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‘Big Brother 18’ News: Derrick Levasseur of ‘BB16’ Speaks Out About Paulie Calafiore’s Game, Predicts ‘BB18’ Winner

By Cia Young
Published on: 00:36 PST, Aug 15, 2016

On August 14, Big Brother 16 champion Derrick Lavasseur spoke out in an extensive interview, offering his opinion about the current season of the game.

Derrick had much to say about Big Brother 18’s Paulie Calafiore, and for good reason as Paulie’s brother, Cody Calafiore, was Derrick’s closest ally during Season 16. As such, the men made it to the final two with Derrick taking the grand prize. According to Derrick, he and Cody have remained close friends, thus he had a chance to consult with Paulie before the Big Brother 18 season began.

In Sunday’s interview with Rob Cesternino of Rob Has a Podcast (RHAP), Derrick revealed that while watching Big Brother 18, he saw Paulie’s game falling apart before it actually happened because Paulie was winning too many competitions and making himself a threat in the process. He said despite Paulie’s social game, his fellow houseguests were going to find some reason to put him on the block because he’s a physical threat to most of them, with the exception of Victor.

Regarding Paulie telling other houseguests about consulting with Derrick before the season, Derrick said the following.

“I don’t know why he did this… I’ll ask him when he gets out… It doesn’t make any sense. I think he was doing it as a way of kind of bragging and validating himself as far as being a game player … but it was a wrong approach because he mentioned it so often, it actually made him a bigger threat.”

Derrick noted he coached Paulie just days before he left for the Big Brother 18 house for about an hour. He told Rob he advised Paulie to get returning players out of the game first, not to get involved in a showmance, and to stay under the radar instead of appearing to be in charge. Derrick then stated that Paulie didn’t really follow any of this advice.

According to Derrick, he also had a chance to talk to James Huling for about 15 to 20 minutes prior to the commencement of Big Brother 18, but did not get Paulie and James together beforehand. Derrick also dispelled the notion that he’d coached Nicole Franzel prior to the season, saying that rumor was “completely false.”

Derrick further made sure to mention during the interview that Paulie is not his “protégé” because if he was, Paulie’s game would have been very different. He also told Rob he doesn’t agree with certain things Paulie has done in the Big Brother 18 house, but refused to “bash” him.

Additionally, Derrick surmised Paulie’s game was damaged because he desperately tried to cultivate the same type of relationship his brother Cody had with Derrick during Big Brother 16, which hasn’t happened this season and just doesn’t work during some seasons of Big Brother.

Rob mentioned that on Sunday night’s episode of Big Brother 18, viewers were shown what led up to last week’s double eviction, including confrontations Paulie had with Natalie Negrotti. Rob asked Derrick if he wanted to give Paulie the “benefit of the doubt” regarding any of his actions, but Derrick noted, “There’s really no benefit of the doubt.”

Derrick added there are certain things Paulie “should not have said, and that’s just it, it’s that simple. For me to sit here and beat it up is a moot point… He [Paulie] said some things that game wise, he shouldn’t have said, but also, as a guy, as a man, you should not say to a woman.”

Clearly, Derrick was making reference to some of the unkind comments Paulie has made about females in the house, including about Natalie and her breasts. At one point in the game, Paulie gave Natalie the nickname of “FT,” a cringe-worthy term he came up with for “fake” breasts, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

Nevertheless, Derrick made it clear he thought Natalie “played it up a little bit,” calling her choice to behave as a victim, “an incredible game move.” Derrick explained he didn’t think she was as “offended or disrespected” as she seemed, noting Natalie was “taking advantage of an opportunity” to get Paulie out and it worked.

As far as other players, Derrick said he thinks James’ game is bad because he’s focused on Natalie and not strategy, he likes Victor Arroyo a lot because he believes Victor is a loyal player, and Nicole has clung too closely to her showmance, Corey Brooks.

Regarding Michelle Meyer, Derrick opined, “I don’t like players like Michelle. I’m actually very disappointed… she’s not a superfan at all in my opinion.” He added, “I would get her out because she’s going to just flip and flop… she’s just somebody you can’t rely on anything. And if she’s not useful to you, she’s got to go.”

Derrick also made a bold prediction about who he thinks will be the Big Brother 18 grand prize winner, naming Paul Abrahamian as his ultimate victor. He thinks Paul is playing a very good game, equating Paul’s actions to his own in Big Brother 16 because Paul is “facilitating information back and forth across the house,” but none of the other houseguests realize what he’s doing.

Even though Paul is his pick to win Big Brother 18, Derrick said in the end, he hopes a woman is victorious this season, noting such a scenario could very well happen because the men in the house may pick each other off one by one.

Big Brother 18 airs on CBS Wednesday and Sunday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and Thursday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Big Brother After Dark airs on Pop Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights at 12 a.m. Eastern Time, Tuesday at 11 p.m. Eastern Time, and Thursday at 1 a.m. Eastern Time. Live feeds are broadcast from inside the Big Brother 18 house 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are available from CBS All Access.

[Image via CBS]

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