After being kicked off Big Brother Canada 8 last week, an Okotoks man is feeling some love back at home.
Journeyman electrician Kyle Rozendal was one of two people told to leave the reality show last week after he spent 20 days in the Big Brother house near Toronto, competing to win the show’s $100,000 prize. The show ended production March 24 in light of developments in Ontario on the fight against COVID-19.
“What they told me was due to the fact that I had said some lewd, crude comments they thought that was behaviour enough for me to be asked to exit the game,” he said, adding he and his houseguests’ conversations sometimes revolved around x-rated material.
A release from Big Brother Canada states the two houseguests were removed due to events inside the Big Brother Canada house, of which Insight Productions and Global reviewed with diligent care and concern.
“In both cases, the removed houseguests exhibited behaviour which is not tolerated in the Big Brother house, and is considered contrary to the spirit and integrity of Big Brother Canada,” it states. “We are committed to presenting an experience that reflects the values of all Canadians. Out of respect for our houseguests, footage will not be shown.”
Upon returning to Okotoks, Rozendal said people have been supportive.
“They say it’s bull•••• I was kicked off and they wanted to know the ins and outs of what happened,” he said. “Some have said thanks for representing the town, that I played a good game.”
Rozendal was as one of 16 houseguests who signed on to participate in the 12-week journey that isolates contestants from the outside world as they take on various challenges.
The 31-year-old self-professed Big Brother Canada fanatic submitted his video application last summer and began his journey on Family Day.
From the moment he arrived in the Big Brother house, Rozendal said it was “pure insanity.”
“You are told what to do, when to wake up, when to go to bed and there’s cameras everywhere and you’re mic'd all the time,” he said. “You try to mitigate some things you might say on a normal everyday basis but it goes out the window pretty quick.”
Rozendal was in game mode from the beginning, as were many of the contestants, he said.
“They were all great people but once you start playing the game everybody turns into scumbags,” he said. “Everyone is lying, everyone is manipulating, everyone is deceitful.”
Rozendal admits he was the ringleader of the liars, which landed him in hot water during the second veto competition. When tasked to place balls into tubes of houseguests they wanted eliminated following the first elimination, Rozendal was targeted.
His deceitful behaviour had surprised five of his houseguests.
“Just the way I played it was aggressive and I was working hard in there and I knew when I lied to those four people to get their buddy evicted it was going to be a rough go,” he said. “When the guy got evicted I was pretty much screwed on that one.”
But Rozendal was confident.
“I was doing really good in the show and getting really far,” he said. “I had done a lot of ground work on establishing personal connections and furthering them to easily be able to use those people down the line if I had to. What sucks about my situation is the way it ended. I was in a great spot in the house.”
While his strategy was strong, Rozendal struggled with the weekly Head of Household challenges and veto competitions.
“The challenges were extremely hard,” he said. “I used to sit on my couch and watch them I would think I could do that. When you get there it’s a whole different experience.”
Even more challenging was spending most of his time as a “have not,” which required him and some other houseguests to eat slop and sleep on the floor.
Despite the challenges, Rozendal said it was an amazing experience.
“The nature of my departure and the fact that I was doing well, that’s going to sting for a long time,” he said. “That’s a tough one to swallow.”
Now at home, Rozendal is fielding comments on Twitter and enjoying time with his young family.
“I’ve got a pretty thick skin so I’m not bothered by the Twitter hate,” he said. “As much as I’m getting hate, I’m getting a ton of support from people as well. On a game level they thought I was playing the game how it was intended to be played. There’s an entertainment value attached to it.”
Rozendal said he’s getting a lot of support from people in the Foothills and his hometown of Cold Lake.
“I appreciate everyone who showed me the love and let me know there are people who appreciated what I was doing there on a game level and a personal level as well,” he said. “It means the world to me.”
As for returning amidst requirements for social distancing with COVID-19 cases on the rise after being in a house with 15 other people for almost three weeks, Rozendal said he can handle it.
“When I came out and first talked to my wife she said, ‘We all have to stay inside now’ and I’m like, ‘Perfect,’” he said. “I’m used to being sequestered.”
Follow Rozendal on Instagram @kylebbcan8
Episodes of Big Brother Canada 8 are available at https://www.bigbrothercanada.ca/
