Big Brother 26’s Lisa Weintraub left the house not knowing how hard Tucker Des Lauriers was gunning for her.
When Lisa, 33, and Tucker, 30, found themselves on the block this week — Lisa as one of Head of Household Chelsie Baham’s initial nominees and Tucker as a replacement nominee who volunteered to go on the block — Tucker told Lisa they had a shared goal of winning in the BB AI arena to ensure that the third nominee, Angela Murray, was sent home.
Lisa didn’t know that Tucker was campaigning for her to leave over Angela. He had a problem with her from the moment she interrupted him during the house introductions to reveal that she, just like him, is a professional chef. Over the course of Lisa’s time in the house, Tucker took issue with her use of edible glitter and speculated that she isn’t actually a chef because he didn’t like her cooking methods.
Lisa didn’t know the full extent of Tucker’s feelings and exclusively told Us Weekly that she viewed their bickering as “playful.”
“It was always, like, a playful rivalry banter that we had going,” Lisa shared on Friday, August 2, one day after she was evicted from the Big Brother house. “As a chef, you always have this competitive drive and you want to be the best in the kitchen. It was all in good fun. He nominated me as a have-not because he thought that having a chef upstairs in the penthouse would have been an asset to the rest of the have-nots.”
While she may not have clocked Tucker’s frustration with her, Lisa did catch on that not everyone was a fan of her edible glitter.
“Clearly people in the Big Brother house did not love the edible glitter,” she said. “Not for everyone, but to each their own. If you don’t love glitter, it’s fine. Extra for me.”
Tucker isn’t the only houseguest who had strong feelings about Lisa. Angela, 50, called her a “twit,” told her to “wipe that stupid smirk off your face” and mocked her walk.
“Name calling is never fun,” Lisa told Us of Angela’s “twit” comment. “Receiving a derogatory comment about your character, who you are, that is unprovoked with malicious intent is never a good feeling. I am only human and enduring a lot of the bullying that I experienced [this] season, it was a lot to handle.”
Controversies are nothing new for Big Brother. The show has been criticized for racism and discrimination over the years, making major waves with an incident that occurred in season 15. During the 2013 season, Aaryn Gries referred to Asian people as “squinty-eyed,” called her Black roommate Candice Stewart “Aunt Jemima” and asked her Korean housemate Helen […]
Lisa added that she doesn’t know why Angela had such a problem with her.
“I was just being my authentic self in there from start to finish even while I was playing a game, and I was just not her cup of tea,” she said. “It had nothing to do with her, and she just didn’t vibe with it. But that’s OK, because I vibe with me and other people will vibe with me, too.”
Angela Murray, Tucker Des Laruriers and Lisa Weintraub. CBS
During Lisa’s final plea to her fellow houseguests during Thursday’s eviction vote — the results of which came as a shock to her — she asked for Angela to be evicted due to her behavior in the house. While there is a faction of Big Brother fans who argue that drama and fights make the show better, Lisa wants them to know that there’s a line.
“I think there’s a way to stir the pot and I think there’s a way to not stir the pot,” she said. “Obviously, I cook things up for a living, but I also have boundaries with what I find acceptable gameplay and what I don’t.”
As for whether Lisa and Angela will bury the hatchet outside the game, it doesn’t seem likely.
“[Her behavior] doesn’t align with me, and I wish her the best of luck on her journey,” Angela said.
Big Brother airs on CBS Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.