“There's not many things I said or did in the game that I actually feel in real life,” he told BuzzFeed News when discussing the incendiary incidents that occurred during his time on the show. “You go into there, you step into that house, you turn the switch on, you play the game; you step out of that house, you turn the switch off, the game is done. … At the end of the day, there's only one winner, and that's what I was going for. I didn't care how I got there.”

The general consensus among the female contestants was that Calafiore was essentially scared of them. “He seems to be intimidated by strong, independent, thinking women who he can't have under his thumb doing what he wants all the time,” Dunning said. “When we all weren't charmed by him and all his words, I think that scared him a little. I'm glad I scared him, to be honest.” Rogers added: “I hope this got aired, but I made a point of saying to Paulie, ‘I never see you talk to men like this, I only see you talk to women like this,’ and that's when he tried to get in my face. I said, ‘Paulie, I'm not scared of you. I'm not that woman.’ I guess he felt intimidated by that. I think he feels intimidated by strong women period.”

When asked for a response to Dunning and Rogers’ comments, Calafiore said: “Bridgette voted for a man who called a woman a cunt, so I think she's a hypocrite. I think they just don't like powerful people and that's what it is. I have a lot of women friends, I have a sister, I have female family members, and it’s not how it is. If you're going to have an opinion, be ready to defend your opinion, because I'm going to call you out for it, whether you're a man or a woman. We live in a world where there's a lot of equality, so women can have the same kind of opinions as men.”

Big Brother has come under fire in the past for its casting choices, most notably in regards to Aaryn Gries, who used horrifyingly racist language on Season 15. But producers have long maintained that the houseguests are simply a representation of America, a belief seemingly supported by the current climate surrounding this year’s presidential election. It’s a similarity that Julie Chen quickly honed in on when discussing the misogyny in Season 18. “Big Brother is a microcosm of society, and look at the election,” she said. “Unfortunately, this is an example of what is going on in the world outside of the house, every day — in the workforce, with promotions, and with equal pay. The list sadly goes on and on.”