Metta World Peace is full of surprises — and we’re not talking about his flamingo toy fight in the Jacuzzi. The NBA star says that he would totally do Celebrity Big Brother again, even though he asked to leave this season.
“I would definitely go back and do it,” the 38-year-old exclusively tells Us Weekly.
The decision is surprising, as the athlete asked to go home on numerous occasions during the CBS show. He finally got his wish during Omarosa Manigault’s reign as Head of Household.
“I didn’t think it was going to be as hard. I thought I’ll be able to get in there and be tough. I didn’t realize it was going to be that tough. I stuck it out as long as I could and I only had six days left,” he says. “I was so close but I just wanted to have a little more time with my family. It was fun. It was a great experience but it was definitely mentally challenging.”
But before heading home, the star tried to pass the time by playing around in the hot tub. “Super boredom! When I look back at the video I thought CBS edited and did a good job at making it funny. I wish I had done more stuff,” he tells Us. “I wish I could go back in the house and just act a fool because there were so many things going on and it just made me want to do more TV. I was bored. I thought it would be cool to do weird things with [the flamingos].”
Metta World Peace also made a new friend — a stuffed animal owl. “There was a point in time when I was missing my family and I just needed something to hold. And the owl was right there,” he recalls, laughing. “Originally it was in the chess room, the parlor. That’s where it was located at and then I just started walking around every day with the owl. It did not leave my sight.”
He adds: “I think it’s pretty cool to have him home. Maybe I’ll park it on the bed or in the living room.”
For more, read the rest of his Q&A:
US: Did you forget your actual suitcase when you went to go sit with Julie Chen?
MWP: Oh, yea! Yeah. I actually did. They gave me my bag after. There are a lot of things I don’t know about the show.
US: That was really nice that everyone was OK to send you home. Do you think Omarosa was annoyed though that she couldn’t send home someone like Ross Mathews or Brandi Glanville?
MWP: Omarosa was probably pretty upset about it. But I guess it didn’t work out and at the end of the day if they would have kept me I would have definitely shook some things up. I told Ross I was no longer on his side. He was a little bit upset about that but I told him, ‘Listen, I’m not on your side because my goal is to get out the house right now so I have to go against you.’
US: Why did you specifically go up to Ross to say you’re not on his side anymore?
MWP: When I went up to Ross I knew Ross would get upset and I knew when he gets upset everybody else gets scared because Ross has deals with everyone. So when you disagree with Ross you can shake things up.
US: You said you didn’t know much about the game. Were you nervous at all signing on?
MWP: When I first heard about the opportunity the first thing that came to my mind was to say yes. Like really, CBS is going to have me on a show? No network TV puts Metta World Peace — the unpredictable — on a show. And I’m like, ‘Oh wow, that’s pretty cool.’ And then when I said I was going to do it I talked to my family and some of them had doubts. So I didn’t sign on until really close to the show. But I didn’t look up the show because if I looked it up I don’t think I would have done it. I think I would have gotten nervous. So I was like, you know what, I’m going to go in it blind and figure it out later.
US: And because you didn’t know much about the game, what was the craziest rule or part of the game that you learned?
MWP: I hated that we couldn’t listen to any music. I hated that I didn’t have my phone. In the morning they play a couple songs. And Big Brother always says put your microphones on. Stop singing! Stop this! Stop that! That was getting very annoying.
US: Who was the MVP in the house?
MWP: Shannon [Elizabeth] was definitely the best player, but the reason she didn’t win was because she had 10 people going against her. And I told her to not be upset because you have 10 people against you. I didn’t want her to be discouraged by the fact that she didn’t win.
US: Do you have any regrets?
MWP: No regrets, no regrets. It was tough and mentally challenging but I’m very grateful.
US: How would you describe your experience in three words?
MWP: An emotional rollercoaster.
