Big Brother Exit Interview: LaTrice “Lala” Verrett
The Big Brother 28 jury house officially has its first resident. LaTrice “Lala” Verrett, a 57-year-old boutique salesperson from Maplewood, N.J., was evicted last week.
Following her eviction, Lala discussed how her age and “hose mom” status impacted her game, why winning an iconic endurance competition put a massive target on her back, and her thoughts on the reality TV veterans running the house. Here are the key highlights from her exit interview.
On Playing the “House Mom” and Winning The Wall
Lala entered the house hoping her life experience and maternal instincts would benefit her game, taking on the role of cooking and cleaning for the houseguests. However, that dynamic quickly shifted.
“I thought that my age and that mothering thing was going to work for me… it was pretty cool to cook for everybody until you told me that people were like… no one wants to be told what to do.”
Ultimately, Lala pinpoints her victory in the iconic Wall endurance competition as the exact moment her game was doomed.
“Once I won that wall… the blinders were off of them. They were like, ‘Oh hey, wait a second. This chick is no joke.’ … Once I won that baby, it was over. They were like, ‘Oh no, she’s on the dart. We’re putting her on the chart. She’s got to go.”
The Reality TV Icons and D’s “Lethal” Gameplay
Reflecting on the house structure, Lala admitted that her biggest missed opportunity was not aligning with the reality TV veterans (the "icons") from the start.
"I should have been riding their train instead of riding parallel, saying let's knock them off the track... I really feel like they had an edge on all of us who were in the house... because they've been there, done that."
When asked which icon was the worst for her specific game, Lala immediately named Survivor winner D.
"D all day long, that little chick is strategic and lethal. There's a reason that chick won $1 million on Survivor... These Survivor players are ruthless, and it is very apparent that one of them will make it to the last two seats because they are playing this game like Survivor, not like Big Brother, baby."
Betrayals and the “Honour” Society”
Lala left the house feeling blindsided by several houseguests, but one goodbye message stung the most.
"I felt betrayed by several people at different times in the game, but I guess the most betrayal I felt was Barrett. I felt really blindsided by him on his goodbye message."
She also didn't mince words regarding the "Honour Society" alliance, which included Angela.
"Honour Society was not honourable at all... The Honour Society was our big old joke as far as I'm concerned."
The Hailey Feud
Addressing online chatter about her tense relationship with Hailey, Lala completely rejected the notion that any bullying took place, noting that she takes the term very seriously.
"Ignoring someone is not bullying. I ignored Hailey. Hailey was a very passive-aggressive person... She was, let's put it this way, very competitive towards me. And I told her, 'Baby, I'm half your age, you have no competition with me. Do your thing and I'm going to do mine.'"
Looking Ahead
If she could play the game again, Lala admits she would be much more guarded.
"I was a little bit too open too early... just not being so transparent and being a little bit more scheming, I think, because that's the only way I think you can really win Big Brother."
As for who she wants to see go the distance? She is rooting hard for Taylor, but suspects Angela will also make it far on a "redemption tour".
Big Brother airs Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on Global and CBS. Canadians can stream BB28 on STACKTV.
