Did Vanessa Rousso sink her ship deeper yesterday on the Big Brother 17 Feeds when she launched a new scheme only to have her bluff called and lies exposed in a major house blow-up?
It was easily the most exciting Thursday afternoon that came about most unexpectedly, but then again we’ve come to expect Vanessa making something out of nothing for little apparent gain.
Flashback to 2:16PM BBT 8/6 as Vanessa and Clay whisper to each other a few last minute trade offs of knowledge. Clay warns Vanessa that John thinks she’s coming after him but he wants them to work together after he’s gone. From Clay’s perspective, he likes John and thinks they’d make a good team. Days earlier we heard Vanessa painting a target on John saying she would not work with John after Steve repeated the same suggestion from Clay.
Okay, that’s the background setup. The real fun starts at 2:19 when Vanessa pulls James in to the Lounge and opens with a real zinger. “Do you have something against me personally?” Vanessa asks James. Remember that Vanessa’s frequent tactic is to play the victim just as she does here as well. James denies having any personal problems with her but that doesn’t stop her.
Feeds return and so does Vanessa who says she’s been told that John was warned by James that Vanessa was coming after JMac. James swears on his daughter that he did not say that. He suggests they go get John right now and clarify and moves for the door. Oops, Vanessa. She sputters and you can tell she did not anticipate this reaction. Vanessa back pedals quickly suggesting that they not go get John after all. Too late. She says Clay told her this information and that doesn’t make James too happy.
James leaves the Lounge and heads for the bedroom while Vanessa beelines for the far opposite side of the house. Flashback to 2:23PM BBT. Finding Clay, James tells him he doesn’t know how much time he has left in the house, but to “keep my name out of your mouth.” This earns a “shut up” from Clay to James who volleys the same back.
As the guys continue to argue Clay climbs out of bed and tells James he “better walk the f**k away from me, dude.” James asks “are you going to hit me or something?” “I will!” replies Clay who goes right over to James and gets in his face as close as you can without making contact. It’s tense. Feeds cut for just a moment as Big Brother may have thought Clay was actually going to do it.
Vanessa returns from the next room where she was asking John about what Clay had told her. Now it’s her turn to go on the offensive. She’s accusing Clay of lying to her while he insists he’s not. Vanessa is trying to get answers out of John who is now in the room, but he’s not giving them to her. She scrambles and says she has never, ever gunned for John. Ehhh.
Shelli joins and this is where things get more interesting because Vanessa has fought to keep Shelli but is now going to try and pit her against her showmance Clay. Flashback to 2:30PM BBT. James is upset that he’s hearing that he’s bullying HGs’ votes. He asks John and Vanessa if he pressured either of them on their votes. Both deny. “Uhh, Vanessa, you told me that he did!” says Shelli. Oops.
Move forward to 2:54 PM BBT as John talks with Shelli and Clay. John warns Shelli that Vanessa has deals with everyone and she’s been dragging Chelli’s name. “She’s been doing this crying bullshit that she does everytime,” says John. He points out that her drama has sent home HG after HG. “She’s good. None of this is pinned on her,” says John
Part of Vanessa’s efforts in this was to divide Clay and Shelli which seems unnecessary considering they’re about to be voted apart! All the same, she’s trying to convince Shelli that Clay was plotting against Shelli to get the votes to stay. Vanessa swears she heard John and Clay planning the votes overnight. This doesn’t seem to have happened, but maybe Vanessa does believe she heard it. John now knows for sure that Vanessa is gunning for him, despite her assertions otherwise.
Later in an effort to, um, heck I don’t know what her motive was here, but at 3:19 PM BBT Vanessa corners John and Clay again. She wants to know why they’re covering for each other. Vanessa says “Seriously. You’re either gay lovers or you’re f**king related. That’s the only thing that makes any damn sense.” Or, maybe Vanessa, neither want to give you any more fuel for your assertions.
The whole thing was a total mess. I don’t see much good for Vanessa from all this. Why did she do it? Clay was already on his way out but this did seal his fate and shift from a potentially close vote to a unanimous one. Was that guaranteed eviction worth putting herself in the spotlight and making her a center of negative attention right before the next round of noms?
Vanessa has a bad habit of making unrelated situations suddenly not only relate to her but to put her in the middle of them. What’s really bad in this situation is the way she went on the attack against John. Maybe she should have waited to find out who would be in power this week.
Now Becky is in control, knows Vanessa is causing problems, wants to help protect John, and will use this position of power to do just that with her planned nominations. Watch out, Vanessa. This could be a bad week for her. Nominations are coming up Friday night so get ready for the drama.