Ki Hong Lee Hopes to Inspire Asian Americans

Photo by Andrew Eccles/ABC Family

It seems like there’s always debate about diversity in Hollywood and whether television shows and movies reflect the multi-cultural fabric of the real world landscape. At a recent press event an up-and-coming actor named Ki Hong Lee talked about finding inspiration to pursue his dreams to become an actor and hoping to pay it forward.

The young star of The Nine Lives of Chloe King started to act in skits at church retreats and not long after found himself in a hit ABC Family TV show. But he admitted that he didn’t find a lot of Asian American role models on mainstream productions and, as a result, never believed that he could become a star.

Then he found encouragement in what might seem like the oddest place — the serial killer movie Disturbia. Lee recalled seeing “this kid called Aaron Yoo. And I saw that and I was like, ‘Dude, I think I can do it. Maybe I should really try.’”

When Lee appeared in a play at the premiere Asian American theater in the country, East-West Players, the universe seemed to give him a sign. Lee recalled, “Aaron, he actually was at the opening of my play. And when I first saw him I was so star struck. I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s Aaron Yoo… You’re the reason I got into acting.’”

Now he hopes that kids who seem him on Chloe King will find similar inspiration. He admitted, “Hopefully I can get to his level and show other Asians that they can do it, too.”

For now Lee is just happy to have a funny part he can relate to on a hit TV series. He remarked, “I’m lucky because this role is kind of an extension of myself and so I guess it’s instinctual. But I’m not going to lie and say, ‘Oh of course, I’m this really talented comedian.’ I’m not going to say that. Obviously there are some beats and moments where I get confused and work on. But overall I just think this is an extension of myself so it comes easier.”

He talked about the similar qualities he shared with his character and their differences. “Paul is a very curious and very adventurous kid and he loves comic books and he loves superheroes. That’s one difference right there is that he’s into comic books and superheroes and I was into sports growing up… But one thing that we share is that we, I guess Paul’s more of it than I am, but Paul’s really comfortable in his own skin. And he doesn’t care if it comes across as nerdy or geeky or even if he looks like a loser — like being tied up in the first episode… He’d go after whatever he wants and he doesn’t let what people think or what people say get to him. And I think for me it’s hard to do that as an actor because people are always criticizing your work and you’re always hard on yourself, too. But I try to be that [way] as well.”  

Catch Lee on The Nine Lives of Chloe King airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on ABC Family.

For related stories check out:

An interview with Amy Pietz from The Nine Lives of Chloe King

An interview with Skyler Samuels from The Nine Lives of Chloe King

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Lucy Hale Talks about Aria's Relationships on Pretty Little Liars

Photo by Andrew Eccles/ABC Family

The mid-season finale of Pretty Little Lairs is on ABC Family tonight and fans will not be disappointed by the cliffhanger awaiting them. In January the second half of the season will pick up where it leaves off tonight as the four girls will turn the tables on the mysterious A, who has been tormenting them all these months. At a recent press event Lucy Hale, one of the show's stars, spoke about what lies in store for her character Aria.

As the season comes to a conclusion, the girls decide to confide in someone and reveal their secret only to discover the wrath of A gets stronger because of their actions. This time, Lucy told us, A will pit the girls against each other. Lucy revealed, "A punishes each of the girls and presents them with a task they have to complete and her task deals with Ezra."

Ezra, for those not keeping track, is a teacher at Aria's school that she has become secretly romantically involved with. She divulged, "In the finale you think there's someone in their life that is threatening to expose them, once again, and so there's the idea lurking that they could be outed for real this time in front of her parents. So you'll see how that goes."

Personally Lucy thinks it's about time that Ezra and Aria come clean. She stated, "[It's been] two seasons. We've gotta tell people. They're only gaining momentum. They're going to be together for a while and it's going to happen sooner or later." In fact, if she could have control over one plot point in the second half of the season, that would be it. "I want to see Aria and Ezra finally man up and tell her parents. I really want to see that."

Ashley Benson Talks About the Mid-Season Drama on Pretty Little Liars

Photo by Carrie G. Reed

 

Anyone who watches Pretty Little Liars has been pulling their hair out for a season and a half trying to solve the mystery of A. If you’re not one of them, here’s the gist of it. Four girls in the sleepy town of Rosewood are being tormented by someone who only goes by the initial A. At first they thought it was their missing best friend, Alison, but when she turned up dead they were at a loss.

Ashley Benson plays Hanna Marin, who became the new “it” girl after Alison disappeared. She and her BFFs get random texts and messages from A and are keeping the secret from everyone they know — including Hanna’s divorced parents and her oh-so-dreamy boyfriend Caleb.

At a recent press event Ashley talked about the mid-season finale which airs on Tuesday, August 30. She revealed, “Well the big plot of the episode is my dad is getting married. So he has his wedding and with this wedding comes a lot of other things.”

This Week's Inspirational Pop Culture Moments

Copyright is held by Daniel Langer and Comic Relief, Inc.

A comedy legend adopts a furry friend, a big time producer still feels the passion and a TV institution gives back. Here are this week's most inspirational moments in pop culture.

Whoopi Adopts Cat Tossed Onto Bridge

Last month a tiny kitten was thrown out a moving van on the Verrazano Bridge in New York City. Luckily for the baby cat, Brendon Ocasio, an animal control officer, witnessed the horrible crime and scooped up the feline.

A few days later the cat, named Verrazano, made his TV debut on "The View" to tell his harrowing tale and try to find a new home. Apparently the show's co-host Whoopi Goldberg was smitten with the cat, because she announced this week, that she adopted him.

She posted a video of the six-month-old kitty on her Facebook page sand wrote, "I was finally able to take him home. His nickname is 'Vinny.' She did admit to one small problem with the new addition to the family — her current cat Oliver. " [He's] not too happy but Vinny is having the time of his life. I think he'll get Oliver to come around sooner than later."

The footage shows Vinny alternating between licking his paws and chasing a feather toy. We're guessing Whoppi will have more Vinny stories to tell when "The View" returns to ABC this fall.

For more inspiring pop culture moments, visit Beliefnet.com.

Win Your Own American Horror Story

Photo by Robert Zuckerman/FX

Just when you thought Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were all about the singing and dancing and happy Glee moments, think again. The Nip/Tuck producers have returned to his darker sides with their new FX series American Horror Story. The show, which stars Dylan McDermott, Jessica Lange and Connie Britton, premieres on October 5.

To get fans in the mood for the psycho-sexual thriller, FX has launched the American Horror Story House Calls contest. They are asking viewers to "let us in." Do you get a thrill out of being scared out of your wits? Are you afraid of finding a stranger in the shower or a reflection that isn't yours in the mirror? Then sign up at the American Horror Story House Calls website.

Tell them who you are and what you are afraid of. A few lucky winners, or perhaps it's more like unlucky winners, will get an unscheduled visit from an American Horror Story character. With the help of a loved one and some hidden cameras, American Horror Story House Calls will give you the shock of your life.

To see examples of the House Calls and for more details about getting involved, check out the website, friend them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. And be sure to tune in to American Horror Story on October 5 at 10 p.m. EST/ 9 p.m. Central on FX.

For related stories check out:
Win Prizes for Watching Damages
An Interview with the Judges from The Glee Project


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Dave Salmoni Admits He Didn’t Predict the Expedition Impossible Winner

Photo by Bob D’Amico/ABC

 

Being the host of show like Mark Burnett’s latest adventure series Expedition Impossible is chalk full of incredible moments. At least that’s how host Dave Salmoni reflected on his time in the African bush on the hit show, which has its season finale tonight on ABC.

Salmoni recounted some of the more magical times on the show, “There’d be a moment when you’d get home from work and there’d still be a little bit of sunlight and I could go for run. Or wake up in the morning and you’d have to get up before the sun comes up and grabbing a cup of coffee and watching it come over the mountain. So there’s lots of those types of moments when you’re sleeping outdoors and living on the road. There’s lots.”

But making an adventure series in the middle of nowhere isn’t without its complexities. As Dave recalled, “The most challenging part for me would be trying to get cameras in areas where the drama is because unfortunately with these types of shows it’s very rare for the drama to unfold out in the open or out in the middle of a field somewhere. Usually it’s at the top of the mountain or the bottom of the ravine or going up the face of the mountain or repelling halfway down. It’s when things are most stressful and most difficult, when the real drama… and the real sense of what it must be like to be on that expedition so the unfortunate director and the poor cameramen had to really get themselves in a lot of places that were pretty difficult to get to. And not only did they have to get there, they had to bring all their gear. “

But there were also the points of sheer joy, like dealing with the series’ executive producer Mark Burnett. Dave acknowledged, “When he got out in the bush, that’s when I really got to know Mark. Mark’s background is very outdoorsy and very adventurous so Mark is all business when he has to be but when he’s outdoors he has a great time. That guy exudes passion. I don’t know if he ever sleeps. I don’t know if his brain ever shuts off. But he’s a lot of fun to be around. And when he’s outdoors and he’s enjoying things and he’s finding the fun in everything, it helps the whole team find the fun and film the fun and show the fun to our audiences.”

Who knows if the competitors, who were tasked with grueling physical and mental tests on a daily basis were able to have as much of a good time. But they never ceased to have an impact on Salmoni. He said one challenger impressed him the most. “If I had to pick one, I think you’d have to pick Erik [Weihenmayer] in No Limits.”

The 42-year-old motivational speaker and writer from Golden, Colorado, is blind. Dave remembered first being told about the competitor. “Before going out, hearing that we had cast a blind man on this race, was shocking to me. And I almost felt like we’re going to have to have safety guys just follow them around because how is a blind guy going to be able to do any of this stuff? We were choosing a course that was going to be difficult for the most fit people in the world and you’ve got this blind guy that’s going to be out there. So that initially would have been my one, ‘No way that’s not possible.’”

But Salmoni was awed by Weihenmayer skills in the wild. He admitted, “You get to know Erik and you see him operate and you go, ‘Oh, well that’s no problem for him.’ He became the least of my worries when things would get difficult and then you started to worry about some of the people that maybe hadn’t had as much outdoor experience or adventure experience. So every stage you found somebody else to worry about only because we started to learn what some people were good at and what some people were bad at.”

Erik wasn’t the only competitor that Dave underestimated. He confessed, “We were always predicting who was going to go out. And I wouldn’t say I was better than 50% for the eliminations. At the first stage I could tell the Gypsies were solid and I could tell No Limits were going to do well. You can’t help but look at the football players and recognize their athleticism and expect them to do well. But in amongst them I just always felt like it just depended on the course that day. I felt like everybody had some skills and it was a matter of putting it all together at the right time.”

He continued, “So yeah, there were definitely times when I didn’t expect a team to go as early. I remember thinking that the Kansas girls were going to last a lot longer than they did. Grandpa’s Warriors was our second team out and they were probably the most experienced next to No Limits as far as being outdoors. So they were shocking. But that being said it’s a tough thing to be shocked by, only in that each time that someone went out I felt like one mistake and they’re gone. And anybody can make a mistake so you’re never all that shocked when a team’s in last.”

And although he obviously couldn’t reveal the winner, he did fess up to the fact that he didn’t see it coming. “Before I’d seen any of them race, two of the teams, just on paper, I predicted that they were going to be in the finals and they are. But the team that ends up winning, I didn’t predict, no. I did not expect the team to win that did.”

See who takes home the top prize when the season finale of Expedition Impossible airs tonight at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on ABC.

An Interview with Ames and Jackie from Bachelor Pad

Photo by Craig Sjodin/ABC

In what may have been one of the most romantic moments in reality TV in quite sometime when Ames Brown chose love over money in season two of Bachelor Pad. After just a few days in the house Brown had fallen head over heels for Jackie Gordon. When her fellow contestants sent her home, Brown momentarily looked like a little boy lost in a shopping mall before chasing down the limo and leaving the show with Gordon.

But alas, like most things in unscripted TV world, the fantasy was stronger than the reality. In a recent conference call interview, the couple admitted they are no longer together. Ames announced, "We had a great time on the show and chose love over money in the competition and so on. We’re not still dating, but we enjoyed every moment we had together."

On the highly charged season of Bachelor Pad, Jackie and Ames were the calm in the storm. There seemed to be almost a love at first sight moment and the pair quietly slipped off into discreet corners away from the drama to get to know each other better. Both players were surprised by how rapidly the spark grew. Jackie recalled, "Usually it doesn’t happen so fast. Certainly, I believe it was love at first sight, for me anyway… I shocked myself in my ability to fall so quickly, but Ames is a wonderful person and he made me feel very, very comfortable."

But their kind personalities were no match for the venomous duo in charge, Vienna and Kasey, who plotted Jackie's demise on the show. So when the rose ceremony came and his new love was eliminated, Ames paused for a moment as her limo drove away. He admitted, "It was pretty spur of the moment, but I never had any doubt and knew what I had to do. If there [was] any look of confusion on my face it was just how to physically engineer getting into the limo, because there are certain rules around the rose ceremony. But it was definitely the best thing I did at Bachelor Pad, and certainly the most rewarding, and I wouldn’t change it for anything."

Mike Spiro and Samantha Woods Found Love in the Wild

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC 

Last week Mike Spiro and Samantha Woods became the first couple to be named the winners of Love in the Wild. In a recent conference call they confirmed that they are still together after the show and talked about why they bonded so intensely on the series.

The Bachelor meets The Amazing Race competition show thrust couples into extreme tasks in the Costa Rican jungle. Mike explained how those trials were somewhat similar to the ones people face in real life relationships. “It’s interesting because you faced a lot of the same challenges in a regular day to day relationship, ‘Hey you made the wrong turn’ or ‘Hey you don’t know that it’s [10:00].’ Like it was the same things you argue about as a normal couple out in day to day life. The only difference being on the show is that it’s that much more stressful because it’s now a race element on top of all that. So yes, cuts to the core and really defines what kind of person you are [until you] tend to be in a relationship.”

Samantha added, “I felt like I really got to learn very quickly how he would deal with very high stress situations and things that would actually happen in everyday life outside of the jungle. And so we were really able to connect on that level very early on.”

Matt Iseman & Jimmy Smith on the American Ninja Warrior Finale

Photo by Brandon Hickman/G4 

G4's American Ninja Warriors finale is on NBC tonight, as the remaining ten contenders head to Mt. Midoriyama, Japan to face the worlds' most challenging obstacle course. They are not only playing for the coveted title of Ninja Warrior, they are also vying for a $500,000 endorsement deal from K-Swiss. Making the stakes even higher is the fact that in 26 seasons, with over 2600 competitors, only three have ever completed the four-stage course. And no American has made it past the third stage. Hosts Matt Iseman (Sports Soup) and Jimmy Smith (MMA Fighter) talked about luck vs skill, how the show redefines success and the key to defeating the course.

On Luck vs. Skill in American Ninja Warrior
Matt: "Well I wouldn’t say it’s luck. If you look at the guys who move on, not many guys get through because of good luck. Some guys will go out because of bad luck. They may hit a spot where there’s some water from a previous competitor and slip and that’s just the nature of it. The course is not going to be the same every time you run it. The weather conditions change. There may be more dust on it. Something can change. So bad luck can take you out, but there’s no one getting through because of good luck."

On How the Show Redefines Success
Matt: "One of the things is, they’re not competing against each other. They’re competing against the course. They’re competing against themselves. That's why you do see such a camaraderie. This show is unlike most other shows where you know you’re going to see a winner… But this approach [is] the nobility of the quest, knowing it is almost insurmountable, this obstacle course. And it’s amazing to watch these guys push themselves… You get to know some of these people and you become invested in them. And you want these guys to do well… It’s unbelievable the dedication that they have. And so you really become invested in them and them doing well and them feeling like they’ve improved. Whether they win or not it’s that sense of improvement because ultimately it is so incredibly hard."

This Week's Inspirational Pop Culture Moments

Photo by david_shankbone

A Sex and the City star donates shoes for charity, singers pay tribute to a lost legend and an Angel helps kids in Kenya. Here's this week's most inspirational moments in pop culture.

Will Sarah Jessica Parker Give Up her Minolo’s?

Sarah Jessica Parker’s iconic Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw was known for her love of one thing over all others — no, not Mr. Big. We’re talking about shoes. Her affection was so deep in fact that she once almost lost her apartment and remarked, “I've spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”

In real life the actress is using her obsession for good. SJP is just one of a long list of stars who is donating their cherished footwear to the Small Steps Project’s auction. The organization supports children who live in rubbish dumps around the world.

The list of donors includes Parker’s SATC co-star Kristin Davis, Academy Award winners Rachael Weisz and Helen Mirren and Hollywood legacy Jamie Lee Curtis. But it’s not all about the pumps. Male celebrities are participating, too. Guys will be able to bid on Simon Pegg’s orange hi tops, Ricky Gervais’ black dress shoes and Boy George’s pony skin booties.

The idea came from Small Steps Project’s founder, former entertainment journalist Amy Hanson. According to the organization’s website, “After years of asking celebrities about their shoes, Amy gave up her job as a showbiz reporter and started this charity but wondered if there was a way she could generate something good out of her career. She decided to ask every celebrity she had ever interviewed if they would like to donate their shoes to the project, so the celebrity’s shoe could be auctioned to raise money to provide shoe and aid for children on rubbish dumps with no shoes.”

For more inspiring pop culture moments, visit Beliefnet.com.

Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger Is Looking for Love

Photo by Tommy Garcia/Bravo   

They don’t call Patti Stanger The Millionaire Matchmaker for nothing. For the last four seasons she’s been using her decades of experience to match wealthy singles with prospective mates. She’s returned for a fifth season and this time her agency has a very special client named Patti Stanger.

Almost exactly one year ago Patti called off her engagement to fiancé Andy Friedman over the deal breaker issue — having kids. But Stanger admitted that there was another major contributing factor that prevented her from walking down the aisle. “One of the reasons my last relationship broke up is because we were friends first and we didn't have a lot of passion. And you do get comfortable and complacent in those relationships. But the je ne sais quoi was missing.”

She continued, “So whether it's work, love, health, you've got to follow your passion. When we get off the road and we sell out in any of those areas, we don't end up happy to be honest with you. It doesn't matter how much money you have. If you're not happy with it who cares? Same thing in love.”

Matt Bomer's Fedora & House's Tennis Balls for the Highest Bidder

Photo by David Giesbrecht /USA

With just a little over 30 days until the big ceremony, Emmy fever is kicking in to high gear. We have it, big time. We have been busy shopping for outfits for both the Creative Arts Emmys and Prime Time Awards, where we'll be on the red carpet and in the press room interviewing all our favorite stars.

If you wish you could be with us, why not bid on bleacher seats for the 2011 Prime Time Emmy Awards? This is just one of the great items up for grabs in this year's Television Academy Foundation auction. The fundraiser ends on August 26, 2011, so plan your strategy now.

The auction only started yesterday, so the bidding is just getting started. There are big money items like two tickets to the Prime Time Emmys and the HBO After Party with a private car to get you there. Or bid on a set visit to the Young and the Restless hosted by Kate Linder. If you don't have the thousands of dollars these prizes are sure to fetch, consider bidding on some of the smaller items like Emmy posters signed by nominees like Lea Michele or Sophia Vergara, VIP tickets to the taping of your favorite talk show like Conan or Jimmy Fallon or an oversized tennis ball signed by House's Hugh Laurie.

Personally we're deciding between the Matt Bomer autographed fedora or the private meal for four prepared by Hell's Kitchen season eight winner Nona Sivley.

Proceeds from the auction, hosted by eBay Giving Works, will benefit the Archive of American Television. They are the fabulous wing of the TV Academy that conducts all the amazing interviews with TV legends. We often post clips on this site and have even had the honor of conducting a few of them lately. In addition, funds will go to the Foundation's educational programs, which include scholarships and seminars.

Visit the Emmy Foundation's eBay page for all the great items up for bid. And good luck!

For related stories check out:
A Red Carpet Interview with Modern Family Creator, Steve Levitan
Pop Culture Passionistas from the Creative Arts Emmys


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Are Bert and Ernie The Only Asexual Muppets?

Photo by supa_pedro

As you may have heard, change.org has started a petition asking the producers of Sesame Street to have Bert and Ernie wed, now that gay marriage is legal in the state of New York.

According to their site, here’s the rationale behind their plea:

In this horrid age of LGBTQ kids taking their own lives and being beaten for who they are, [they] need to know that they're BEAUTIFUL, as Christine's song goes. Bullies that facilitate those tragedies be it verbal or otherwise should be taught that homophobia is NOT okay. Children and parents need to learn that acceptance of humankind, even puppets, would indeed plant a seed of peace that will reverberate throughout the universe. We are not asking that Sesame Street depict anything crude or disrespectful; this is NOT about any other issue other than education. Sesame Street claims Bert and Ernie are only friends, though that's how marriage begins, right?

Personally we’re cool with whatever Ernie and Bert want to do. We respect anyone’s right to marry… or not. No pressure on our account.

But we were a bit surprised by the Sesame Street camp’s response to the request:

"Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves… Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."

That’s where they lose us. Are they trying to tell us after all this time that Miss Piggy and Kermit don’t have any sexual orientation? Their whole shtick is based on Miss Piggy trying to get her frog.

What about those Muppets that have five people in their family (and there’s not one of them they’d swap)?  There is a sister and two brothers and a mother and a pop. How’d that happen, huh?

And then, of course, there’s Gonzo. He sure is into all those chickens. So shouldn’t what’s good for the goose be good for the gander, so to speak?

Again we say live and let live. If Ernie and Bert are just two single gentleman sharing a small apartment in the heart of Sesame Street, that’s no skin off our noses. But let’s not start changing the Muppet lore just for the sake of an albeit somewhat ridiculous political argument about felt characters. Until the rules apply to all puppet-kind, it seems like a dark day on Sesame Street to us.

To sign the petition visit change.org.

Win Prizes for Watching Damages

Photo courtesy of DirecTV

When FX did not renew Damages last season, DirecTV stepped in and saved the show from extinction. Fans were relieved that the series, which follows a high-stakes litigator (Glenn Close) and her protégé (Rose Byrne) through a season-long case, was alive and well and living on satellite TV. Sure, only viewers who subscribe to the service provider can see season four, but those loyal fans are now being rewarded just for watching.

DirecTV has announced the official Damages "Justice is Served" weekly watch-and-win sweepstakes. Simply "Like" the Damages Facebook page to get started. Then pick one of the two weekly prizes you'd like to receive. Each week you can select from laptops to TVs to jewelry and more. Answer a trivia question based on the latest episode and hit submit. One winner for each prize will be chosen from a random drawing. There is a new game every week starting every Wednesday through September 21, 2011.

Once you've entered take a few minutes to peruse the exclusive videos including sneak peaks and episode recaps, behind-the-scenes looks at the set and interviews with Glenn, Rose and new cast member John Goodman.

Damages has featured many notable guest stars in the first three seasons including Ted Danson, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Martin Short, Zeljko Ivanek and Lily Tomlin. This season they add John Goodman, Chris Messina and Dylan Baker to the roster as they help Glenn and Rose tackle the highly-charged topic of private military contractors in the Middle East.

Read the official sweepstakes rules here and find out more about Damages at the show's website. Watch Damages Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. Central on DirecTV's Audience Network (Channel 239).

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Justin Rego Would Rather Be in the Bachelor Pad

 Photo courtesy of ABC

Not surprisingly Justin “Rated-R” Rego was the first guy kicked out of the Bachelor Pad last week. Hey may not be as much of a player as he thought he was. First of all, he didn’t manage to pull the wool over Ali Fedotowsky’s eyes by having a girl on the side on The Bachelorette. And this time around he couldn’t manage to overthrow the already super powerful clique led by Vienna Girardi and her boyfriend Kasey Kahl. In a recent conference call interview Rego talked about strategy and his fatal mistake on the show.

Justin said he went into the competition knowing how much strategizing there would be. He acknowledged, “I did know that you have to have some game… coming on here. That was the part that I was looking forward to the most, was actually getting involved, getting mixed up and forming alliances [to] see how I can possibly take control of that house.”

Unfortunately for Rated-R, he put his control in the hands of Alli Travis, who turned on him. Asked if he could do anything differently Justin admitted, “I wouldn’t have opened my big mouth to Alli… Definitely it will be just that one move. I remember actually having that conversation with that original group and I knew that the powers to be in that house were, Michelle [Money], [Graham Bunn], Kasey, Vienna and Holly [Durst] and Michael [Stagliano]. And I knew I had to break them up but, I was actually trying to protect Alli, because they wanted to get her out of there… It's definitely that one moment where I actually spilled the beans to her and she went literally, five minutes later running to Graham, telling him what I said. So definitely I regret that.”

But the pressure of the competition meant that Justin had to act quickly. He recounted, “There's only three hours, and even in those three hours, there's so much wrong going on in that house. You couldn’t see everything. And I did build a solid alliance, I had Gia [Allemand], Jake with me and everything and then Alli was kind of a flip-flopper.”

Justin further recalled, “I remember that night, so distinctively where I was talking to her and I'm telling her, ‘Hey, you know what, they're going to try and flop you.’ And we needed her vote to make the majority to us and pick off the other guys, one-by-one. But in the end, it was a bad decision trusting that girl.”

That misstep aside, Justin did get the strategy of the game. He admitted, “Even Gia, when she got in there, she's like, ‘The power couple, power couples, power couples — we got to break them up.’ And it's true. Those are the ones you have to worry about. Any couple going in there, they’re going to save each other. And that's the powerful alliance obviously because they are dating. So going to that show you got to separate them.

Win or lose Justin did concede that he’s much better suited to compete on Bachelor Pad than The Bachelorette. “It definitely was a better fit. I can tell you personally right now, that I enjoyed that. Even though I was on Bachelor Pad for one episode, I enjoyed it so much more than The Bachelorette. I'm not the type of super, soft, mushy-mush type of guy that you need to be on a show like The Bachelorette. But Bachelor Pad, honestly, I think I was made for Bachelor Pad. And if I was given a choice to do Bachelor Pad every single year, I would come back over and over and over again.”

Check out Bachelor Pad when it airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. Central on ABC.

For more pop culture stories check out:

An Interview with Haven's Emily Rose and Syfy's Mark Stern

Tiffany and Debbie Gibson — Giving the People What They Want

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