house, hoping that her alliance members make it to the end.
Why Brooklyn Rivera refused to be swayed by outside forces
Show Snob recently sat down with Brooklyn to reflect on her journey in the Big Brother seaosn 26. We asked her burning questions, some of which shed a light on why she didn't branch out of The Pentagon to secure a few more votes.
In every way, we got some juicy insight into Brooklyn's mastermind. Check out our interview below!
Show Snob: After Cedric’s shocking eviction, the Pentagon was in shatters. Why didn’t you use this time to branch out and form better relationships with players like Leah or MJ who don’t have an allegiance to any one person? Also, why didn’t you work with Angela, the other married mother in the house?
The Angela thing just wasn't going to happen. I'm just going to leave it at that. Our games were very, very different. That just never was an option. I still had faith in the Pentagon. I didn't know, at that time, as soon as Cedric was evicted that the Pentagon was in danger. [...] I did have relationships with Leah. I don't know if people knew that we had a final two since Day 2. We were called the "It Girls". I didn't have anything with MJ but I did, week 4, try to start massaging that relationship. But my eggs were just all in the Pentagon basket and Quinn's were not.
Show Snob: One thing that was really impressive to watch was your social game. It doesn't surprise me that you did have alliances and final twos with a lot of people. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
Maybe if I was a little more subtle after the Rubina vote, especially after Tucker did what he did during the renom ceremony. If I would've been like "alright Tucker. I'm all yours. What do we need to do?"; I just wasn't going to do that because that's not how I felt. I just didn't want to work with him because I just don't respect the game he's playing. I give him the credit, I just don't want him to win.
Show Snob: The women have had just as much, if not more, power than the men do in the game currently. (MJ power, Chelsie HOH, Angela two-time HOH). With you and the rest of the women having strong social games, why do you think a women’s alliance still couldn’t come to fruition?
I was actually targeted, for one. Kenney, before getting evicted, said that I started an all-girls alliance. Honestly, when we [the women] were sitting there seven strong going into week 5's eviction I was like "y'all, it could be 7 [women] to 4 [men]". I think they were just nervous. People gravitated towards certain people. After week 1, no one really wanted to work with Angela. Outside the game, I'm sure she's an incredible person. But inside the game, she's just not someone who I wanted to work with. An all-women alliance would've been great...minus her.
Show Snob: We celebrate the fact that you are a beautiful married mother. Let’s say one of your children grow up and gets on Big Brother. What advice would you give them so that they can make it far in the game?
One, be ready not to sleep. That was something I was not anticipating. You really only sleep three to four hours a night. Go a little slower. Don't be afraid to really feel people out and get to know them just a little bit more before you promise them everything. Don't promise your allegiance on night one. I wouldn't discourage them [my kids] though. If this is something they wanted to do I'd say "buckle up" and give them all the inside tea I could. It's hard as hell and you're going to regret a little bit of it. But, ultimately, you're going to be so grateful that you bet on yourself. Good luck!
Show Snob: If you could pick the order, who are the three people you want to see gone next? Why?
Tucker. Angela. Joseph. Tucker, just because he's going to win the game if he stays. I think other people deserve it more. Not deserve it more. But maybe it would mean more to other people. I have a soft spot for people that really need it. Angela, just because of the game she played. It's not nice. It was not nice starting Day 5 and it just has gotten progressively worse and I just can't get behind it. There's even stuff y'all don't even know. And Joseph...Joseph's Joseph.
Check out our full interview with Brooklyn Rivera below!
Please note that this transcription and interview have been edited for length and clarity.
Catch up on what you may have missed on Big Brother season 26 by heading to Paramount+ to stream every episode thus far!