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Carly Reeves broke into Americas collective consciousness with a bang or, rather, a bench.
Grousing about the presence of a miniature bench on the shows clue wall (WHY A BENCH?
THERES LITERALLY NO REFERENCE TO BENCHES IN ANY OTHER MOVIE!
), Reevess hot-mic moment accused production of sabotaging her chances at victory while simultaneously boosting her own ego.
(I dont deserve this.
I should have more camera time.
I should be here longer.)
But this wasnt just your standard reality-TV car crash.
As Reeves tells it, though, her uncle wasnt all that pressed.
He didnt even address it publicly, Reeves tells Vulture.
I dont think he wants to be connected with the reality-TV world.
I hope it works for you.
How did you end up onClaim to Fame?
Were you approached or did you apply?I applied because I just really love reality TV.
I dont think a lot of contestants applied except me.
I was a flower girl in their wedding.
Ive grown up with him, so were probably closer than he is with some of his blood relatives.
You know, Tom was happy for me.
He just hoped that our relationship helped me in terms of getting on the show.
Lets talk about the elimination.
and I was like, No, why would I be nervous?
In hindsight, there was a lot of discussion behind my back that I did not know about.
A lot of people were talking about the possibility of me being related to Tom.
When I voted for Hugo to guess, I was hoping he wouldnt bring me up.
But given what I know now, either J.R. or Hugo would have.
I was definitely shocked.
When youre up there, you dont expect to go home first.
I wasnt ready to leave and I didnt feel like I got a chance to really play the game.
It felt like a panic attack.
My breathing was short.
I was hyperventilating and I couldnt speak clearly.
I dont even know what the Jonas brothers said because I couldnt hear anything after Toms picture came up.
I didnt even say good-bye because I didnt hear them telling me to do that.
I just wanted to get off the stage because I was so upset.
I felt like they made it easy to find me.
I think they knew how much I wanted to play and that I might have this strong reaction.
I didnt even know where I was supposed to go so I ended up going upstairs.
I was yelling all those things because I wanted production to hear that I was mad.
Did you think theyd use your outburst?I had a feeling it would air.
I tried to reshoot my exit but I knew they were going to keep the original.
Then I tried to tell myself,maybe it wasnt that bad, but I knew it was bad.
When I saw it, I just had to laugh.
I know it triggered a lot of people into hating me, but its very funny to me.
Did you think about how youd be perceived?
Its not like the stories read Carly Reeves melted down.
They said, Tom Hankss niece melted down.Thats why I apologized.
He doesnt like to involve his kids or family in his life.
Even with Chets problems, hes done a good job of keeping it about Chet and not about Tom.
Its just our family.
Were not all crazy, but we are all very expressive.
Were actors so were very emotional.
Once I met Hillary Clinton, but thats not my normal life.
Were all adults now, so we provide for ourselves and we do our own things.
Im an actor myself so people are always like, Why doesnt he help you?
But its not his job to help me.
People assume that rich family members should provide for their family but thats not the case.
Everything Ive ever gotten Ive worked for pretty much on my own.
How did you prepare to go on the show?
Since hes not in the reality-TV world at all it would be a big shocker.
I was prepared for a volleyball and chocolates but I did not think for one second about a bench.
That bench really threw me.
There was no escaping once I saw that bench.
Everyone knew he was in the house somewhere.
I was the easiest target because I had made my two truths and a lie pretty obvious.
I was like, Couldnt they start there and useForrest Gumplater?
Every single person knowsForrest Gump.
You were the only person who said you were related to an actor and an Oscar winner.
In hindsight, was giving that clue a mistake?I would have changed it.
I would have still said Oscar but changed either the award or our relationship.
I definitely struggled trying to deflect once those clues were out there.
Did you know who other people were before you were eliminated?
I probably would have figured out her relative if I stayed a little longer too.
Do you have any regrets?I dont regret my outburst.
I dont hold back and I speak my mind.
Its all a mixed bag.
Some people agreed with me, but then others were like youre spoiled.
I had a great experience overall, though, and once I calmed down, everything was fine.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
