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Just three episodes into Celebrity Big Brother and so much has already happened. Omarosa opened up about her time in the White House (leading the bizarre sight of a Celebrity Big Brother question at a White House press briefing), the ladies bragged about forming the first women’s alliance that would actually stick together all the way to the end… only to then be seen scheming against each other before the week was up, and Chuck Liddell became the first player to be evicted from the house.

We went to the circus-master herself, host Julie Chen, to get her take on Omarosa’s comments and what else has gone down in the house so far.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Okay, let’s get right into it. Who has impressed you the most so far in the house?

JULIE CHEN: Shannon has impressed me. I mean a 16-letter word?!?! But she needs to reel it in a bit. Too aggressive. And not sure if her tears are real or strategy. Reminds me of another famous poker/B.B. player…hello? VANESSA!!!

And what about the flip side of that? Who needs to step up their game, Julie?

Metta. Does he know he’s on Big Brother? And has he ever seen the show? Apparently not. That being said, he makes me laugh! There is a giant childlike sweet quality about him. Quite frankly, he doesn’t care if he wins or loses competitions or even the game. That has to be something to be admired. When you don’t care, people can flock to you and give you more power than you deserve. Maybe that’s his strategy. But I don’t think so. I think he just lives in his own world and I’m good with that. He is fun to watch because of it. Btw, Mark McGrath needs to step up his game too but he probably won’t. Watching him so far, I just don’t think it’s in his nature. But he is super likable and seems like a straight up person and I like that. But it’s also what might cost him this game. We shall see.

We saw Omarosa talk to Ross, lamenting her time working in the White House and saying how “bad” the situation was and how she was “haunted by tweets every single day.” How much of that do you believe she really means and how much of it is her playing the game?

I think Omarosa, for the most part, believes what she told Ross about the White House and the tweets, but I think she exaggerated a bit. Haunted? That’s a powerful, strong word. Maybe disturbed… but haunted? She knows what she’s doing by using that word: causing just enough alarm to get a lot of attention on her and it makes her seem really concerned about our country which I am sure she is. The tears were probably real tears but the cause for them might be more about how she feels about herself being on the receiving end of so much negativity from former friends and much of the black community? Just a guess on my part. I think she also has an ax to grind because she was humiliated when she was fired from the White House. At the time, they referred to it as a resignation. But at the White House press briefing a few days ago, Raj Shah referred to her exit as a firing. I don’t know if that conversation was part of playing the B.B. game; I think it was just her using the platform she has now with cameras on her 24/7 to serve her own purpose outside of the house. She wants to sell books when she gets out. She has already announced she is writing a book and will tell her story of what she saw in the White House. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

In the premiere, we heard the ladies talking about how they would be the first ever female alliance to stick together, and then 48 hours later they were already scheming against each other. What happened?!?

What happened was the game! Egos. Hurt feelings. Insecurity. Thirst for power. Feeling drunk with power. Paranoia. I don’t think it has to do women not being able to support other women. It’s just human nature and the game colliding and bringing out people’s worst insecurities. It brings out people’s fear of being discounted, ignored, humiliated, manipulated, and disrespected.

Finally, the jury this season will not be sequestered and gets to watch all the episodes before voting. How does that impact things, including what people say in the diary room, since that ultimately cost Danielle Reyes the game back in season 3?

All the celebrities know when someone gets evicted, that person gets to go home and see everything. And they know they are a juror. So it’s not like they are unaware their actions in the house — including DR sessions — can’t be seen by the jurors. They’ve been warned. But you know human nature, egos are often the downfall of man (and woman).