‘Big Brother 17’: Vanessa Rousso Explains Why She Didn’t Own Her Game

During last night’s season finale of Big Brother 17, Vanessa Rousso fell short of the final two. Steve Moses won the final Head of Household and chose to evict her, making Rousso the last member of the jury.

On stage, after the votes were cast, former houseguest Jason Roy complimented Rousso’s manipulative game play, comparing her to Big Brother legends Dr. Will Kirby and Dan Gheesling. But, according to Jason, fans never saw Vanessa own up to her tactics, and she spent a lot of the season in tears.

When confronted with those issues by the Hollywood Reporter, Rousso said her history of being a woman in the male-dominated world of poker led her to not boast about her game.

“Try to be me in the male-dominated poker world at 23 years old. Whatever cockiness I had, if I didn’t want to be the biggest b***h on the table, it was beat out of me. I learned very quickly how to survive in the poker world meant being humble. It taught me to be a better person. I do not need other people’s approval to feel good about the decisions I’m making. If I felt like I needed someone’s approval, I would have explained things, but at the end of the day sometimes that comes out cocky. I don’t think I ran the entire game. I think I played f**ing hard.”

As for the crying, she said, “I’m a human being… with flaws, and hormones, once a month especially (laughs).” She also described herself as an emotional person. But she denied she was ever crying for herself.

“That’s the thing people don’t get. I’m not this, ‘Let’s cry for a pity party for Vanessa’ person. Most of the times I cried were because I felt bad for other people. It was things I saw that made me sad, like someone being excluded or a showmance being split up.”

Despite not winning Big Brother 17, Vanessa Rousso made a mark on the season. The Toronto Sun named her the Most Outstanding Player and had her tied with Audrey Middleton and Jason Roy for a future all-stars spot. Rousso told the Entertainment Weekly podcast that she might be willing to come back and play again. BuddyTV said Rousso had been the most deserving of the ultimate win.

Big Brother has been renewed for another season on CBS. Casting is now underway for those who’d like to apply to be on the show, instead of waiting to be recruited by a Big Brother producer.

[Image: CBS]