Deal or No Deal Island host Joe Manganiello reacts to epic exit rant (exclusive)
“She was cooking Benihana style — throwing knives in the air, lighting s— on fire.”
MONTY BRINTON/NBC
Each week, Deal or No Deal Island host, game master, and executive producer Joe Manganiello will weigh in with Entertainment Weekly regarding the latest events on the island. This week, he reacts to Seychelle telling off CK, CK going for safety in the excursion, Parvati having immunity yet again, and the end of Dr. Will.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You said things would be get spicy this season, and we certainly saw it with Seychelle’s exit rant. So take us inside the Temple and tell us what it was like standing there as she let CK have it.
JOE MANGANIELLO: When I saw Seychelle’s audition reel, I called showrunner Matt Kunitz immediately and told him, “She’s got to be on the show.” Since then, a lot of people have gone out of their way to tell me that Seychelle is their favorite guest this season. But hear me out: You’re only seeing maybe 30 percent of what was going on out there. Seychelle is not safe for work…
When she went off on CK at the Temple, and I mean WENT OFF, all I could do was slowly try and shuffle over to a position behind her so that the camera crew could have us both in the “two shot” and try not to have an expression on my face that would throw her off while she was cooking. And when I say cooking, I mean, Benihana style — throwing knives in the air, lighting s— on fire. She’s an artist who paints in nouns and verbs in the grand Bronx/Puerto Rican tradition and it was an honor to be out there on the floor while she was working. Let it be known, if you cross her and haven’t hit squat day at the gym regularly, BEWARE.
MONTY BRINTON/NBC
Let’s talk about the excursion. CK has a chance to make amends for cheating the previous week, but she instead lies to Dickson to get herself the safety, thereby losing the excursion for her team and making her teammates vulnerable. However, on the other hand, there’s a good chance she’s the number one target if her team loses. So what do you make of her decision to go for the safety?
The not-so secret word of the day for this excursion was INTEGRITY — something that came into question during the gold ring dock jumping challenge where CK was caught cheating, which then led to Lete putting her up for elimination. In this challenge, Lete chose to coach her team from a place of integrity and sportsmanship and as a result, wound up winning — despite her team finishing with one case less than CK’s team.
CK, on the other hand, chose to purposefully tank the competition from the start so she could save herself and leave the men vulnerable to elimination. If you thought David was angry at Will the week before, that was nothing compared to how pissed he was coming off of the dock after busting his ass during this challenge only to find out he was double crossed by CK.
MONTY BRINTON/NBC
Parvati has had immunity after every single excursion. Is that just dumb luck, incredible skill, or a combination of both?
There’s nothing dumb about that kind of luck; Parvati is one of the best to ever do it, and this season you’re getting so see one of the all-time great seasons of reality competition being played by a master of the genre. You don’t get a nickname like “the Black Widow” for nothing. She came to the Island for one reason… to win.
MONTY BRINTON/NBC
David beats the Banker and breaks his deal with Will and sends him out of the game. Now that it is over, what do you make of Will’s time on the island and do you think he will really stay retired from reality TV?
It was legendary. As much as we all wanted to kill him at times, he was appointment television. And as far as him staying retired… you know LaserAway is Dr. Will’s company right? He’s got plenty of money and a skin care empire behind him, so, maybe, just maybe he’d be interested in… I don’t know, spending a few weeks on a yacht off the coast of a remote, jungle island harassing some guests sometime in the near future…?
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Seychelle on Her Scathing DONDI Exit & Dr. Will Talks Retirement with Boston Rob
Big Brother champion Dr. Will Kirby has left Banker’s Island, and apparently, reality TV forever.
This story contains spoilers for Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, Episode 7, “Snakes in the Grass.”
The Deal or No Deal Island After Show was intense after not one but two players left Banker’s Island during the February 18 episode. Staten Island jokester Seychelle Cordero and Big Brother star Dr. Will Kirby have both been eliminated.
Watch Deal or No Deal Island Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
RELATED: Boston Rob and M.G.’s DONDI After Show Interview Was Crashed by [SPOILER]
Following their jaw-dropping eliminations, Seychelle and Dr. Will visited with Boston Rob Mariano to discuss their game and those shocking blindsides. Read on to learn more!
During the After Show, Seychelle shared her feelings about being blindsided by C.K., her former ally. After C.K. voted her out, Seychelle delivered a scathing farewell: “My love, you know that if you would have kept me here, I would have ate you up,” she stated, adding, “Because at the end of the day, no matter what happens in this game, you’re a cheat with [a] flat a–, baby.” Her bold claim set the stage for an entertaining chat between Seychelle and Rob.
“Let’s talk about C.K.,” Rob said. “You got done dirty.”
“Filthy,” Seychelle quipped.
“It’s the hardest way to go out of the game,” Rob agreed, remarking on DONDI’s format that sees some players eliminated who’ve never faced the Banker. “You know you didn’t do anything wrong. Like you just were a victim of someone else getting lucky and winning and deciding to take you out.”
The game initially saw C.K. and Seychelle strategizing as friends, but their alliance disintegrated when C.K. realized Seychelle had refused to own up to M.G.’s blindside (a motion that C.K. and several other players orchestrated).
“It was giving a little messy,” Seychelle said, with Rob thanking her for an entertaining reality television debut.
While Seychelle centered her gameplay around peaceful waters and operating under the radar, the same couldn’t be said for Rob’s next After Show guest.
“Reality royalty in the house,” Rob exclaimed as Big Brother champion Dr. Will Kirby joined him for After Show. Dr. Will, known for his chaotic gameplay, discussed his Machiavellian philosophy on navigating the complexities of Banker’s Island. After arriving late to the competition, he quickly made his presence known and was immediately seen as a threat.
“There were times I wanted to reverse engineer the game because I knew I was in such a bad spot there was no reason not to,” Dr. Will admitted with a smirk.
The Big Brother villain didn’t hold back from highlighting his successes. Dr. Will claimed to have thrown several Excursions to tilt the elimination bench, looked back cheekily on the time he tricked the entire Temple into thinking he made a bad deal with the Banker, and generally sowed chaos wherever Will could whenever he could.
“It’s clear to me that, like, everything that you do has an intention,” Rob told him.
Dr. Will also didn’t hold back in talking badly about “The Family” alliance, claiming that Parvati Shallow has, true to her Survivor “Black Widow” form, successfully lured David Genat into her web. (Little does Dr. Will know, Parvati and David have allied due to their shared Survivor winner status, which he failed to clock.)
Dr. Will’s affinity for producing pandemonium emboldened him to pitch a deal with Survivor Australia star Genat to eliminate Dickson Wong, Genat’s ally. The offer: Dr. Will would allow Genat to face the Banker with no opposition and control the elimination if they both agreed to eliminate Dickson. Genat “agreed” to the deal but wasted no time backstabbing Dr. Will as soon as possible, sending the”Dr. Evil” of Big Brother home.
“Let’s talk a little bit about what it takes to win these kind of shows,” Rob told Dr. Will, arguing that adaptability and self-awareness are critical in a game like DONDI. Dr. Will agreed with him but said he’s always relied on his “soft skills” like charisma, humor, and accountability to succeed. Still, Rob argued that creating chaos on Banker’s Island didn’t allow Dr. Will to remain self-aware.
“This is why I’m retiring,” Dr. Will said with a smile. “It’s time to pass the torch to that next generation.”
Watch Deal or No Deal Island After Show with Boston Rob on Peacock, NBC’s YouTube, and NBC.com every Wednesday following new episodes of Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, which air Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Boston Rob and Seychelle Cordero talked about C.K.’s “messy” DONDI blindside
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‘Deal or No Deal Island’: Seychelle Cordero Has No Regrets About That Jaw-Dropping Exit Speech
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David Genat warned us that the upcoming exit speech for Deal or No Deal Island was going to be wild, and, well, he was right about that. Following the big cliffhanger from last week’s episode, Tuesday’s newest segment picked up right where it left off, revealing that Courtney Kim, a.k.a. CK, did indeed make a good deal against the banker and got to send someone home, choosing Seychelle Cordero.
Seychelle has become a fast fan favorite in Season 2 thanks to her freewheeling confessionals, and she brought all of that energy to bear in her sendoff to CK and the rest of the cast.
To find out exactly what built to that fiery moment and more, TV Insider caught up with Seychelle Cordero to break down her experience on Deal or No Deal Island.
Luke, in the beginning of the season, said that he was going to target you if he had beaten the banker and said there was a conversation. Can you describe your conversation with him about that?
Seychelle Cordero: Yes, so initially when we all were in the same tents, we quickly moved in together. We had already established a High 5 Alliance. We were like, “No matter what, we’re together,” and we had all agreed. Because I had talked to everybody and I’m like, “It doesn’t make no d*** sense to get me out if Dave’s on the bottom. For the love of God, get rid of David.” He had said yes. He said, “Yep. Yep, no problem.” The next day, I see him shaking David’s hand on the beach, and honestly, that made me angry. I was really pissed off about that. So we pulled him in again, we’re talking to him, and Lete had asked him like, “Oh, do you know for sure what you’re gonna do?” And he was like, “Honestly, me and David did a Wisconsin man handshake.” I don’t know what the f**k that means, but he’s like, “Pretty much I promised him that I’d keep him, so Sey, I’m gonna come after you.”And I looked at him and I said, “Okay, you know you’re gonna eat it.” And he was like, “Tonight at Temple?” And I’m like, “Yeah.” And he was just like, “Okay,” and I was like, “Okay.” And then I just proceeded to go into the shower and beat my face because what the f**k else was I going to do at that point? And I did remember also he wasn’t in the room, but we were all chatting, me and the rest of the, well, the High 4 Alliance, I guess now because Luke is no longer [part of it], and I did call him a p****.
When you guys did the rankings of the most and least threatening people, what was your reaction to how they were assigning you?
I absolutely loved it. I don’t want to seem as a threat to anybody. I mean, I knew that I didn’t seem as a threat to anybody. One thing a lot of people said to me was, “Oh, you’re so blunt and you’re so outspoken that there’s no way that you can tell a lie. You just tell us all to our face,” and I love that because, I mean, I’ve said it before, but I’m a very good liar. So I mean, that was my goal with that. I’m like, I’m gonna put myself on the bottom because I really do think that I’m not a threat. So to see that everybody else did, it was phenomenal.
About that, did you lie at all throughout the season?
I mean, I was lying to CK a lot. So I had conversations with David and Parvati. Me and Parvati and some of the girls also talked about a girls’ alliance, but in my head, I’m just like, “Anything to really keep me safe, but I do not want Parvati here.”
I did lie to MG and sh** like that. There was a conversation that me, MG, and I think some other people had. It was just like a handful of us, maybe like three or four of us, and I remember before deciding like, “Damn, should we actually get rid of CK? Or should we get rid of MG?” I was in her tent, and I was just talking to her, not really trying to straight up ask her who she’s with, but I was kind of just planting seeds and I asked her, “Oh, how do you feel about David or Parvati?” And she’s like, “Oh, like there’s no way. I could never ever turn on them.” And I’m like, “Okay, I get it.” But in the back of my head, I’m like, “Oh, then you got to go.”
In this episode, you were really scared of the jump. How did you talk yourself into doing it the first time — you were on the high level, too! And did anybody have a negative reaction when you decided you didn’t want to go again?
So I jumped twice. They only aired once. I jumped twice. What’s crazy is throughout every single challenge I did, I love water and everything like that, I’m a great swimmer, but every single challenge was horrible. I really did, I hated every single f**king second of those d*** challenges. They were exhausting, and there’s so much game. I’m rewatching it and I’m seeing people throw challenges and everything like that and there were times I even went into challenges and I’m just like, “I don’t really think I really even understand what the f**k we’re doing, but whatever. I’m gonna just try my best.” So when I’d seen the height, jumping for the ring, initially I looked at it and I’m like, “D***. I really don’t like this sh**,” but it didn’t really hit me until we were standing there and I was watching everybody jump and I was really watching how it’s not just a cute jump into the water — I could do that, that’s fine, right? We can do that on vacation. But I’m just like, it’s just the slight running start and then having to jump and suspend my body to grab a ring that really had me f**ked up. I thought of everything. I’ve said before, I love stupid expensive sh**. I thought of, “B***, if you got this ring, you just copped yourself 20 Birkins.” I even thought of the Corderos. I was like, “Your nephew is up there burning alive. What are you gonna do?” And I’m just like, “I guess it’s just not gonna happen for me. I really don’t think it’s gonna f**king happen.” And no, nobody had a negative reaction when I said I didn’t want to jump again.
You just referenced a couple of your most viral confessional moments. What do you say to fans who see you as the confessional queen of the season?
I think that they have really phenomenal taste.
Monty Brinton / NBC
What went into the decision to take out Maria Grace with Will doing the deed?
So I remember that morning before the hammock challenge, I already knew in my mind, I’m like, “Okay, I want to get rid of the family, but I don’t want it to be my idea. I don’t want to be the one that sticks my neck out there on some [move on] The Family.” So I really wasn’t saying much. I was confiding in Phillip and Lete, but I didn’t want to be the one to say it. So when Will came in really hot, I remember that morning, he wakes up, and he’s like, “Does this not bother anybody?” And I’m like, “Yeah, kind of.” So I let him plant the seeds. So when he planted the seed and I had a conversation with MG… I just asked her who she aligned with. She was like she would never talk at them. I’m like, “I bet.”… I’m like, “We need to make sure by any means necessary that we’re at the top so they can be at the bottom, okay? So whoever plays, we need to be able to talk to them, make a deal with them to get The Family out.” So when I had seen after that challenge that I’m up there with the f**king Family and Lete, I was so pissed. And I’m pissed because I’m just like, “Y’all really went up there on them cases and really just been on something like, ‘Oh, I have 150, what do you have?’” That was not my game going into there.
I’m like, If this is a game about lying, I’m gonna body this b****. So yeah, when I was talking to CK about that, I was like, “I don’t know if it’s gonna f**king happen.” I would have to have a crystal ball. I would have to be a f**king warlock to be able to tell her like, “Oh yeah, they’re gonna be at the bottom,” but it’s just a risk that I took. So when talking to Will about it, I’m like, “Instead of you getting rid of CK, why don’t we try to pull CK into us” — although not trustworthy, I’m like, “Even if it’s just tonight and we’ll see how we move tomorrow, we should get rid of MG. That would be a nice move.” And he liked it. Initially, he was like, “I think that’s a great plan,” and I trusted him to make that move. And really the entire time during Temple, I was just like, “This man must win.”
With CK being in the Temple, you seemed happy that she beat the baker. What was going through your mind in that moment, and did you first see her coming after you at all?
After she came for Phillip, when she told Phillip, “Oh, how are you feeling? You know that David saved you today and you came for his best friend,” I was like, “It’s curtains if this b*** wins.” But the thing with watching people play the game of Deal or No Deal, it can go either way. Like when Luke was first playing, I was like, “There’s no way in f**king hell the baddest b*** on this island is gonna go home first.” There’s no shot. That sh** is f**king embarrassing. I don’t care how you put it. I don’t care if your whole family is like, “Well, at least you took a chance.” No, it’s whack and it’s embarrassing to go out first, okay, but that game really worked in my favor. It was up until the last case when he opened that dollar, you see me look up and I’m just like, “Lord, you really do know best. You really do know best.”
So I’ve gotten so used to being at the bottom and watching people play these d*** games that I was just like, “Anything can happen. Anything can happen, and I’m not gonna look salty. I’m not gonna look salty.” Because CK could really go up there and want us all to reveal ourselves, but then at the end, she probably would be on some like, “You know what? Sey ain’t say nothing, so I’m gonna get rid of Dickson.” So that’s why I kept it cute.
Afterwards, you obviously gave a pretty intense speech. First of all, was there more to that that we didn’t see? And then do you have any regrets about the things you said to CK?
Yes, I believe something that you guys are not gonna see is at the beginning of my insults. I did say, “You knew you had to get me out tonight because I was gonna eat you up and not in the way that you had hoped.” And then I said, “Because no matter what happens at the end, they’re nothing but a cheat with a flat ass.” Oh, no, absolutely not… I didn’t want it to seem like it was a collaborative effort because I was the one who came up with the plan, so I did feel like if in any way for me to protect Lete, Phillip, or Will, for me to say that it was me, I came up with it, but no, I don’t regret a damn thing.
After you left, David went on to beat the banker and send Will home. Were you surprised that Lete believed in David and let him go in and put Will’s fate in his hands?
Yes, yes, and I have to be honest, that’s the first time I’m hearing that. I don’t know what happens after that. Obviously, I know what happens, the outcome of the show [but not that]. I did say to Lete even after the show and everything like that, even just watching it back, even in playing, even at the hammock challenge, I really had the first thought of, “This is a really tough alliance to be in because I don’t think that these people are playing cutthroat.” I want to play cutthroat in the cutest way possible where people are just like, “There’s no f**king way that Seychelle came up with that. There’s no way Seychelle was behind that.” But in the hammock challenge is when I really realized I don’t think that they’re willing to do the cutthroat things that I’m willing to do. It’s very interesting, you know, when you see the whole thing, the way that it flows and the reasoning as to why people were doing the things that they were doing. There’s a lot of empathy that a lot of people have playing this game, and I’m just like, I did not go in there for that. I don’t care if all y’all hate me at the end of the f**king day. It’s very, very nice that there are a very small group of people that I’m really cool with and that I’ve grown to really enjoy, but I’m just like, I would have crossed anybody. But people that were playing were not willing to do that.
Who are you friends with now, after the fact?
I’m very good friends with Phillip. I’m good friends with Lete. I’m very good friends with Will. And some of them I’ve talked to. I’ve hung out with MG a couple times in LA. I’m very cool with Storm. And then, I said to Lete, there are people that you have Starbucks filler conversation with, like, “Oh my God, this coffee is hot, right?” But that’s about it.
Deal or No Deal Island, Tuesdays, 9/8c, NBC
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