Yahoo Movies The Challenge: Double Agents eliminated player speaks: 'I got caught'
MTV
Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Challenge: Double Agents episode 7, "Die Another Jay."
If there's one thing Survivor alum Jay Starrett knows, it's to trust his instincts. Because the one time he didn't listen to them led to his elimination from The Challenge: Double Agents.
After Starrett went along with his partner Theresa Jones' plan to pit two-time Challenge champ Ashley Mitchell against elimination queen Kam Williams, he agreed to not let anyone know about it in advance, even though all his allies — including Williams, her boyfriend Leroy Garrett, and his friends Cory Wharton and Kyle Christie — were being blindsided. And the backlash was immediate. In this week's episode, Starrett was thrown into the very next elimination against Garrett, and lost.
"I always follow my gut, always, ever since Survivor," Starrett tells EW. "And my gut was telling me, 'Tell Cory and tell Kam. Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it.' But then my brain was stupid and was like, 'No, you made a promise to Theresa, don't do that.' Sometimes you've just got to shut your brain off and trust your instincts and go with them. That time I didn't, and it led me to go into an elimination, and then I lost."
But the perennially optimistic and good-natured Starrett isn't bitter about that mistake and his resulting elimination… because he never is. "That's life," he says with a laugh. "The beauty though is that I'm not dead yet, so they can call me back. 'Hi, MTV! I'm waiting!'" He laughs again as he jokes, "It's not like I sleep with my phone under my pillow or anything."
Below, Starrett breaks down that elimination loss, whether he regrets going along with Jones' plan, and more.
MTV
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So in your eyes, what led to your elimination?
JAY STARRETT: The fact of the matter was I went along with a plan that me and my partner thought was a good plan, and I should have shared it with a couple people to have more trust with them. But I didn't share it with them and I got caught.
Do you blame Theresa for how you ended up getting eliminated?
No, I don't blame Theresa at all. She played her game, I played mine. I'm a grown-ass man, I can literally go talk to whoever I want, whenever I want. But I made a promise and I stuck to the promise because she was my partner, and I would hope that if I had ever asked her to stick to a promise that I asked for, she would do it. At the end of the day, I was the one that didn't tell Cory, I was the one that didn't tell Kam, I didn't tell Kyle, so that s--- happens.
Looking back on it now, do you still agree with the plan that you and Theresa put into play, knowing it landed you in the next elimination?
Oh, most definitely — I would have done it 100 times! [Laughs] Because Ashley was second place on the mini final, so that shows me where the standings are as far as endurance is concerned. Theresa's a beast, so if me and Theresa beat everyone by 10 minutes and the only person that came close on the girl side was Ashley, why not take out Theresa's biggest competition, go to the end with the strongest endurance girl, and win the final, if I could stick with her all the way to the end? But at least I monopolized that side of my team, you know? The only thing I would have done different is I would have told Kam and Cory.
In your interviews you kept saying that you knew you were making dumb moves, so you were just referring to not letting Kam and Cory know ahead of time that they were going into elimination, and not the plan as a whole?
Yeah, that was the only dumb move in my mind; I didn't give them the heads up and it bit me in the ass.
Do you regret being partnered with Theresa now knowing how it ended for you?
I loved being partnered with Theresa. She was great at listening to direction, she was great at giving direction, the communication was always on point, she's a great runner and athlete. There were no complaints about partnering with her at all, honestly. We were always looking out for each other. She had my back 100 percent. She was telling me CT was coming after me that week with Ashley anyways. Maybe it could have been a lie, but at the end of the day she was looking out for me and I was looking out for her. You've got to stick with your partner.
Since this is your first time being officially eliminated (since last season you were medically disqualified), how did this elimination loss compare to what happened last season?
Man, the comparison is such an easy answer: I can remember it. [Laughs] It was fun. A loss is a loss, you take it on the chin and you stand up again.
What was it like going against Leroy?
Oh my God, it was so epic. I was so excited, honestly, because my first season I got to go against CT, and I beat him. Then my second season Leroy was considering throwing in Devin against me, and I was like, "Don't you dare throw in Devin. You want me out of game, you come do it." Because I wanted to go against another Challenge legend. I've watched Leroy growing up, I've watched him slip off the car and almost basically die when he hit the water. I'm such a fan of the show, if I can now eliminate Leroy, that would be sick. [Laughs] Leroy's a legend in and of himself, he's done it for 12 seasons now, so I was stoked. I love going against any of them, honestly, because s---, they are legends, man. They're what makes The Challenge, The Challenge. And if I can eliminate one of them, then I can be [pauses, then laughs] what makes The Challenge, The Challenge.
TJ said you and Leroy were only competing for less than a minute. Was it really that fast?
It felt like the buzzer hit and then the buzzer hit again and it was like, "Oh my God, we're done. I lost by like three seconds? What the hell? When did that happen?" It's cool because your body snaps into a flow, and you're just tapped into who you are and what you do and you don't even know what you're doing, you're subconsciously just going and then the next thing you know, it's over. Damn, dude, Leroy has done this elimination before, on a log. He's had experience doing this, dangling upside down, shackled from his wrists and feet. And then the next thing I know I'm losing to him by like two or three seconds. I was happy and totally fine losing because I was still impressed with myself. They put you in situations where you don't even know what you're going to do, and the next thing you know you're like overly capable of doing it and you're like, "How the hell did I just do that?"
MTV
What's the status of your friendships with Cory, Leroy, Kyle, and Kam? Have you reached out to any of them since the season ended to try and mend things?
Yeah, I've reached out to Kam, she said no hard feelings. She knew that it was a great game move. Leroy also said it's a great game move, because it is. They were just more upset that I didn't tell them because we were becoming friends in the house. Hopefully they're cool with me. The game is a game. Next time, just maybe treat me better? [Laughs] Let me into your circle. Tell me your truths so then I could trust you. Tell me some of your information so then I won't have to lie to you and I'll tell you some of my information. That's the thing, a lot of people blame me for lying but at the same time, you weren't letting me into your alliance. You were just saying I'm in it, let's work together, but you're not telling me what you're doing, you're not telling me any plans. And if I don't know any plans, why am I going to trust you? I know Survivor. On The Challenge, you can win the whole season, and then someone will take half of your money or take all your money. Ashley has taken all the money, and everyone's [telling me], "Oh my God, you're such a liar, you're so deceitful," and it's like, you guys have done worse. You've taken away prize money from people. So I can't be that bad.
And what about Cory?
Oh yeah, Cory. I was like, "Bro, it was such a miscommunication. I'm telling you the truth." I could barely even hear him when I was standing on the podium. That's why I just responded like that, because I thought he was saying, "You told me that I was coming down here," and I was like, "Yeah, I did." [Laughs] But I didn't know that he was saying, "You f---ing lied to me!" And I was like, "Yeah, whatever." So I'm watching it back like, no one's even going to know! I'm such a liar, I hurt Cory! But it's whatever, man, that's the fun of this show.
Going into future seasons, are you and Cory going to be okay, or is that a new vendetta?
[Sighs] I'd love to be allies, but if Cory doesn't want to be allies, I guess that's another enemy on my hook. I'd totally be allies with him. Him and Nelson, I've got so much respect for them. Especially Nelson, I've known him since Ex on the Beach. We've been friends for a long time. If they want to work together, let's work together, but I know at the end of the day they'll always pick them over me. So I've just got to find a way to be part of them now.
You just need to be someone's No. 1, and not No. 3 or 4 or 5.
Yeah, just bring me back Nam. [Laughs] That's my boy, we were the "Jam" together!
Last season you got entangled in a complicated hookup that led to your elimination, but this season it seems like they're not even airing any hookup or relationship drama. Were you involved in anything like that this season that didn't make it to air?
Yeah I mean, [sighs] no wonder Leroy got so mad, you know? [Laughs] Considering we were bunkmates.
So who was hopping in your bunk, Jay?
Leroy was hopping on top of my bunk all the time. [Laughs] Nah, there was no romantic nothing going on. It kind of sucks because all the girls seemed like they had dudes at home or they're playing hard to get or like they were just doing their thing and I was like, ugh, I don't have time for this s---. I'm already stressed out with all this, I'm not going to play your game of like, "Oh my God, chase me!" No, I'm good.
Sounds like you learned from last season!
No, no, I didn't learn! I just didn't want to, I was lazy. [Laughs] Because if there's a girl in there, and her boyfriend's in there too but the girl wants to hook up with me, and she's hot, we're in The Challenge, I'm not going to pass up on that. "I would love to piss you off a little bit more." [Laughs] Let's go, baby!
Oh no, you haven't learned.
It's always fun to just f--- things up. [Laughs] But in the real world I won't do that. On The Challenge? Yeah, why not.
What wasn't shown this season that you think is important for viewers to know happened in the house or in the game?
Theresa was telling me that CT was coming for me. So, if that was true, then I would have loved to see that because then I'd be like, she wasn't just saying this. But I guess I'll never know. Maybe she just lied to me and maybe she had me believe whatever she wants so that I could go with her game. I really did like how last episode, everyone's like, "He's such a liar and a snake, and I can't believe he lied." And then they show CT's confessional and he's like, "Welcome to The Challenge." That's what I'm talking about, CT! Let them know! Because I'm here, and I'm here to f--- s--- up!
The Challenge: Double Agents airs Wednesdays on MTV.
Related content:
