Gay Big Brother Contestant Betrayed Again
by Tabby Lavalamp, August 24, 2006
Marcellas ReynoldsOne of the most popular and controversial House Guests in Big Brother history, Marcellas Reynolds first came to national attention in Big Brother 3 where his in-house antics, particularly with his then-friend and fellow contestant Amy Crews, won him both fans and detractors. As one of the more entertaining cast members the show had ever seen (his deadly Diary Room entries also provided much amusement), Marcellas was already assured a spot in Big Brother history, but it was one horrible mistake in BB3 for which he will be most remembered.
Since making that infamous mistake, Marcellas has been a part of numerous projects in and out of television, but the best known has been his continuing involvement as co-host of House Calls: The Big Brother Talk Show that made him famous and infamous for two seasons on CBS.com.
It was here Marcellas showed himself to be not just a lively, engaging host but a student of the Big Brother game with an obvious love for the show and an insider's view of what it's like to be shut away from the world for three months of summer.
When the All-Stars season was announced, Marcellas was a shoo-in to get into the house. The only question was whether he'd be voted in by viewers, or be a producers' pick. Many Big Brother fans have said they didn't vote for him as they didn't want to lose him on House Calls, but he was also up against three men from the very popular Sovereign 6 alliance from Big Brother 6. At voting time that season was still most fresh in the minds of the audience. In the end, the four male viewer's choices were all three BB6ers and surprisingly the unpredictable Jase from Big Brother 5. So Marcellas got in as a producers' pick.
Once in the house, a much different Marcellas emerged than expected: quieter and not as rambunctious as the one viewers thought they knew. There were times his familiar self would show, and when he got serious about the game, we'd also see the smart student of the game as well.
But Marcellas is also strongly driven by his emotions, and that didn't serve him well as he teamed up early on with one of the biggest targets in the house, Janelle Pierzina. His eventual falling out with her sent repercussions throught the Internet, costing him fans who couldn't bear to see him turn on their Golden Goddess.
In an interview following his eviction, Marcellas admitted that the quiet side he had been showing, the hiding away from much of the frivolity, was part of his strategy. With so many huge personalities in the house, he was trying to lay low and let them take each other out of the game.
It wasn't his emotions or that strategy that cost him the game though. Rather, it was his intelligence.
The team of Chill Town, that being Dr. Will Kirby and his trusty sidekick Mike "Boogie" Malin, have been running the show from the beginning. Together they worked the House Guests, orchestrating the ouster of people who were best targeted well after them. As well as they've been manipulating things, they haven't been able to control everything or everyone, and Marcellas was someone who couldn't be won over by these two puppet-masters. Indeed, he saw them for the danger they were.
That meant in their eyes Marcellas had to go.
Just how good are Will and Mike at manipulating others? They convinced the then-Head of Household Janelle to put her friend Marcellas up for eviction, convincing her that he would be safe while all the time they were planning on getting him evicted. She's just the kind of person they need to have in the house with them to keep their plans intact. Even after they lied to her face about Marcellas' safety, she still trusted them up until Howie Gordon, another friend and alliance mate, was evicted the very next week.
The game may now be over for Marcellas, but the show certainly isn't. He is the first member of the jury who will decide the ultimate winner and is now resting in the sequester house away from the world at large. On September 12, 2006, he will be one of the seven people whose job it will be to decide who gets to walk away with $500,000.
It will be interesting to see how Marcellas votes at the end. It will be equally interesting to hear what he has to say. The house may no longer have any gay representation, but with Dr. Will, James Rhine, and Mike "Boogie", it remains as metrosexual as ever. Gay viewers can be forgiven for wishing it had stayed gay a little longer.
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