UPDATE 1/25: So on Friday, Jan. 25, Celebrity Big Brother finally revealed why Anthony Scaramucci, aka The Mooch, had left the house before the first eviction. They let him make a speech via video that he wasn't a real houseguest, but it felt like he quit and this was a way to save face.
The Mooch started the episode by saying in the diary room that he was a cat that always managed to land on his feet, but he was running out of lives. He was one of the three nominees, and it looked like he would probably be the first houseguest evicted from Celebrity Big Brother Season 2. However, he did say he had one life left to use. Shortly after that, HoH Ryan Lochte read a card mentioning they would be having regular twists as "celebrity news" updates.
Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier came on screen to say: "Apparently one celebrity is not a real houseguest and is actually part of a huge twist that will shake up the game."
The Mooch showed up in a video-taped message to say he was no longer in the house. He wasn't a real houseguest and was instead part of a twist. He also revealed he'd be giving the current nominees a second chance at safety. He said for the first time ever there would be a second Power of Veto competition so someone could win "Mooch's Veto" to save themselves. Ryan Lochte also had to nominate a replacement for The Mooch right then and there. He picked Kandi Burruss.
Sorry, but that feels like BS. Did The Mooch have something in his contract that said he would not be the first houseguest evicted? And maybe they came up with this twist just so he wouldn't have to go through that? Because up to this point, as you can see in the recap below, there was no way he wasn't a real houseguest.
UPDATE 1/23: The January 23 Episode 3 of Celebrity Big Brother completely ignored the fact that Anthony Scaramucci is no longer in the house. The entire episode just used pre-taped footage, which means they're saving The Mooch's big exit and explanation for Friday's live show. But based on this episode, there's no way they can realistically spin it that he was some kind of "mole" or not a real player the whole time.
Anthony Scaramucci was still featured in the Jan. 23 intro, and the episode picked up right away with the three nominees from Episode 2 (The Mooch, Tom Green, and Jonathan Bennett). The Mooch said in the diary room that he wasn't happy to be on the block but he respected HoH Ryan Lochte's strategy to nominate him. From there, the show followed Ryan, Jonathan, Tom, Tamar Braxton, Lolo Jones, Kandi Burruss, and other reactions to the nominations. They did have a segment with The Mooch talking about President Trump tweeting.
The Mooch competed in the Western-themed Power of Veto competition, but lost. Just competing in that rocking competition was a loss for his dignity. Kato Kaelin said he looked like one of those kids riding a toy horse. Ricky Williams won the PoV, but decided not to use the power to save anyone from the block.
The end of the episode could've addressed however The Mooch leaves the house, but instead it mostly focused on a fight between Tamar and Kandi, based on history from when they used to work together in the music industry. However, that fight was followed by the PoV ceremony, with The Mooch dropping this quote: "Let's face it, I've been fired before. But I'm not a quitter."
The voice-over at the end of Episode 3 said a surprise twist would send a second celebrity packing. So is The Mooch part of that twist, or is that something else? There was a second PoV competition (see the winner at bottom of original post) so we will have to watch that on Friday's show before the live eviction, and however they explain The Mooch leaving.
Original post:
Anthony Scaramucci lasted longer in the White House than the Celebrity Big Brother house. Season 2, Episode 2 showed The Mooch nominated for eviction, next to Tom Green and Jonathan Bennett. After that pre-taped January 22 episode aired, CBS turned on the live feeds and fans were met with a shock.
The Mooch was already gone.
What happened? Did he quit so he wouldn't suffer the shame of being evicted first? Was he a mole or never really a player? The houseguests briefly discussed it before the live feeds cut off, but they sounded confused themselves. They also wondered why the Mooch's photo on the memory wall was still in color instead of grey, the color of all HGs who leave the house.
Tom Green asked if they were allowed to talk about what happened with The Mooch. Kato Kaelin said Jonathan had told them it aired today, but it had not aired by the time the live feeds were turned on Wednesday morning. We should see what happened tonight on the Wednesday, Jan. 23 episode.
Then Tom, Kato, and Natalie Eva Marie had this interesting exchange:
Tom: I'm confused about whether we can talk about how hilariously duped we were.Kato: What could have happened is we were the only ones not in on the joke [with The Mooch].Eva: Totally.Tom: Oh I see. So you are saying "What the houseguests don't know is that the Mooch is a mole"...
According to Big Brother Daily, the feeds cut off at that point. It sounds like maybe Tom Green was just speculating, but it's possible they were told The Mooch was a mole or part of some kind of twist. If that's the case, we the viewers were not told in advance. We have been operating under the assumption that he's just like any other houseguest -- he just happens to be infamous as the guy who only lasted 11 days as President Donald Trump's White House Communications Director.
On Wednesday morning, amid all the speculation, this update started spreading around suggesting The Mooch is very much gone:
The Hollywood Reporter later weighed in, reporting that Anthony Scaramucci was in Davos, Switzerland, where he spoke at a panel during a Skybridge business conference. He said he couldn't say why he left but that his brief time on the show was "a tremendous amount of fun," adding:
There's a lot of intellectuals that are like, 'WTF, what's he doing on Big Brother' But you have to remember I grew up in a blue collar family so you have to remember that America watches these shows. You don't want to unplug yourself totally from America.
But you do want to quit on them? This needs to be explained.
It remains to be seen what Celebrity Big Brother host Julie Chen-Moonves will tell us tonight about what happened to Anthony "The Mooch" Scaramucci. We also have to see what they show us from Anthony's diary room sessions in the house, and what they tell the houseguests themselves. Apparently it's something about The Mooch never being a real player.
If that's the case, will another player enter the game? Was this really part of a big twist, or is that the cover story since they took such pains to stop people from quitting this year? Last year's Celebrity Big Brother had two houseguests who asked to be voted out, but if The Mooch walked, that's a full quit. That's not the way CBB wants to start another season.
After tonight's Jan. 23 episode at 8 p.m., the first live eviction of U.S. Celebrity Big Brother Season 2 airs this Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. on CBS. For more live feeds spoilers, there were two Veto comps and the winners were Ricky Williams and Kato. Anthony is gone, but the current (not final) nominees are Jonathan, Tom, and Kandi Burruss. It would've been best to just evict The Mooch, but that option is now gone. Stay tuned for tonight's 8 p.m. show to find out why. And here's more of what's airing in the busy midseason 2019.
