So, in a blog last week, I took a guess at the incoming Celebrity Big Brother house guests and whiffed gloriously. I didn’t get a one right, and you know what? Neither did anybody else.
All the gossip blogs and entertainment sites were off. Way off.
The executives with and representatives for Big Brother U.S. played down the level of celebrity that would participate in this first-ever States-side edition of the Celebrity Big Brother franchise — and they were right to do so because they have smashed expectations. This is a much better cast than I had anticipated.
We’ve got Omarosa Manigault because, of course. Recently departed from the Trump White House, she’s free to be who she was always meant to be, the master reality show villain. There is nobody better at playing badly with others than Omarosa, and if I’m the other houseguests, she’s an early target.
There’s Shannon Elizabeth from “American Pie” fame. There’s Real Housewives’ Brandi Glanville. There’s Ariadna Gutierrez, the victim of Steve Harvey’s infamous Miss Universe mistake a couple of years ago. She was Miss Universe for a very short reign.
Marissa Jaret Winkour of “Hairspray” fame will enter the Big Brother house as will Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rudy from “The Cosby Show.” I can’t wait to hear what she has to say about her former TV dad. For real.
James Maslow from “Big Time Rush” will enter the house after a run on “Dancing With the Stars,” a show from which many house guests graduated. A bunch also did their time on Celebrity Apprentice, including former Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath.
Ron Artest will join the cast. You know him better as Metta World Peace, former NBA player. I hesitate to say NBA star. He was only borderline great even at the peak of his career.
And then we have MMA legend Chuck Liddell and former Tonight Show correspondent Ross Matthews. One did “Dancing With the Stars” and the other was a judge on RuPaul’s “Drag Race.” I’ll let you guess which one was on what show. The answer might surprise you!
Kidding.
This initial Celebrity Big Brother (U.S.) cast has plenty of personality. As Julie Chen was quoted on Monday, “Omarosa likes to be heard.”
You think?
You’d think guys like Chuck Liddell and Metta World Peace would have an advantage in endurance competitions, but let’s get real: Pretty much everybody in this cast is in shape.
Truth is: I have no idea what’s going to happen on this very short season of Big Brother. Heck, my prognostication can’t be any worse than it was when I tried to guess the house guests, right? However, I have four predictions for you:
1. Omarosa will be the first to be evicted. She’s a target on Day 1. Surely, somebody can wrangle together an alliance to make her an easy evictee, that is, unless there is some funky competition to start the show that takes the first eviction out of the hands of fellow house guests.
2. Keshia Knight Pulliam will be a polarizing contestant. What she says about her TV father, Bill Cosby, could alienate the entire house fast. She’s been one of his most vocal defenders, and I think in the wake of #MeToo ad #TimesUp and with plenty of other women in the house, she’s not going to be popular.
3. The “unlikeliest best friends” award will go to Chuck Liddell and Ross Matthews. It’s just a hunch. Both are very likeable, and opposites often attract whether it be in relationships or friendships.
4. The winner of Celebrity Big Brother (U.S.) will be Chuck Liddell. I think he’s smart to go along with his physicality, and I’d have to think as an MMA fighter, he’s mentally tough. That’s what Big Brother requires more than anything else: resilience.
I’ll be posting blogs about Big Brother throughout the duration of the season, and I’ll record a few videos as well on my YouTube channel: youtube.com/RyanWeltonMusic.
Who do you think will win this first season of Celebrity Big Brother (U.S)?
