‘The Circle’s’ Blocked Player Was Totally Fooled by That Spice Girls Twist

If you gotta go, it’s best to go out on top. That’s how the second blocked player in The Circle Season 4 looks at it, and it’s also that kind of upbeat outlook that just might’ve made the influencers see them as a threat. But that’s just what you’re gonna get with this player. You’re gonna get enthusiasm, genuine vibes, and a can-do attitude. That’s who they were in the game and who they are IRL. They weren’t catfishing for a reason, y’all. So, who are we talking to? SPOILERS ahead!

In this week’s batch of Season 4 episodes, we had to say goodbye to instant Circle fave Crissa Jackson (@crisssa_ace on Instagram and TikTok). The former Harlem Globetrotter managed to play a good game, rallying plenty of people to her side and starting off strong. But even though Crissa was liked by all (well, almost all), she didn’t have as many rock solid alliances as the competition.

But don’t let that face-to-face blocking get you down! Crissa still had a blast and left her mark on The Circle, and she was more than eager to run through a highlight reel of her Season 4 accomplishments with Decider. Read on to find out if Crissa got to eat that huge cake, what it was like to kick it with the Spice Girls, and when she knew her game was over.

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Decider: In your intro you said that your strategy was to relate to everyone on a different level — like, as a mom, a wife, an athlete, a lesbian, etc. How do you feel your strategy played out?

Crissa Jackson: I think I played my strategy pretty well. I think it might have been too well, to the point where I became a threat. I personally, to this day, think that I was eliminated because I was a threat.

You placed third in the first rankings. What was your feeling when you saw that? Were you mad you just missed being an influencer?

I feel like being ranked third was a good, solid place. It wasn’t putting a target too much on my back, but I knew like, alright, I’m doing pretty good. And then that next one [where I came in last], I was just like, “Wow.” I felt it was coming. I really did feel it was coming. I just felt like this might be my time to go.

Before you came in last, though, you were voted best vibe, most trustworthy, and most likely to win. When you got all three of those, did one worry you more than the other?

Oh, yeah. The one where it said that I will win. That’s when I was like, “The target is on my back.” I don’t know if people are doing it strategically to put a target on my back, or were they being honest and they’re rooting for me? But I had that feeling once they said I was going to win. I was like, “Chrissa, holy shiznit, this might be the time! No, not yet, please!”

You also won the cake decorating contest, which is always a fun challenge. How did it feel to win that?

I mean, I feel pretty proud. I’m gonna be honest: like, I have no artistic ability — at least that’s what I feel like. And my wife and my daughter are super artistic. They blow me out of the water in every pumpkin carving, drawing, any type of artistic games that we play. Like, I’m trash. When I won this, I was like, “I can brag. I can go home and be like, I’m the artistic one in the family. You see my trophy?” You know what I’m saying? I felt really good.

What happens to the cake afterwards? Do you get to eat all four tiers?

They took it away. I’m kind of glad because I was trying to eat really healthy during this timeframe and if I would have ate the cake, it would have just eliminated all [that work]. I was like, I don’t need extra calories.

You had a very solid catfish detector, because you clocked Paul as his daughter, Parker. What tipped you off?

I honestly don’t know. Certain things that Paul would say or did, it was like he was trying too hard. And it was weird, the photo that he brought in was just very serious. Something clicked and I was like this has to be Paul’s daughter.

And I felt like I should have gone with my gut with with Carol. Carol got me! Carol really got me. I felt like Carol was definitely a catfish from the get because Carol was trying to play mama, like mama this mama that, so much right? And I was just like, oh man, Carol you’re trying really, really hard. And then we had this one-on-one talk and I was like okay, Carol, maybe you might really be a girl.

The other catfish was, in reality, the Spice Girls. What was it like finding out that the Spice Girls were in there?

Well, first of all is the fact that yes, the Spice Girls were in the show and I was talking to them. But not only was I talking to them, I was giving them a little bit too much information about booty and my girl. And they made me feel real — like, I thought they were gay. I thought it was a gay man and they were the Spice Girls.

When it came time to choose, you also thought Carol was really the Spice Girls. What made you think that?

I felt Carol was a Spice Girl because I just felt like Carol was a catfish, so it only made sense. And then I also wanted to play my cards right as far as voting, who I would vote for the Spice Girls. If Carol was who Carol says she was, she was a grown woman. That’s something that we could have a one-on-one talk with, we can kind of squash it if there was any beef that was caused by it. And I didn’t feel that safe to vote anybody else like that, and say, oh, you’re a cat fish because I felt like people would really take that to heart.

You formed a solid alliance with Frank and then later with Yu Ling, but it came so far in the game. Why did it take so long for y’all to connect?

I don’t know! I wanted to talk to Yu Ling the whole time! Her and Frank were like, I just looked at the pictures and I was like, that’s my one that’s my two and I’m going to ride with them for the rest of the game. I don’t know. Maybe Yu Ling just was talking to other people and they got to her first and maybe she created these bonds with them first, and it was just a second too late where I created that bond with Yu Ling. And it wasn’t strong enough for her to hold me, and that sucked.

Your bond with Frank was way more solid, and y’all were ranking each other first and second. What made you connect with Frank right away?

Frank was my day one since day one. Just something about the way he spoke is — he was already family, you know? So I was just like, I gotta take him all away. I just had that bond that sometimes you just create just by looking at somebody. And yeah, I just felt that way about him.

And then you have the face-to-face blocking. What did you feel when you heard that knock on your door?

I was angry. I was angry. I was upset. I was bummed out. I had a feeling but I was like, man, Yu Ling. Please, please save me. But I already had a thing about Alyssa; I felt like we really didn’t connect as well and I felt at the time that she was the one that was kind of coming after me. I didn’t know for what reason, maybe it was because we didn’t have a bond, but I felt like she was threatened by maybe my popularity in the game. So I was just hoping Yu Ling was going to come through. I had just talked to her, but the way that we was talking was like we had talked the whole time.

You still gave Yu Ling a lot of advice in that meeting, like not trusting Bru and Carol and instead sticking with Frank and Nathan. What was your thinking behind giving Yu Ling those tips?

I still rooted for her. It was Frank and Yu Ling, regardless if Yu Ling fought for me or not. I can’t fault her for that, because I don’t know what that is like to be in that situation. And she doesn’t want to mess up anything going forward, because she’s not the one being kicked off. I am. So I can’t hold anything against her. I was just like, look, this is what I think. I still want you or Frank to win, so do your best, grind hard, play smart, and this is what I think.

Now that you’re blocked, I will definitely miss all of your basketball tricks. I was stunned every time, like spinning a basketball on a pen. Is that just what you do to kill time?

I’ve been playing since I was seven years old. It’s like attached to me. I used to get yelled at in the house for bouncing it. I literally used to sleep with the basketball in my bed when I was younger. At a certain point I grew out of that, thank God. But it’s really just second nature. It’s what I do for a living now. I entertain, make people smile, do basketball with tricks and music and dancing. It’s just a part of my life, so I don’t know how to not do that. On The Circle or not, it’s just what I do.

When you walked into your Circle apartment for the first time, were you instinctively looking around and spotting places where you could do basketball tricks? 

It’s actually funny. Everywhere that I typically go, I would be like, “Oh, I can really easily spin the basketball on that. Oh, that looks pretty challenging. Maybe I should try to spin the basketball on that.” So I actually do do think of those things no matter where I go, houses or anything. So yeah, it’s weird.

What was the food like in The Circle? Did you enjoy making all those requests for food delivery?

I kind of felt like a superstar honestly. I was like, “Yes, I’d like spinach, red peppers, green peppers, strawberries, blueberries.” It’s unlimited. And it was good. It was real fresh. It was always a good batch. Sometimes you can get hit or miss with strawberries and blueberries. It was always sweet, never tart. I felt like a superstar. “Yes, I’m running out of toast. Can I have some more toast, please? More coffee please. Dark Roast. Thank you.” If only I had somebody to cook it all for me because I’m not the greatest cook!

The Circle Season 4 Episodes 1-8 are now streaming on Netflix.