‘I just don’t think it can be won that way’: Red Utley explains why his strategy for ‘Big Brother 25’ resulted in him leaving the house

If there is one lesson Red Utley learned during his time in the Big Brother house, it is that you cannot trust anybody…

Being evicted this past Thursday (September 7), Red has had quite a few days to reflect on his time on Big Brother 25, as well as what went wrong and resulted in his nearly unanimous elimination. Unfortunately for the self-proclaimed chillbilly, his on-and-off relationship with Cameron Hardin is what ultimately lead to his demise.

Today (September 11), Red chatted with Big Brother 23‘s Hannah Chaddha and Derek Frazier on the RoyalTEA Podcast about all things surrounding his untimely exit, spilling all of the tea on his fellow houseguests.

“I think what me and Cam had was a genuine relationship. It honestly was,” the 38-year-old gushed, despite the narrative Cirie Fields, Felicia Cannon and Izzy Gleicher created and shared with the other half of The Chillers alliance, Cameron. “The only reason I didn’t go and question what was being said was because it was being collaborated by other people, and I gave my word that I wouldn’t. I’m the type of fellow that when I give my word, I keep my word, even if it’s to my own detriment.”

To his own detriment it was indeed, leaving the house with the support of only two houseguests (Cameron Hardin and Bowie Jane Ball), despite being told he was safe by his so-called allies.

Leaving with some resentment towards Cirie, Felicia and Izzy for lying to him, Red is incredibly supportive of Cameron’s decision to put Felicia and Izzy on the block, given that he is this week’s Head of Household: “What I am glad to see is that Cam has seen them for what they are, and he’s got two of them on the block right now with hopefully a backdoor option for Cirie, so hopefully that all goes well. It doesn’t really matter which one of them leaves, as long as one of that group leaves for sure right now.”

While many houseguests and Big Brother fans alike think that Cameron is ruffling too many feathers by putting Felicia and Izzy on the block (or rustling too many feathers, as Hayden Moss would say), Red disagrees entirely. “I think it was a smart move to go ahead and try to get them out right now,” the Gatlinburg, Tennessee native dished. “Maybe it’ll put a little fear in the people as to what he can do, and I think that’s already being seen… I think getting one of them out is a big move, and once you disassemble that group, it opens other opportunities for him to build relationships with other people.”

The reason why he feels as though that group needs to be disassembled is because of the power that Cirie Fields holds within the Big Brother house (also known as Sound Stage 18 at CBS Studios in Los Angeles) — the houseguests seem to blindly follow her lead!

When asked why Cirie is the master of manipulation, Red revealed that “it’s because she’s trained to do so. When you’re trained and have been on four different seasons of reality shows where the way to win is manipulation, you know, eventually some of that’s going to stick and you get pretty good at it, and I think that’s exactly what’s going on with Cirie. Not only that, she has that coupled with a thing that’s ten times more dangerous than a showmance. She has a family member in the house with her, so she’s got a lot of the chips stacked in her advantage, if you will… It’s no wonder that the house guests are eating it up.”

While aligning with the oh-so controversial Cameron may not have been his brightest move, Red seems to have a pretty good read on the game itself, recognizing the hold that Cirie has on her fellow houseguests.

Will the powerful trio of Cirie, Felicia, and Izzy fall apart this week? Tune into the live eviction ceremony on Thursday at 9pm ET/PT to find out who will find themselves packing their bags just one week after Red.