Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk thought he had built enough relationships to keep himself safe in the “Big Brother 28” house. Instead, Rick Devens’ Diamond Power of Veto blindsided him, and a subsequent Block Buster loss sent the MMA fighter home.
Now out of the house, Kamu spoke exclusively with Parade about the moves that shaped his game. These included his decision to publicly confront Jason De Puy, his choice to turn on former allies Chuk Anyanwu and Haley Thogmartin, and why he believed the season’s returning icons posed the biggest threat.
Kamu Kirk Explains His Public Showdown With Jason
Kamu entered the game by building relationships across the house, eventually becoming part of several overlapping alliances.
During his Week 3 Head of Household reign, he targeted Jason. Kamu viewed him as a major competitor who was playing both sides of the house.
Rather than simply nominate Jason, Kamu used a house tea party to publicly confront him. He addressed the different promises and stories Jason had allegedly shared with other Houseguests.
Kamu told Parade that he wanted to expose Jason’s game in case he survived the Block Buster.
“Jason was a really good competitor, a very, very solid competitor,” Kamu said. “And so, what I wanted was in the case he won the Block Buster, and in my head, I thought there was a really good chance he would have, I wanted people to know, ‘Hey man, Jason can’t really be trusted.’”
Kamu acknowledged that the move may have hurt his own game. However, he said he intended to force Jason to explain himself in front of everyone.
“I wanted to get everything out in the open,” he said. “I wanted to hear the truth and hear people defend themselves a little bit, so we could hear what was true and what was a lie.”
Kamu Defends Turning on Chuk and Haley
After the house blindsided his side by evicting Lyric Medeiros, Kamu decided he needed to find new allies.
He approached La Trice “Lala” Verrett and threw Chuk and Haley under the bus. This happened after he became unsure about where his former alliance members stood.
Kamu said he entered “self-preservation mode” after learning that his alliance had turned on him.
“I didn’t know who I could trust at that point,” he said. “All I knew was that my alliance members had turned on me. I had to pivot and find a new group of people to work with.”
He also said Chuk’s decision to speak about him around the house pushed him to make the move.
“When he started to throw my name out, I was like, ‘Alright, I got to go to Lala. I’m gonna throw Chuk under the bus because he’s already doing that with me. And I gotta make sure that I live to see another week in the house.’”
Kamu ultimately chose not to use the Veto when Chuk and Haley remained on the block. This decision effectively ended his relationship with the pair.
Looking back, he said he does not regret making the move because he believed he had to protect himself.
Kamu Says the Icons Were His Biggest Target
Had Kamu survived the week, he said he planned to work with the season’s rookies while targeting the returning “icons.”
He said he respected the returning players personally but viewed their shared history as a major strategic advantage.
“I think that the longer the icons are in the house, the stronger their story becomes,” Kamu said.
He also worried that the returning players would protect one another once the game reached the jury phase.
“When they make it into the jury, they’re gonna always look after each other,” he said. “If there’s an icon that makes it to the end, the two icons who are in the jury are gonna look to vote for the icon who made it to the end.”
Kamu said he would have continued working with Yash Patel, Taylor Brown, and Lala. Meanwhile, he would have looked for other players willing to work with him.
Despite his early exit, Kamu said he left the house with genuine relationships. He said he had no hard feelings toward his fellow Houseguests.
“I love everybody in the house, every single person in the house, and I have genuine relationships with all of them,” he said.
