By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

Big Brother fans are always reminded to “Expect The Unexpected” and that was never more true than with last night’s big win by lawyer, Ashley Hollis. She snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as finalist Vince Panaro saw his disloyal game evaporate right before his very eyes. Hollis wants to be remembered as the underdog who never gave up.

John Powell: Ashley, it’s great to be talking to you today. Congratulations on winning Big Brother!

Ashley Hollis: Thank you so much!

John Powell: I know it’s only been a little while but has there been any thought to what you’re going to do with the money?

Ashley Hollis: Oh, my gosh! I keep getting that question. So, I think obviously some of it I’ll definitely give to take care of my parents, whatever they need. I’m sure they’ll try to reject the money but I’m going to try to do what I can to make them take and accept it. And definitely, just use it as an investment. I think I will buy a condo or something.

Once I get a new job or once I decide what I want to do because I don’t know if I necessarily want to go back to law right now as I think I really want to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me whether it’s in the reality TV space, the traditional acting space or Broadway even, because I sing and act and I’ve done musicals my whole life. I think I’m open to all paths.

John Powell: That must have been a hard decision to quit your job. What factors went into that because most people wouldn’t be able to do that.

Ashley Hollis: Yes, definitely it was a tough decision. I really did have to battle with the thought because I thought I was going to be able to get a leave and then I wasn’t able to. They really wanted me to stay, obviously, where I was at, because I really got along with my team. I truly did and I really did like working there but I felt like I had to go for my dreams and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I can always go back, whether it’s to that law firm or another law firm. If that’s what I decide I want to do, I have the degree. Nobody can take my degree away from me but I knew that something about it just felt right and now I know why.

John Powell: In your finale speech the real focus was on loyalty,nthat you were loyal to the people and no doubt you were. That was in stark contrast to Vince’s game. Did that resonate with the jury in having spoken to them?

Ashley Hollis: Oh, absolutely! I mean, I saw when I said, “I turned enemies into allies and my counterpart turned allies into enemies,” I saw them visibly were like, “Oh shoot, she is cooking.” That’s when I knew I felt like I was going to take it home. I could see the reactions especially when he did his speech. I could see a couple of the jurors were not liking it. That also helped. Having those public speaking skills from being an attorney definitely came in clutch in that moment, that’s for sure.

John Powell: Looking at your game is there anything you wish you would have done differently?

Ashley Hollis: I would change showering in Vinnie’s room. (laughs)

You know what? I actually wouldn’t because that was great TV. I’m sure getting that veto win really changed the trajectory of my game and others’ games. Everybody thought that I was going to be the first one out because it was easy, it’s easy week one. People are always looking for that easy route and I’m glad I didn’t let them have it. Here I am today!

Big Brother winner and it just shows that you never give up. Underdogs stand up! You know, underdogs can come through with clutch wins. We saw it during Taylor’s (Hale) season. She played an amazing game and she was targeted week one so anything is possible. I hope this inspires people that even when your back is against the wall you have to keep fighting. If you have a goal and you have a mission, go and set out to accomplish that mission, no matter what.

John Powell: We obviously have to speak about the elephant in the room. Many critics were saying that it wasn’t necessarily a vote for you to win, it was a vote against Vince. What is your argument against that?

Ashley Hollis: My argument against that is that mainly people were saying that I necessarily didn’t deserve to win because of my competition skills but here’s the thing: there are many people in the house who were targets week after week and it wasn’t because of their competition skills. Morgan is my bestie but she didn’t win a competition until day 54 yet she was targeted multiple times. We saw it with Jimmy, Keanu, and Rachel, she was targeted.

You also have players like Ava who only won one competition. Yes, she won the safety but as we all saw Will did throw her that HOH. She was still seen as a target. So, I think that just speaks to my social game. I was able to minimize my threat completely and there were plenty of people who played their own social games. I mean, you saw it with Mickey, you saw it with Jimmy. It wasn’t because of competition wins, that was because of their social game.

John Powell: Now, it must have been a good thing and probably also a bad thing that Rachel was in your corner the whole time, because she was a big target in the house. How much did it mean to have her in your corner and what did you learn from her?

Ashley Hollis: Oh my gosh! Having Rachel in my corner was truly an amazing feeling! She is an amazing, strong woman. She’s extremely intelligent, she’s powerful and she’s also a very down-to-earth person. So, on a personal level, it was just nice having someone like that in the house to be your bestie. And I think on a game level, you know, sometimes it was hard to align with Rachel. She knows that, because sometimes she would make emotional moves.

Vinnie gave her crucial game information that Keanu was coming after her and she went and told Keanu and that almost got her on the block that week on Vince’s HOH. So there were moments when I was like, “Rachel…” But also, Rachel is someone who doesn’t care. She’s someone who is confidently herself. She walks in with that presence, she owns it and she knows she can dig her way out of it because she’s a strong social player. Seeing her dig herself into holes and dig herself right back out taught me that you just gotta keep pushing and you can rely on your social game to move forward in the game no matter what mistakes you make.

John Powell: One of the big controversies this season, as you’re probably finding out, was the relationship between Morgan and Vince. I mean, some people even took it to the extreme of calling it a “Cheatmance”. You were with them the whole time and you even said to Morgan, at the beginning, “I kind of wasn’t sure what was going on here.” What is your opinion of everything that happened in there?

Ashley Hollis: Yes, I was extremely close with Morgan. Listen, she tells me she truly didn’t feel, I will say that, she truly didn’t feel like she did anything wrong. She felt like they were just friends. Morgan, I know is a very touchy-feely person in general. I mean, she rubbed my back and rubbed my hair multiple times and put me to sleep basically. That is just her nature. She’s a very nurturing person.

Now, whether Vinnie had more feelings than that, that’s to be determined. I think so. I mean, just the way he looked at her, the way he listened to her, the way he played her game, I think it was a little more than a friendship on his end. Because me, Morgan and Rachel were a very strong duo but I didn’t play her game. I didn’t make her decisions. Shoot, had I gotten picked for OTEV and won that veto, I would have used it to take one of her nominees off the block because that wasn’t good for my gamfor Morgan to be on the block or Mickey at that time, for that matter.

So, I think there’s a fine line. I think it’s more on Vince because he’s the one in the relationship and he knows that relationship. I know they’re long-distance, so maybe they’re not as serious? I really don’t know what that case is. I really wasn’t that close with Vince. I was very close with Morgan and I do know her heart. She has very pure intentions. So, I can only speak to Morgan and say that I don’t think she even thought anything twice of it. Vinne? The looks he gave her and the “I love yous,”? Yeah, yeah. Messy.

John Powell: What do you want viewers and fans to take away from your win?

Ashley Hollis: Well, one, underdogs! And two, I think it just shows you the power that you are in control of your own destiny. You truly are. You may think that your back is against the wall, you may think you can’t accomplish something, you can’t do something but you’ve got to pick yourself up and try. You’ve gotta keep going because you don’t know where that path may lead. It may lead to a dead end, it may not. You’ll never know if you don’t try.

I think I was someone who could have given up early on because I really had an uphill battle after week one. Even after taking myself off, people had already started working together and I was a beat behind just because of where I was at with the scandal.

People don’t want to be aligned with the biggest targets in the house necessarily week one because they don’t know if you’re just going to continue to go on the block and then if you’re on the block, you’re not a resource to them. I think it just shows that you’ve got to keep pushing. If there is a little crack open in anything, whether it’s a goal, ambition, dream, or in this instance, the game with relationships, you’ve gotta take a crowbar and wedge it open as much as you can. You’ve gotta get in there. I think I just showed that anything is possible and never give up. Your setback is just leading to your next comeback.