BBAfrica2 Interview: Jeff Anthony

On Sunday night (2 Sept.) novelist Jeff Anthony got evicted from the Big Brother house after being nominated for the first two nomination weeks without being saved by a Head of House.

Jeff spent Monday and Tuesday doing interviews etc and flew back to Kenya on Tuesday at midnight. I caught up with him for us in between it all to find out why he didn't talk more and what exactly he was meaning about being so aroused by Tatiana.

*BB camera  zooms in and that slappy chick voice sings Big Broththther*

Tashi: One of the reasons some of the housemates voted for you was because they said they didn’t get to know you well enough -
Jeff: The funny part is that whatever character you are you still stand a chance of being evicted so at the end of it all, I’ll take it that way that of course a lot of housemates still felt that I should have been more involved in the wild side of drinking heavily, taking shots of Tequila and partying through the night.

Unfortunately if I did this for most of the time I wouldn’t have the pleasure of waking up early in the morning and entertaining the viewers with my (can’t hear the words to describe ridiculous exercises).

Tashi: (laughs) Entertaining the viewers with your exercises…
Jeff: That’s what it seems like right now.

Tashi: Why didn’t you get more involved in just talking to them though and getting to know them?
Jeff: I actually did but not as much as they would have loved to - not as much as the viewers would have loved have me to be more involved. I did get involved, most of the time we were in the house, for three quarters of the time we were doing tasks and I had to be involved whether I liked it or not.

A lot of the times I was in the kitchen and we were three or four people there and we were involved conversations and there were times when we were in the shower nd we were involved in conversations so I was actively involved but not as much as a lot of people would have liked me to be?

Tashi: Was that something that you were aware of? Did you think that might happen?
Jeff: The time Maxwell pulled me aside and we went out and he had a conversation with me and told me: “Look, I like you - you were the first person who welcomed me into the house and a lot of people feel, no I feel that you should be more involved in this.”

He was feeling that maybe the reason I’m not socialising as much as I’m supposed to was because I didn’t like some of the characters or I didn’t like him and I told him: “This is not so,” I told him I’m very in love with his character.

I think that’s in my nature of being a novelist - I like studying things and studying a character and studying people - so that brought the sense that: “Hey, a lot of people could be feeling that way about me.”

Tashi: So then did you try to talk more and get more involved after that?
Jeff: Definitely, I think what happened, I think the following day Big Brother gave us a few drinks, we had a conversation in the dining room and I think that’s the day I had a Salsa dancing session with Tatiana.

Tashi: Yes. Now talk to us about that. You said you were aroused by her.
Jeff: That was the only moment I felt, yes I was because of the fact that she’s professional in this and I found her to be a very sexy housemate at the same time.

Tashi: Did you find that throughout or just in that moment?
Jeff: Okay actually she was sexy the moment she walked with her red dress on Day 1, ja, I felt she was sexy throughout but that was the only moment I actually felt I had to control myself to the highest amount - to the highest possibility of not doing anything.

Tashi: Now what is your take on the fact that Richard is cheating on his wife in front of the world?
Jeff: Let me ask you a question ‘cos when you’re inside there you rarely get a lot of information. Is he having sex with Tatiana?

Tashi: Well we don’t know - there was a night when they stayed in the same bed together but you know what, even if they haven’t, just the moments they’ve had together have been …
Jeff: Okay let me answer your question now. I feel its totally wrong - even what Maxwell and Lerato are doing. For example Maxwell has got a wonderful girlfriend who supported him when times were rough - she spent her pocket money to pay fees for him and I feel its wrong for him to spend the night, even if they’re not doing anything, with Lerato.

For Richard it’s even worse because he’s married. I feel the cuddlng or the closeness, the intimate closeness they’re having, it’s completely wrong. If I was his wife I would be totally distraught - I would probably have left by now.

Tashi: Tell me about Lerato and Max - have they had sex yet?
Jeff: I don’t know, it’s very difficult to know what’s going on. Yesterday one of the viewers told me that Meryl and Kwaku had sex yet I slept next to them and I had totally no idea. This person claimed that they had sex wile I was asleep so it’s difficult to know what’s happening.

I thought Lerato and Max were having sex but somebody told me they’re not so you get more when you’re outside than when you’re inside.

Tashi: In terms of Richard and Tatiana - what are the housemates feeling? You’ve said you don’t agree with it - is there that sense in the house or is everyone just accepting it?
Jeff: I think most of them, if not all of them accept it. Did you watch the kissing session on Saturday? There was a part where Tatiana kissed Meryl. It was really crazy - I think I was the only housemate that didn’t kiss anybody so that alone showed the attitude of the housemates, they don’t really give a damn.

Okay most of them I suppose don’t really give a damn and most of them can push themselves to the limit of spending the night with another housemate.

Tashi: Obviously none of them have said to Richard: “Gee what about your wife?” kinda thing.
Jeff: Ja.

Tashi: You told KB that you think Max has a good chance of winning but now you’ve said that you think what he’s doing Lerato isn’t right.
Jeff: Everybody has a negative side so I feel that is wrong but at the same time Max has a big heart. He’s the type of person who’ll get a $100 000 and think about what he went through in the past and think: “No, there are less fortunate people out there, in my country or wherever in Africa, who I can assist with this money and make a huge difference, it will bring joy to my heart.

He’s that kind of person. I believe it goes to Offuneka too - she has that kind of heart, so whether it’s Max or Offuneka, I believe they’ll use the 100 000 in a very responsible and loving way.

Tashi: Do you it’s fair to expect someone to use that money in a responsible way? I mean they’ve won, it’s theirs - why should they?
Jeff: I would still love it to be used that way. Of course whoever wins it it’s upon them to blow it up or do whatever they want to do with it but I would love to see the money spent in a good way. For me to choose somebody to be responsible for $100 000 - I would rather choose somebody with a big heart than choose somebody who will blow the money if I had that option.

Tashi: If you were watching the show - who would your least favourite housemate be?
Jeff: That’s difficult ‘cos one of the reasons I nominated Bertha was because she was very sarcastic – there were times when she directed her sarcasm to me. I’d say if Bertha won it would be very difficult to digest ‘cos there were times when she was looking down upon me - not because of me as a character but mainly because I was younger than her. She has the mentality: “You’re younger than me, simple, I’ll control you and push you around.”

Tashi: She was of course Head Of House this week - what changes did you think she’d made?
Jeff: Of course I suspected she’d switched Meryl with somebody because Meryl had saved her the other time.

Tashi: So who did you think might be up against you?
Jeff: I knew Offuneka – there are times when she gets wild – I thought at the back of my mind, maybe she could be then I thought Mertha would love to see another man go so my conclusion was that she’s probably put another guy – it would be me and another male housemate.

Tashi: And did you suspect who it could be?
Jeff: There were times I suspected Kwaku.Mainly because o ver the last two days her and Kwaku had very close conversations so I suspected that maybe she’s doing this because she’s guilty so I suspected it could have been Kwaku but I was very wrong.

Tashi: That week when it was just a total surprise that you were up – what was that like when you realised Meryl had put you up?
Jeff: Ooh that was - a shiver went through me. One of the things I would have hated was to be the first housemate out of the house so a shiver went through, I was surprised but at the end of it all I take responsibility for being there and something of this sort of nature has to happen one way or another, it’s a good likelihood of it happening.

Tashi: What do you think of the Head of House twist to the show?
Jeff: Ooh - I think it has saved a lot of people. It saved Bertha I believe and it has saved Meryl.

Ends