- 2 hours ago
'Big Brother' season 21's Nicole Anthony talks all things finale night, looks back at her game, reacts to winning 'America's Favorite Houseguest', comparisons to Dan Gheesling and more.
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00:00Why won't you just teach me the cha-cha?
00:02Oh, no, you gotta stand up.
00:04One, two, one, two, and then there's also this.
00:05You go, hooray!
00:07Hooray.
00:08No, hooray!
00:09Oh, wait, wait.
00:10Hooray!
00:11Hooray!
00:12Hello, friends.
00:13It's Nicole Anthony from BB21,
00:15and I am in the studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:22Nicole!
00:22Congratulations!
00:24Thank you so much.
00:25How has it been these past few hours?
00:27Oh, my.
00:28Being out of the house,
00:29winning America's Favorite,
00:31what's it been like?
00:31It's been over-stimulating.
00:33It's been overwhelming to finally be out of that house
00:36after 99 days and just see so many new people
00:40and to be overcome with so much love and respect
00:44and well wishes, it's amazing.
00:46Looking back to kind of your story on the show,
00:48why do you think you won America's Favorite?
00:51What do you think it was?
00:52I mean, like, looking at it,
00:54I, like, you know, the whole thing week four
00:57with that fight in the HOH room,
00:58which I still don't know what happened or what was said.
01:00I know that was a very, very low point for me,
01:02but then also surviving that and staying in the house
01:05and still fighting and not winning comps initially,
01:08but then pulling out that double eviction win
01:11and then pulling out a veto win,
01:12making it all the way to Final Three.
01:14Like, I think just that underdog story, that triumphant story,
01:17that can, something that everybody can connect to.
01:19Like, I'm just me.
01:20Like, that's all I am.
01:21Everyone really does root for an underdog.
01:23Yes, absolutely.
01:23Every season of Big Brother.
01:24But your story kind of was more heroic.
01:27Wow.
01:27You're rooting for an underdog hero, which I like to think,
01:30and that's what people have been calling you on Twitter.
01:32Have you noticed that people have called you Nicole Giesling, by chance?
01:36No.
01:37So, because everyone knows Dan Giesling and he was such a beloved player,
01:42people compared you to him, and it's all over Twitter.
01:44It's Nicole Giesling.
01:45Oh, my God.
01:46Yeah.
01:47So that's a huge help.
01:48Thank you so much.
01:49That's ridiculous.
01:50I have a bunch of questions from Twitter, actually,
01:53because you have so many fans.
01:55This comes from at Kim Zales on Twitter.
01:57Do you know you were the only reason anyone watched the last several weeks?
02:02Oh, my God.
02:03No, I didn't know that.
02:06Wow, that makes me really emotional.
02:08I was rooting for myself, and that's amazing that, wow,
02:12that I'm the reason people were watching.
02:13You kept people tuning in, which is great.
02:15What?
02:16I can't even wrap my mind around that.
02:18When in the game did you kind of see as a turning point for you where,
02:22hey, I can actually win this thing, and this might be mine,
02:24and I have the potential to win the game?
02:26Well, my belief, and I'm not blowing smoke, is like I said,
02:30if I'm getting on the show, I'm winning.
02:31Like, that's my mindset.
02:33That's it.
02:34So I came to the show, I'm like, I don't see myself in Jury House.
02:36I will never be in Jury House.
02:37So when I almost went out week four, I was like, oh, no,
02:40maybe that's why I don't see myself in Jury because I go home.
02:42And then I think my turning point was at double eviction when I was like,
02:45see, I can pull out a win.
02:46I can win things.
02:47I can make big moves.
02:48I'm not going to take the easy route.
02:50Like, I could have very easily let someone else win that double
02:53and possibly not been the biggest target.
02:55And I was like, no, I came here to play.
02:57I'm going to play, and I think I can win things moving forward.
03:00Going back to that double eviction night, did you ever consider getting Mickey
03:03out that night or did it not slip your mind?
03:06I think, you know, prior, you always think like, oh, would I go the Mickey
03:10Holly route or would I go the Chrissy Tommy route?
03:12But in that moment, because it's so go, go, go, go, go, you end up going just on
03:16instinct and just on gut.
03:17Had I had a week to think about it, maybe things would have happened.
03:21But it's right away.
03:23It's quick.
03:23It's this is what my gut is telling me.
03:25I think a lot of memory comps are coming up, and I know Chrissy and Tommy are good
03:28at that.
03:29They're going up.
03:30Now, we saw in the house this moment of you kind of catching on to what was going
03:34on with Tommy and Chrissy.
03:35You said in the diary room, there's something more there.
03:38I see it.
03:39Did you see that maybe they knew each other?
03:41I think I saw that they were very, very close and then sometimes acted as though
03:47they weren't.
03:48Yeah.
03:49And I'm like, well, why are you all of a sudden not?
03:51It was weird because all of a sudden they would be distant, but they would talk about
03:54things like, like they, you know, like when you see a sibling and you just have like these
03:57moments and it's like, well, that's kind of weird.
03:59You know?
04:00Yeah.
04:01It was odd.
04:02So you weren't surprised when Tommy kind of told you, yeah?
04:03No.
04:04I was like, oh, okay.
04:05That makes sense.
04:07Looking back to what everyone kind of is talking about, not evicting Holly, and you've
04:11poked on this question so much last night.
04:12Yes.
04:13It's all right.
04:14Do you obviously regret that decision, and how do you think the finale would have shaped
04:18up differently had Holly been evicted that night?
04:20I think, not so much regret, but I do think like, oh, if I had gone with Tommy, it might
04:25have been better for Nicole's game.
04:27Like, going to final three, I think Mickey would have brought me to final two, Cliff would
04:31have brought me to final two, Tommy would have brought me to final two, possibly.
04:34But like I said, there's no way of knowing until you're actually in the house.
04:38And even if Tommy now says, oh yeah, I would have went after Mickey, he's a big threat.
04:41You don't know because there's such a long week of thinking and pondering.
04:44And Mickey's good.
04:45Mickey could have got his ear and said, listen, you don't want to go to final three with a duo.
04:49And Tommy could have very easily put up me and Cliff, and it would have ended up the
04:51same way.
04:52And maybe I would have gone out fourth.
04:53So I do wonder what could have been, but I don't necessarily regret it.
04:59But you gave Holly your vote.
05:00Yes.
05:01Can you kind of explain what you learned about Holly and Mickey the past week living with
05:04just them in the house?
05:05Sure.
05:06So, like I was saying, I really thought Holly was someone I could beat.
05:08Like, oh, no offense, no offense.
05:10Like, oh, she's not that smart.
05:11She's not going to be good at memory comps.
05:12She's not going to be good with days and bases.
05:14I got this.
05:15And she blew me out of the water in that memory comp and the more I sat outside with
05:19her and I spoke to her about her strategy, she's like, yeah, I'm really smart, Nicole.
05:23I have everything memorized in the house.
05:24I have all the days memorized.
05:26It's my strategy to lay low and then come out at the end and just bang out all these comps.
05:31And I was sitting there like, wow, that was my strategy to lay low and have a great social
05:35game.
05:36So I looked at her in those moments and I'm like, I never gave you enough credit.
05:39Like, I saw you as riding Mickey's coattails and, you know, just with Mickey and Mickey's
05:43carrying the team.
05:44And that wasn't always the case.
05:45Like, she kind of held him back from always flipping out.
05:48And physical competitor, mental competitor, great social game and I think it wasn't commended
05:54enough.
05:55Now, if you were in the final two against Mickey, do you think you would have beaten them?
05:58Everyone said last night that they would have voted for you.
06:00I think I would have beaten both of them.
06:02Yeah.
06:03I honestly do.
06:04So you didn't make it to the final two chairs, but right now, well, you won America's
06:09favorite race.
06:10But also, if you, had you made it to the final two, what would your final plea be of why you
06:15should win the game?
06:16I'm going to give you the floor right now.
06:1760 seconds, like Julie goes, take it away.
06:21So it would have been altered a little bit depending on who I was sitting next to, but
06:25I would have said like, jury, I came into this game as an individual.
06:29I didn't start out in a big alliance with a whole bunch of people behind me.
06:33It was just little old me.
06:34And yes, I got myself into a bit of hot water, but I never lied.
06:39I never manipulated.
06:40I never puppeteered.
06:41It was always the truth.
06:42Yes, it was the truth to too many people, but it was the truth and ultimately the truth
06:46set me free and I stayed in this house.
06:49From there, I worked on my social game and yes, it's a game, but it's a game of life.
06:53In the game of life, the game pieces are not pieces.
06:55They are people with personalities and emotions and feelings and thoughts and I always gave people
07:00the time of day and I always empathize with them and was compassionate.
07:04Even if they were pre-jury and weren't going to vote and in camp comeback and didn't matter
07:09or who cares, they're going off to jury.
07:11I always gave people the time of day and that was my strong suit, my social game.
07:14I also came out and won the double eviction HOH and a power veto and I made big moves.
07:19I put up power couples both times I was HOH and I wasn't afraid and that's why I deserve
07:25to win the money.
07:26You had my vote.
07:27I vote for you.
07:28I had it planned.
07:29I know.
07:30I also voted for you for American Sports, so there you go.
07:32Taking another question from Twitter, from at Sophie Girl, how does it feel being called
07:38Nicole Giesling because the fans have adored you that much?
07:42Oh my gosh, Dan Giesling is one of the OGs.
07:46He is someone I admire, I look up to, I've watched his gameplay and said, he reminds me
07:53of me.
07:54I've said it.
07:55I bought his book and I watched his videos and I researched him and I'm like, yes, everything
08:00he said I feel and I will be in his spot, I will be in his position, I've seen it, but
08:04I never thought I would live up to his game level.
08:07Wow.
08:08That's amazing.
08:09That's really great.
08:10You're probably going to meet him soon too, which will be great.
08:13Oh my god.
08:14Wow.
08:15Next question from Twitter, from IamErica, what is it like to live your dream, was it
08:20everything you hoped for?
08:21Oh my gosh.
08:22It was everything I hoped for and more, but also far, far more difficult than I ever expected
08:28it to be.
08:29Expect the unexpected.
08:30My new phrase for it is get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
08:33I expected to go into that house and have no connections with these people and whatever,
08:37I'm going to do what I want and win this game.
08:39And you build friendships, you build relationships, you empathize and everybody that was on the
08:44block, I cried every Thursday because I just felt so bad taking that dream away from somebody.
08:49And it is difficult.
08:50There's a lot of down time, there's a lot of dead time of just thinking.
08:54And there's no YouTube, there's no books, there's nothing.
08:57So you're just with your thoughts and paranoia and people arguing, people whispering, and
09:01it's constant.
09:02So it's extremely, extremely difficult, but on the other end of it, so rewarding.
09:07Talking about those connections, obviously you made lifelong friends.
09:09Yes.
09:10Who would you say you were the closest to in the house?
09:12Besides Cliff, I guess.
09:13Okay.
09:14So besides Cliff, I was closest to my camp comebackers.
09:16We're all comeback kids.
09:17Yeah.
09:18David, Kemi, Ovi.
09:19And I mean, granted me and Cliff are both on the block together, so either of us could
09:23have gone there.
09:24So I consider all five of us the camp comebackers.
09:27And those are my people.
09:29Day 15 was a very difficult day for me when Ovi was evicted.
09:32And day 30 was even worse when three of my very good friends in the house walked out.
09:37And yeah, those are my people.
09:38I love them.
09:39Were you able to talk to them after the finale last night?
09:42A little bit.
09:43Just very like, oh, I love you.
09:44I miss you.
09:45And Ovi, you know, he hugged me.
09:46He's like, you have no idea what's coming.
09:48You have no idea.
09:49And I'm like, I don't know what you mean, but okay.
09:50And then I was hit with all the love and everything.
09:52Yeah.
09:53It's going to be really overwhelming.
09:54I don't know.
09:55I don't know.
09:56It's going to be crazy.
09:57I don't know.
09:58Another question from Twitter.
09:59I actually got this a lot.
10:00This is from Elle on Twitter, at Gypsy Pedals.
10:02She wants to know if you'll be her best friend.
10:05Aww.
10:06My answer to that question is I may not be your best friend in person, in the flesh,
10:13but I am definitely your best friend in spirit.
10:16Best believe if someone needs a friend or anything, Nicole Anthony is there.
10:19I love you all so, so much.
10:20Last night you really had a powerful moment too when you kind of spoke out against bullying
10:24in that day when Grateful was all in that room and it was literally like the worst day to watch.
10:29Still don't know what happened.
10:30They called them actually in the edit, they called them hateful.
10:32Wow.
10:33How did you kind of overcome that and what was going through your head?
10:38Oh man.
10:39Cat was really there for you.
10:40A lot of people were there for you.
10:41It was very, very difficult because I did try to get in that room and I wanted to advocate
10:45for myself and I wanted to bury them.
10:48Like I just wanted to like let off, you know.
10:50And they wouldn't let me in, which maybe was for the best, maybe not, I don't know.
10:54And, you know, in that moment I was fired up and angry and agitated.
10:57And then once that dissipated, it was just sadness.
11:00And I was in a very, very bad spot.
11:02It was heartbreaking.
11:03Very bad spot.
11:04And it was very difficult to get through and I just had like my family in my head and
11:10my sister saying, you got this, you got this.
11:12And I'm like, no, I can do this because this is not the first time I've been bullied.
11:16This is not the first time anybody in the world has been bullied.
11:18Like I need to show that middle schooler, that high schooler, that college student, whoever
11:22it is that is getting bullied, like, no, no, don't run away.
11:25Like you will get through this.
11:26And I said it in the DR as I was crying.
11:28I'm like, I will get through this.
11:29It'll happen.
11:30And you did get through it and you won American Secret.
11:32I did.
11:33Yes.
11:34And a lot of people calling you actually the winner of BB21, which I don't know
11:36what your reaction to that is.
11:37Wow.
11:38To be honest, I, and I know it sounds cliche, but I feel like the winner of BB21 with all the
11:42love I've received and the fan favorite and the way people are speaking about me.
11:45And I know it's like so cliche, but I honestly feel like a winner.
11:49You're obviously really close to your family.
11:51Yes.
11:52People loved your reaction to kind of seeing them in the audience last night.
11:55How was that moment for you reconnecting with them?
11:57Oh my gosh.
11:58Wow.
11:59My family, the four of them, they're my best friends.
12:01Like they're my world.
12:02I live with them.
12:03I work with my sisters.
12:04They're my best friends.
12:05I love them.
12:06And this whole game, I would talk to the cameras and be like, I don't know if I'm doing
12:09this right.
12:10I don't know if I'm doing that right.
12:11I'm just going with my gut.
12:12I hope it's right.
12:13And this is the first time in my life not having their reassurance or their validation
12:16or like, oh, what do you think of this?
12:18Or what do you think?
12:19It was just me.
12:20And to have an idea of what they would say to me or what they would tell me helped me
12:25through, but to actually see them, very surreal.
12:27It was actually like probably one of the realest moments we've seen all season.
12:30Oh God.
12:31Speaking of your outpouring support this season, we have some fun videos that some fans of
12:35yours made on Twitter and you haven't had your phone yet.
12:38So I figured I'd give you a preview to what's to come when you do have your phone.
12:44Thank you, Nicole, for being engaging, genuine, funny, sad, enthusiastic, vulnerable, non-toxic,
12:51and above all for being non-problematic in a season riddled with problems.
12:56Hashtag Nicole Appreciation Party.
12:59I'll show you the next one.
13:01That's incredible.
13:02That's...
13:03Wow.
13:04Shout out to Hamster Wash.
13:06Yes.
13:07Hamster Wash.
13:08Thank you so much.
13:09So this is from you.
13:10This is a funny one of you doing Slim Shady.
13:13Oh my gosh.
13:14It's so embarrassing.
13:19Oh my gosh.
13:24Wow.
13:25Wow.
13:26You guys see everything.
13:27Are you a big Eminem fan?
13:28That's amazing.
13:29Oh, from Lucy in the Sky.
13:30Nicole Shady will always be my favorite version of Nicole.
13:33Yes.
13:34Wow.
13:35You guys truly do see everything.
13:37This one's kind of funny, too.
13:38Is this what...
13:41Got a point.
13:42She's an icon.
13:43She's a legend.
13:44And she is...
13:45Oh no.
13:46It's a fan-made video.
13:47It's not really Wendy playing.
13:48Oh.
13:49Nicole Anthony House.
13:50A geasling.
13:51Fear of birds.
13:52First of her name.
13:53Got a point.
13:54She's an icon.
13:55She's a legend.
13:56Oh my god.
13:57Come on now.
13:58Okay.
13:59From Conspiring Cat.
14:00No, no.
14:01There's two more.
14:02This one's really funny.
14:06Oh my god.
14:07Nicole is dancing in her tutu.
14:09Yes, I am.
14:10From Clayton Baker.
14:12From Clayton Baker.
14:13Oh my god.
14:14Thanks, buddy.
14:15Thanks, buddy.
14:16Wow.
14:17And then this one...
14:18Kemi!
14:20I don't know what y'all are talking about.
14:22I just saw Nicole and Kemi win Big Brother.
14:24From Jennifer Anderson.
14:25Yes.
14:26Wow.
14:27Shout out.
14:28Will you and Kemi begin the spin-off?
14:29Absolutely.
14:30I ship that.
14:31I freaking love Kemi.
14:32She is such a powerful woman.
14:33I quoted her in my eviction speech that night.
14:35I said, you know, a woman once told me grab life...
14:36A strong woman once told me grab life by the boobs.
14:37And she is...
14:38She did not get enough credit this season.
14:39And I'm her friend and I defended her and I spoke to her.
14:40But now on the other side of it and I'm hearing things, I'm upset because I should've
14:42done more and I should've been an upstander more and I should've defended her more.
14:48So like, although I did defend, I should've done more.
14:49Like the whole blender bottle and the refrigerator.
14:50I was sitting there going, this is shitty.
14:51Well, a lot of people loved your goodbye message though to Jack because of that you slipped
14:52it in.
14:53See, I got him later.
14:54Because at the time, I'm like, oh, this is really bad for the game.
14:55If I talk back at him...
14:56If I talk back at him...
14:57If I talk back at him...
14:58Yeah.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Yeah.
15:01Yeah.
15:02Yeah.
15:03Yeah.
15:04Yeah.
15:05Yeah.
15:06Yeah.
15:07Yeah.
15:08Yeah.
15:09Yeah.
15:10Yeah.
15:11Yeah.
15:12Yeah.
15:13Yeah.
15:14Yeah.
15:15Yeah.
15:16Yeah.
15:17Yeah.
15:18Yeah.
15:19Yeah.
15:20Yeah.
15:21Yeah.
15:22I got him later.
15:23Were you aware of kind of the controversies going on?
15:24What was your reaction to it?
15:25I don't want to spend too much time on that.
15:26I want to be positive.
15:27I wasn't aware of controversies in regards to anything with race or gender.
15:30I don't know what it is, but race or gender or sexuality, anything like that.
15:33I was aware of people picking on people.
15:36Yeah.
15:37And I didn't notice anything about race or anything like that, but I noticed like just picking
15:40on people.
15:41Yes.
15:42What are you going to do with your cash prize for America's favorite house guys?
15:45Wow.
15:46What are your plans for it?
15:47Oh gosh.
15:48I want to get a car.
15:49I do not have a car.
15:50My sisters do not have a car.
15:52I want to get a car that we all can share.
15:54I don't know.
15:55Do it.
15:56I'm overwhelmed.
15:57I wasn't expecting it.
15:58So it's like, ah.
15:59Now, would you and will you play again so you get that half mil?
16:03What's going to happen?
16:04Are you going to play again next season?
16:05What's going on?
16:06My answer is always yes.
16:08I am up for anything.
16:09As much as I cried in that house and I apologize to anybody who had to watch me constantly cry.
16:13Oh my gosh, no.
16:14Like, I would, as much as I complained, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
16:18I would go back right now.
16:19When you cried, I don't think anyone was like, oh my gosh, Nicole's crying again.
16:22There were other people in the house, I'm sure you can guess, who cried a lot.
16:26What's next for you?
16:27What are you going to do when you get back home?
16:29I don't know.
16:30I'm excited just to get home and to see my dad and my dogs and the preschool that I know
16:36has supported me, which is amazing.
16:38And I'm just excited for new adventures and trying new things and not being afraid of failing
16:44and not being afraid of taking chances.
16:46Well, good luck with everything.
16:48We're all so proud of you.
16:49Congrats on everything.
16:50Oh my gosh, thank you.
16:51You have a bright, bright future ahead of you.
16:52I hope you play again.
16:53I hope so too.
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