Kaysar's TV Guide Interview
The third time was not the charm for Kaysar Ridha. Though he is often called one of the greatest strategizers in the CBS reality contest's history, the charmer was evicted twice during Season 6 and ejected from Big Brother 7: All-Stars last Thursday — on his birthday, no less. TVGuide.com spoke to Kaysar the day after he was freed, to find out who still can't pronounce his name, what he thinks of James' betrayal, and if hearing the catchphrase "What up, Kaysar?" ever gets annoying.TVGuide.com: So you got kicked out on your birthday, but at least you got to eat cake.
Kaysar Ridha: I got three cakes — one with the producers, one with my family, and then someone dropped by to give me another one.
TVGuide.com: That's got to be better than slop.
Kaysar: It is much better, but I feel it is the equivalent of slop. It is the extreme, too much of one thing. I'm looking for some variety right now.
TVGuide.com: The slop seemed like an awful twist.
Kaysar: Oh my god, it was terrible. On the first day it was not so bad, but by, like, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth day you are like, "Enough! This is crazy!" I lost 10 pounds. If you are looking around in the yard, you start to wonder, "Has anyone really tested this stuff?"
TVGuide.com: It isn't like the tried-and-true peanut butter and jelly.
Kaysar: Right. PB&J is not exactly something you want to do, but at least you don't feel like you are dying at the end of the day.
TVGuide.com: Can you believe Chicken George has to eat that for the rest of the summer, thanks to that veto competition you two were in?
Kaysar: I know! I put down 15 days [when asked how long he'd be willing to go on slop] thinking that after two weeks you'd be completely famished and done and want to kill somebody — and then I'd go an extra day and might still be alive. But he put 60. The guy is completely nuts.
TVGuide.com: Did putting down 60 days even cross your mind?
Kaysar: No. I thought it was impossible. It is going to be interesting to see what happens. They might have to have a medic on standby.
TVGuide.com: You willingly shaved your head for that competition. Any regrets?
Kaysar: Well, the ladies tell me it doesn't look so bad and I've gotten lots of compliments. I didn't want to come off as vain, like I am going to come all this way in the competition and all of a sudden, when it is a matter of shaving my head, say no. So I stuck to my guns. I love my hair and all, but it'll grow back.
TVGuide.com: I think Marcellas was probably more upset than you were.
Kaysar: Yeah, he liked the 'do. And then when I was bald he was upset that he wasn't the only bald guy.
TVGuide.com: Do you ever get tired of people in the house yelling, "What up, Kaysar?"
Kaysar: You get used to it. They started to come up with variations because of George, who didn't know how to say my name, even though we explained it to him a half-million times. "K-sir," not "K-czar." So it became, "What up, Kay-sar." Everyone got in to it, but you don't get tired of it.
TVGuide.com: Do people on the street say it to you?
Kaysar: Yeah. It's catchy.
TVGuide.com: How was it when you went back into the house after a whole year of normal life?
Kaysar: I don't know if a year was enough. I feel as though people who had more time to decompress, get back into their lives, forget about the experience and come back fresh, really had the advantage. I was a little burnt out. That's why I don't know if I was ready to make a big move. I was kind of just laying low and waiting to see what would happen. I knew the latter part of the game was going to be more aggressive and is what we were waiting for, but unfortunately I got the short end of the stick this week. It went from me feeling like I'm in a good position to "Now I'm on slop, sleeping on the floor, having no hot showers, getting backdoored, not competing in the veto competition, not getting any prizes, getting evicted on my birthday and walking out with no hair." It was a complete mess. I honestly was very excited to go back in — "Hell, yeah, I'm doing All-Stars" — but people don't know what it feels like being in that house. It does something to you right away, but you don't feel the effects of it until you are out.
TVGuide.com: Having been betrayed your previous time on the show, were you skeptical about being friendly with people?
Kaysar: Some may call it naive, but I wanted to hold my cards close and be less trusting and play a different game. But in the end you can only be who you really are. Was I trying to be careful? I still believe that I tap into that caring part of people that might feel guilty if they screwed me over. I thought I connected with Erika and with Danielle. And I was trying to get through to James to make sure we didn't lose him too early. But what can you do? I tried my best. Evil definitely has its advantage because you always have that spontaneity where you can do anything. With me they knew that there was balance and I wasn't going to betray anyone, or be disloyal. They can kind of read me, which makes [competing] a little more difficult.
TVGuide.com: You seemed really shocked that James had turned.
Kaysar: I wasn't shocked. I was calling it out already to Mike Boogie and Erika, saying that Danielle is looking for a sleeper, someone embedded that she could carry. I was waiting for her to pick someone out and I knew James was a likely candidate and that it was only a matter of time. Am I shocked about that? Not really. Am I shocked that they decided to join forces with Chill Town? That was kind of shocking. That they were calling themselves the "Legion of Doom" after Danielle and James repeatedly talked about how they wanted to play a clean game and an honest game? It sounds like they want to screw everyone over. I'm sure Danielle made promises to Erika and Marcellas, and they probably feel as though they are safe. But the Legion of Doom is on the prowl. What is that all about?
TVGuide.com: James seemed very upset that Janelle put Diane up, and that was what made him turn on the Season 6 alliance. Do you think he was right to be angry?
Kaysar: In Big Brother there is a lot of paranoia. I told James that in order to reduce the amount of paranoia, let's keep the lines of communication open. He always feels like Janelle is up to something and she feels like he is up to something, all of which was blown out of proportion. I brought up the idea of getting rid of Diane because of her game play during Season 5 and her track record, but that time had passed. I was like, "Right now Will's jugular is exposed, we have to get rid of him and take him out." Janelle didn't do it. Did I think that was the only reason why the game shifted? No. There were other reasons. I thought that Marcellas was leaking information to Danielle. I don't know if that is the truth, but I can see why James is upset.
TVGuide.com: Erika voted against you, but you had a good relationship in the house. Will you stay friendly?
Kaysar: Um... it is hard for me to hold a grudge against anybody. What upset me about Erika was that she didn't make up her own mind. I would have preferred if she stood up for herself, instead of going along with what everyone else wanted to do, even when we were in power.
TVGuide.com: Who would you like to see go next?
Kaysar: It is hard to say. I was hoping that Danielle goes next, because I thought she was up to something and clearly she is. It is getting really sticky, but if Janelle can pull off something where she can change the dynamic of the house again in her favor, that would be for the best. Right now, I think James is probably disposable. He has made it clear that he has no allegiance to Season 6.
TVGuide.com: You've always been focused on strategy. Does it bother you at all to have Will and Mike Boogie wearing T-shirts that openly proclaim their alliance?
Kaysar: No, it is fascinating to me. And I find it funny that they are so open about it, "This is what we are doing and this is who we are." The way that Erika and Marcellas are playing right now kind of bothers me. I'm like, "Play the game, step up and do something," instead of banking on everyone else doing stuff and hoping that no one notices you. The second anyone does something they say, "Just to let you know, I'm not a part of that." Give me a break. They are always apologetic. With Chill Town, they were never apologetic — they were flaunting and arrogant and think they know everything. If they are wrong, in their minds they are right and they just don't care.
TVGuide.com: Who would you like to see win?
Kaysar: Someone who can dazzle me and can make some moves. Janelle just won her third HOH, and she's a force to be reckoned with in that house. I don't know how far she can make it, but it would be nice to see her win. I did want to see James win, but I don't know how I feel about him at this point
posted by Carla @ 4:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home