Omarosa Manigault may have Chuck Liddell’s vote if she survives this week in the Celebrity Big Brother house and makes it to the final two.
“I had a great time talking to her. She’s intelligent and an athlete. I think she has a good shot [to win],” the retired MMA fighter, 48, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “I haven’t paid much attention to her reality show personality. But yea, she’s very interesting to talk to. I liked her.”
Liddell was the first houseguest to get evicted from the CBS competition. On his way out, the Celebrity Apprentice alum, 44, handed him a note that had a phone number to call her mom.
Manigault, who arrived in a ballroom gown on the first day, surprisingly hit it off with most of the cast — with Ross Matthews even calling her a “delight.” But the girls alliance quickly diminished when the house flipped and sent Liddell packing, which blindsided Manigault and Keshia Knight Pulliam.
“I didn’t get a chance to look at it yet but it was explained to me. I had 10 people around my house watching,” Liddell says of learning how the votes broke down. “Omarosa and Keshia — it will be interesting depending on who gets Head of Household. It seems the way the house is playing the big group can go after those two first. That’s what my guess would be.” (Indeed, new HOH Matthews has put both women on the block.)
Still, Liddell comes away with a good impression of Manigault, who has opened up about her time as President Donald Trump’s former political aide, telling Matthews that “it’s not going to be OK.”
“I’m not sure. It seemed real in the house,” Liddell told Us on whether he thinks she is being sincere about her White House experience. “That was the hard part. I don’t know. It seemed like she was being honest about that. She seemed great.”
For more, read the rest of his Q&A:
US: What was your first impression when you walked inside the house?
CL: I didn’t know what to expect. I was a little unsure what to do and how it worked and talking to people. The game starts for people right as they come in. And everyone starts out not saying exactly what they know about the game and what they don’t.
US: It was immediately boys vs. girls. Is there anyone else you would have wanted to align with?
CL: I thought I had an alliance with a couple of people, which I guess I didn’t. I didn’t hustle the last minute I guess, I don’t know. I was working with the people that I wanted to but I guess I wasn’t. So it’s hard to say.
US: Who do you think doesn’t have a chance at winning?
CL: I don’t think Metta [World Peace] is going to stick around. I think any chance he gets they will get nervous enough to kick him out. They might get rid of him because he wants to go. He almost walked out on his own a couple of times.
US: Did you ever feel like you had competition with him because he’s the other athlete in the house?
CL: I kind of feel like he just wanted to go. He said he wouldn’t try in the competitions. But sometimes in the house you get this paranoia like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this just the game he’s playing? Or is this real?’
US: Would you do an All-Stars Big Brother besides Amazing Race?
CL: I might! It would be interesting to get another shot. I think I made some mistakes early because I didn’t really understand the game. I realized that I needed to play the game more. I’d be up for it.
US: When you mean mistakes do you mean taking the gold bag or trusting someone specifically?
CL: I think I should of explained things to more people. I think I needed to do that. And I think I got too comfortable. I thought I was fine. I think early on I should have explained the bag thing. I thought about explaining to Shannon [Elizabeth] while I was grabbing it. And I thought me and Shannon were fine, too. I didn’t realize how stressed she was. I should have talked to her more so [she didn’t think] she was in danger with me.
US: And the girl group is crumbling already!
CL: It’s interesting. It will be fun to watch. I’m actually going to have a good time watching after being in there and talking to everybody for nine days and seeing how it pans out.
US: How would you describe your experience?
CL: Entertaining — and a little confusing.
Celebrity Big Brother airs on CBS Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. To watch the live feeds, click here.
