Celebrity Big Brother season 2 kicked off and didn’t waste any time with the “unexpected” twists. After intros — we’ll get into those later — host Julie Chen Moonves announced a twist: The first challenge would be competed in pairs and the winning team would become the “Power Pair.” One of the two competitors would become the first HOH. However, two people would sit out. After a schoolyard style pick, Eva Marie and Kato Kaelin were left. But this time, not being picked was a good thing: they were safe.
Ryan Lochte was the first to be picked randomly and chose Jonathan Bennett as his partner — and it worked! While they were neck-and-neck with Lolo Jones and Tom Green, the 12-time Olympic medalist and the Mean Girls alum took the W. But only one could be the HOH! So, how will they determine the winner? They’ll have to compete against each other; the winner is the new HOH and the loser is the first one on the block! This was the response:
This is one twist the Houseguests were NOT expecting. #BBCeleb pic.twitter.com/XlTLiVtDBw
— Big Brother (@CBSBigBrother) January 22, 2019
Here are a few funny tidbits that are also worth mentioning:
O.J. Simpson Talk
It didn’t take long for O.J. Simpson to come up in conversation. In his intro video, Kaelin stated that he sill thought Simpson was guilty for murder. Then, when he received his house key, he quipped, “First time I’ve had a key to my own house, I’m excited!” Later, he had to explain that to the rest of the house — not everyone knew who he was. When Bennett entered the house, he said Kaelin would be quite a threat: “He won the hardest Head of Household!”
A Dynamic Duo
Kandi Burruss and Tamar Braxton weren’t thrilled to see each other as the two apparently “have history” from the music world. However, Tamar extended an olive branch by choosing Kandi as her partner for the first challenge. So, will they become an alliance no one saw coming?
Ryan Lochte … Jeah
During his intro video, Lochte explained how he’s changed through the years and that his scandalous history in the past for good. He’s a father of one with another on the way. The former What Would Ryan Lochte Do? star then ended his video with “Jeah.” Later, when the entire house was fangirling out over Joey Lawrence and Blossom, Lochte asked in his confessional, “Was Joey in Tim the Tool Man Taylor?” First, the show is called Home Improvement. Tim, the Tool Man Taylor was a character. Even if he was referencing the show inside the show, that would have been Tool Time. But anyways …
Big Brother: Celebrity Edition airs on CBS Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.