‘House of Villains’ Winner Tanisha Thomas Reveals Her Winning Strategy and Prize Money Plans [Interview]

The Big Picture

• Tanisha Thomas wins House of Villains, surprising viewers with her underestimated villain status and winning over Bananas.
• Omarosa warned Bananas about Tanisha’s vote, but Tanisha trusted Bananas and he stayed loyal to her.
• The House of Villains finale surprised the cast with a jury voting for the winner, and Tanisha won by giving a strong final speech.

The new reality TV show, House of Villains, put 10 villains in the same house to compete for $200,000 and the title of America’s Ultimate Supervillain. The stars competed, put their target on the hit list, and voted to banish their competitors one by one. But it was unclear how the new show would determine a winner. The finale showed Tanisha Thomas, Jonny Fairplay, Johnny Bananas, Anfisa Arkhipchenko, and Shake Chatterjee competing for Supervillain of the Week one last time, becoming a finalist. Bananas won and had the power to save one villain. He chose his close ally, Tanisha. Anfisa then beat Fairplay and Shake in the following competition. The jury voted on the finalists and Tanisha and Bananas tied with three votes. Anfisa was eliminated and broke the tie. She voted for Tanisha to win.

Tanisha was one of the more underestimated villains. She first appeared on Bad Girls Club in 2007 and was so beloved by fans that she returned to host future seasons. This was her first time on a competition show, and she talked to Collider about the experience and how she took home the win over Bananas, who had won The Challenge seven times.

Tanisha Thomas Says Omarosa Manigault Newman Warned Johnny Bananas About Her Vote

Omarosa Manigault Newman was in an alliance with Fairplay and Bananas from day two. Tanisha told Collider that she didn’t know this. “I had no idea that they had an alliance,” she said. “But I did suspect something was going on with Fairplay when I pressed [Bananas] on it, he would always kind of like change the subject or deny it or whatever. What was most important to me was that he just, Bananas kept keeping his word. He seemed to be consistent throughout his time in the house. So I was relaxed.”

Omarosa told other players on day one that Bananas once kept the $275,000 prize money on The Challenge for himself instead of sharing it with his ally, Sarah Patterson. Tanisha wasn’t too worried that she would share the same fate. “I’m very lovable,” she noted. However, she later said, “The thought crossed my mind in regards to his past. Did I think Bananas would cross me? I thought more than likely not. I knew that our bond was tight. I knew that we had something special and, I think even more so than the money like the bond and the friendship. He said that I’m more than just a girl, a friend, like I’m his sister and I feel that.”

Tanisha revealed villains tried their best to break them up. “Omorosa threatened him,” she explained. “I don’t know if it made air or not. That, you know, ‘I told you, if she makes it to the end, and it comes down to a vote, I’m voting for her.” Bananas stayed loyal to her despite that.

The Cast Was Surprised by the Villains Returning as a Jury

The finale showed everyone except for Bobby Lytes returning to stay in the house for one day, then they’d vote for the winner. It was a surprise to fans and Tanisha said the remaining villains had their suspicions. “We thought initially, we were going to have to all compete in a free-for-all obstacle course,” she explained. “We thought they were going to have our behinds running from L.A. to Vegas and back.”

Instead, the finalists had to give a final speech to the jury to win them over. “I was struggling with this in my closet, me, my clothes, and my Subway sandwich,” she admitted. “I’m struggling with this, OK? And it dawned on me. Why don’t you do what you always do? Just talk to them.” She talked about her connections with everyone in the jury throughout the season. Tanisha credits her great social game to being from New York, having to stand out in group interviews for retail jobs, selling yourself as a real estate agent, and The Bad Girls Club.

“When you’re going through stuff in your life you have to understand even if it’s not what it’s looking like in your head or what you want it to be, embrace it,” she advised. “It’s all a lesson, and it’s all meant to take you to the next step in your journey. Everything I have been through in my life, right? Everything up until that point, I feel prepared me for that house.”

What Will Tanisha Do With the House of Villains Prize Money?

The mother made it clear that her son was her priority throughout the season and wanted the money for him. Of course, she will be treating herself as well. “I’m going to Jamaica,” she revealed. “Let me tell you. It’s going to be one of the islands. I don’t know for sure yet, but I’m definitely gonna go on a long overdue vacation, pay some bills, and then finally like bring my projects to life. I want to hone in on my passion, which is hosting. I have a blog, it’s doing really well.”

She’s also not against competing on another show in the future. “You know what I said I was done,” the host said. “I said this was my last reality show period. But I will consider it. I will consider whatever it is, depending on the price tag, because I’m all about that bag, period.”

Tanisha says she’s still very close to Bananas. But did things change with Omarosa? “Definitely, I don’t got no beef with her no more,” she answered. “She, Omarosa, just put me closer to the grand prize. I honestly didn’t know what the beef was about in the first place. I don’t know, this woman. You understand what I’m saying?” She says that they saw each other at the House of Villains premiere and everything was good. “I’m good, and I walked away with the bag,” the winner said.

The first full season of House of Villains is available to stream on E!

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