By Sally Deering

BIG BROTHER just wrapped its 15th season on CBS, a long-time hit where viewers seem to enjoy watching people live under a microscope. Bayonne resident Enzo Palumbo, who was a contestant on BIG BROTHER 12 is a huge fan of the show and keeps a new strategic plan in his back pocket ready to be used against his enemies when BIG BROTHER decides to do an “All Star” season.

“It’s like mental warfare,” Palumbo says. “Once you’re into that house you’re in game mode.’

A reality show, BIG BROTHER puts a hodge-podge of 15-20 people in a house together with TV cameras and microphones that record their every move. During their stay, the contestants are isolated from the rest of the world and not informed on current events. Each series lasts about three months, with the contestant who outlasts all his housemates winning a big cash prize. Palumbo, who went by the nickname “The Meow Meow” and was a member of an alliance known as “The Brigade” made it all the way to the final three before being evicted from the house and kicked off the show.

“We played the whole house,” Palumbo says of the alliance he started. “The Brigade was Lane, Hayden, Matt and me. We were the secret alliance and we kept each other alive.”

While in the house, Palumbo and the rest of the contestants had no TV, cell phones or computer, just each other. Contestants are not allowed to leave and haven’t a clue what’s going on in the outside world.

“Looking back, it was definitely strange,” Palumbo says. “While I was in the house, after a couple of weeks, I couldn’t wait to go out. It feels like the house has a life of its own. When the next season came on, I wanted to go back and play the game. There’s backstabbing and throwing people under the bus. I played the game .I threw people under the bus, I backstabbed, I was just having so much fun in the house.”

Watching the show this season, Palumbo says he was put off by several housemates making racial slurs.
“There were a lot of people I didn’t like,” Palumbo says. “There was no one I could get behind and root for. Amanda was the villain this season. Spencer, he was another one that made racial remarks..”

Palumbo has been a huge fan of the show ever since season 12.
“It’s a social experiment,” Palumbo says. “They bring a group of people from all over the U.S. and they put them in the house and let them go at it. There’s always a dramatic twist to it. You’re always on the edge of your seat. BIG BROTHER is one of those reality shows, they don’t twist too much.. They let the people in the house determine everything.”

If and when there is an All Stars show, Palumbo says he would like the chance to be a housemate that season.

“I want to go against the best people and the best alliances that played the game,” Palumbo says. “It’s like a poker game but with people instead of cards.”

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