Christian Birkenberger has played five weeks of Big Brother 23 with all eyes on him. Whether it was from a romantic perspective, a strategic perspective, or just watching him do some cool burpee flips in the backyard. The general contractor assistant built a reputation as a big competition threat, entrenched in a tight team of the Kings along with a majority alliance. But in one fell swoop, the “Royal Flush” was undone by the Ace up the sleeve, sending Christian’s tower of cards crumbling down. Christian experienced a first week more bouncy than his luscious locks. He won the Night 1 competition, handpicking his Kings team. But his “meathead” image earned the ire of another team captain, Brandon “Frenchie” French. The first HoH’s plans were thwarted, though, with the new Wildcard Competition. Christian crushed it and earned safety for the week, ruining Frenchie’s plans faster than he could say “dadgum.” Instead, he took aim at Alyssa Lopez, Christian’s teammate, who the farmer believed had the kindling of a showmance. And ironically enough, whether due to kismet or Frenchie playing the role of Cupid, the two would eventually come together in the weeks following his eviction. While it was a tumultuous start, Christian’s course eventually evened out. He was brought in on a couple of majority alliances, most notably the Royal Flush of the Kings, Queens, and Derek Xiao. He continued to win competitions to keep him and his team on the throne. During his HoH week, he single-handedly wielded control and was able to successfully evict Whitney Williams when he heard she had been targeting him and Alyssa. But it was a quick trip from the top to the bottom for Christian. Derek X. won HoH this past week, and Christian felt he was ready to rep some more looks throughout the jury phase. But Derek saw him as his biggest threat and took advantage of him not playing in any competitions that week. And so he carried through with the biggest backstab of the season so far, backdooring a stunned Christian. After furiously floundering, he spent the past few days throwing everything at the wall with his fellow houseguests, and nearly got there when Tiffany Mitchell considered turning the vote to keep him. But alas, this was one flip that Christian could not land. Now out of the house, Christian talks with Parade.com about the various strategies in his pitching, why he felt he couldn’t throw competitions, and what his immediate plans were had he stayed. I think “angry” would be the mildest way to describe your reaction to being backdoored. But by the time you were evicted, it seemed like you were in relatively good spirits. When did you reach that moment of acceptance with your eviction over the past few days? The moment that I felt, “OK, I’m fine with going out,” was seconds before I left the house. That’s because I pitched up until the eviction. I was only satisfied with me going out after making every single argument I had ready and putting in every single ounce of effort to stay. The fact that I did that for three days straight as much as I could, as much convincing and playing as I could, is the only reason I’m OK with leaving the house. If I were just to sit down and die, I think it would have been exactly the same. I am much more satisfied with how I left than if I didn’t try it all. Let’s talk about that pitching. I saw a couple of things you threw were that Kyland and Sarah Beth were a couple outside of the game and that Sarah Beth was America’s Player who would get an extra $250,000 for making jury. How much did you actually believe what you were saying? Tiffany was the one that brought that theory to my attention. And I needed Tiffany’s vote, so I thought maybe if I could add some paranoia, then I’d be able to sway her. I do fully believe that Sarah Beth was playing for America. The only thing that I don’t think was as convincing is that the wager was $250,000. It made sense to me at the time because we’re competing for $750,000. I don’t know another reality TV show that has a $750,000 prize; it’s either $500,000 or a million. I don’t think anyone was buying my pitch, but I think people do still believe SB is playing for America. Well, I’ll let you know that Sarah Beth isn’t actually America’s Player. Oh damn! It was an interesting argument, though! Right before the Veto meeting, you end up getting Derek X. in the storage room, begging him not to put you up and go through with the original plan. Up to the point Alyssa warned you that you’d be backdoored, did you truly think you’d be safe? Yeah, I fully believed him when he told me I wasn’t a target this week or backdoor option. But then things changed. The veto was a luxury comp; people were selfish and greedy and went after what they wanted instead of what was best for their game. And that resulted in the perfect opportunity for me to go up as a backdoor, and I guess that’s just what happens sometimes. So I knew the second I was sitting up as a replacement that I was going to put up a fight. But I fully was prepared to go home. I was denying it, but in the very back of my mind, I knew that once I took that seat, I was going home. One of the reasons why you’re talking to me right now is that competition record. You won five comps in five weeks! And in your interview with Julie, you talked about how you weren’t necessarily there to win, but to compete. In retrospect, do you regret not scaling it back more in the competitions to build up your threat level? No, I absolutely do not. And I know that sounds odd! But if I didn’t win that first competition, I don’t think, I know I would have been the first person walking out of the house. I had a target on me since the second I walked into the house. That’s possibly because I should have won the first HoH, and I think people saw that too. So not only do I have five wins, but I was supposed to have six! I saw immediately I needed to be a winner. So not only was me having to win the first comp crucial to my game, but I needed to continue to win comps. I could not have played any other way; it would have just resulted in me leaving the house even earlier. The only regret I have is that instead of prioritizing comps, I should have balanced out comps and social game. Not by losing more or winning less, but by socializing more and socializing better. Because we all know I had a distraction in the house! And I do not often think with my head; I think with my heart. In that case, I did isolate myself from the group when I was with Alyssa because she’s my person and the person that made me comfortable in the house, the person I wanted to spend the most time with. But I don’t regret it. I wouldn’t have any other way. Let’s talk about that first week. As you said, Frenchie immediately goes after you as the “big fish.” And you have to earn safety to make sure you’re not the first one evicted. How much did that change your game? Yes, I am very aware I would have been the first one going out. I definitely was the first target. I mean, that was clear in Frenchie’s speech. And Alyssa, unfortunately, had to suffer the block for a week because of me. Since day one, I was the target. It did change my game a little because I was prepared to be a target at some point in the game. I did think I would be a target because of the exact same reasons. However, I didn’t think it would be within the first hour. I realized that there were a few things I could do. I could either prove to people that I wasn’t a competition beast by not having safety, competing, and winning. But going against what people already believe is much harder than just winning and confirming your safety. I didn’t think I really had a chance of winning this game. Honestly, I just wanted to go a lot further than I did. And winning and having some sort of secured safety was my best option. So Frenchie tries to sniff out a possible showmance between you and Alyssa, and then it becomes real. Was that just natural magnetism between you two, or did Frenchie’s paranoia put that idea in your heads? I don’t think Frenchie’s comment helped! The first week, we were seen as a threat as a duo, as possibly a showmance. And I think it was seen we barely spoke to each other that first week because we wanted to think about our own games. After that, Alyssa presented the reality of the situation. We have to work together because no matter what, we are not going to change people’s opinions that we are in a showmance. And from that point on, we’re like, “OK, let’s agree to work together.” The second we started working together, it was immediate; it was very quick. I think we’re really the same person in so many ways. But in the best ways were opposite people. I needed her to get as far as I did. So I think the connection is definitely genuine. And it honestly may have just been a faster connection if Frenchie didn’t start the rumor. Outside of the Royal Flush, you had a couple of deals going on. You had Final Two deals with Britini and Derek F. and a Final Four with Alyssa, Claire and Tiffany. What did you see as your ideal endgame? The best-case scenario was me, Tiffany, Claire and Alyssa. Those four would have been people I felt I would have been happy sitting next to any of them. The reality of the situation is I would have taken Alyssa to the final two. I would have never pitched against her; I would have only pitched for my game. And it would have been, I think, a fair battle. But those were the four I would have wanted to work with. Xavier would have been the fifth who I would have taken out. I feel like that was my best chance to win. But the second my butt was on the block, no one even wanted to hear my argument. I was already out the door before I actually left. Back to those arguments. You tell Derek X. that if you stayed this week, you would throw the next HoH competition. Additionally, the next time you won HoH, you would have kept him safe. Would you have actually done that had you survived eviction? That’s a very tough question to answer. I would love to say I would because I did want to play a loyal and competitive game. And I think I did play a loyal and competitive game, so it’s in my nature to continue playing that way. I give people the benefit of the doubt. I think I would have made the mistake again and honored my agreement. But if I threw last night’s HoH comp, I would have worked my butt off to make sure whoever the HoH was taking him out so that I didn’t have to. I would have stuck to my word that I wouldn’t have gone after him. But I would have done everything in my power to make sure whoever the HoH is would have gone after him. This was the first time this season that the vote felt truly up in the air, to the point where Tiffany was trying to gather votes to keep you and evict Sarah Beth. Is it more or less frustrating knowing how close the house got to flipping the days before your eviction? Honestly, I initially did not look at that situation as too much of a missed opportunity. Until every single interview I go on, and every person asked the same thing! Oh, no. Now I realize that if I asked Britini to come out of the room in a more nonchalant way, she goes up to the HoH room without being bombarded by the rest of the Jokers. It could have worked out for me! I didn’t know that some drama went on at like two in the morning the night before. I was unaware of that. And I guess that’s what carried on. I think that could have really been the difference. And I’m just so angry that it worked out that way. But I think everything happens for a reason. Let’s finish with some rapid-fire thoughts about your fellow houseguests. Starting with Alyssa. Extremely loyal, passionate, hard worker, strong social game. Someone in my head I associate with having really strong feelings for.Azah. Azah is extremely funny. She’s hard-working. She’s the only person in the house that I think votes the way she wants to vote. Everyone else wants to do what the house wants. She votes the way she wants.Britini. Britini is extremely passionate, energetic. She is always up first, ready to sing some songs, and extremely passionate about the game.Claire. Claire is hysterical. She will light up any room. She is not embarrassed about anything. That’s something that I extremely admire because she’s able to make any situation fun, and she’s not afraid to have a good time.Derek F. Honestly, the first thing that came into my head was “floater.” I do think that that’s the way he’s playing the game. I’m not sure what he provides at this moment. But I would like to take that back because he’s playing a better game than me. I think any person that is in the house longer than me is playing the better. Whether or not he’s floating, he’s gonna do a great job at it. And I don’t believe that he will float forever; he will have a moment to shine. So I’m not taking a dig at him. I just think we have different strategies.Derek X. Ah, Derek X. I want to say “coward” because he took me out on a week that I didn’t have the ability to compete for HoH or veto. But in the other ways, he is extremely brave because he took the shot that I was scared to take the week before. So I really think that his gameplay overshadows the fact that I think he’s a coward.Hannah. Extremely smart, we called her the “BB Encyclopedia.” Very intelligent about the game, good strategist. And she’s gonna go far with all the knowledge she provides people, which really benefits her.Kyland. I really liked the guy. But Kyland has a smile that I think rubs people the wrong way. Sometimes he’s a really good guy, but it’s sometimes uncomfortable being around him. He does make some people uncomfortable with how touchy he is. Especially with Sarah Beth, considering the fact that she has a girlfriend, Shelly. Outside the house, I do want to be good friends with him. But inside the house, it was something that I avoided.Sarah Beth. Very strong player in hindsight. Now I know that she’s not America’s player, I do think that those tears were genuine. So I think she’s a genuine, very emotional player. She plays with her heart. And I also play with my heart, so I respect that. She is extremely smart. She took the money when she knew she needed the veto. But she was able to make it work so that she didn’t need the veto. She’s someone that I’m extremely happy to have on my team as a King.Tiffany. Extremely loving, especially to me as I was her son in the house. She’s caring. And overall, she is hysterical. She is the funniest person in the house; I have said that to everybody. She really can light up the room, and she has no bone in her body that is as embarrassed. She is willing to do anything for a laugh. And I very much appreciate that because it made the house a lot more fun.And finally, Xavier. He’s extremely loyal. A really good friend and so intelligent. He really had my back. And now I know he’s sneaky too. He is the person I think that’s going to win the game. As much as I want to say it’s Alyssa, I think Xavier’s gonna win. He’s gonna walk away after this game with the fat check. He’s extremely smart; he has the right people in line. He’s working with the right people. And I’m just happy to call him a friend outside this house. Next, check out our interview with Whitney Williams, who was evicted in Week 4.
