When the cast members were announced recently for the upcoming second season of CBS's Big Brother: Celebrity Edition -- more casually just called Celebrity Big Brother -- fans were agog over most of the people involved. Where else can people watch Anthony Scaramucci and Tom Green share the screen? Former teen heartthrob Joey Lawrence also signed on, and he recently revealed how his famed actor siblings Andrew and Matthew Lawrence reacted when they heard the news.
They just started snickering, you know, like brothers do. Like, [sarcastically] 'Oh my god, dude, oh my god, dude.' But that's all right.
If one wants to receive the most heartfelt and optimistically energetic reaction to a piece of good news, one's younger brothers and former co-stars are probably not the most ideal targets. Siblings are gonna sibling, after all.
Though Matt and Andrew Lawrence may have been humorously chiding Joey about his upcoming TV gig, it doesn't sound like they were being truly evil. It's hard to blame them for reacting that way, either. Since Celebrity Big Brother is just in its second season here in the U.S., there were thousands upon thousands of other entertainers out there who could have made the cut instead. So to hear about one's older brother landing that gig would truly be a baffling shock.
Joey Lawrence was speaking with Entertainment Tonight about his upcoming Celebrity Big Brother journey when he shared the bit about Matt and Andrew. I wonder if their comments were similar to the ones they made whenever Joey got added to the Season 3 cast of Dancing with the Stars. (He came in third place for the 2006 season, which could have influenced its own round of bemused comments.)
Regardless of how his brothers feel about the Celebrity Big Brother news, Joey Lawrence actually chose to make his return to the reality TV fold thanks to the advice of another family member: his daughter Charli. Here's how he put it:
Honestly, I was probably not going to do it and my oldest daughter said, 'Dad, you gotta win!' So when she gives me a challenge like that, I am a competitive person, so.
Joey Lawrence made it clear that he's got a big competitive spirit residing inside him, so he could be a force to be reckoned with on Celebrity Big Brother. Of course, it also came up that he's also a really nice guy, which isn't the best quality to have in any CBS competition series. Still, while we probably won't see him stabbing anyone in the back, he's got a good shot.
Speaking of his daughter, though, the former Blossom and Brotherly Love star also made it clear that not seeing his family will be the most difficult part of the process. (Though I'm sure he'll be okay not speaking with brothers Matt and Andrew on a daily basis.) In his words:
The biggest thing that I'm upset about is the no contact with [the family], and no phone, no contact with anyone. I've never gone a day without either Facetiming or seeing my girls' faces, so that's weird and very unsettling. I don't like that part, and I'm not sure how that's gonna affect me as it goes on.
When Joey Lawrence hits Celebrity Big Brother, he'll be joined by Tom Green, Anthony Scaramucci, Tamar Braxton, Dina Lohan, Jonathan Bennett, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Eva Marie, Ricky Williams, Kato Kaelin, Kandi Burruss and Lolo Jones. That's a house full of craziness that should be quite the sight for fans.
Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 will hit CBS on Monday, January 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other star-studded shows will be hitting primetime soon, head to our midseason premiere schedule.
