‘House Of Villains’ Star Shake Chatterjee Wasn’t Intimidated By “Tough Guy” Jax Taylor: “It’s Like Arguing With A Toddler”

After his bad behavior on Love Is Blind Season 2 landed Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee in hot water with reality TV fans everywhere, the veterinarian/loan officer was a natural fit for the inaugural season of E!’s House Of Villains. The relative TV newbie joined a murderer’s row of notorious baddies like Omarosa from The Apprentice, Jonny Fairplay from Survivor, Johnny Bananas from The Challenge, and the iconic Tiffany “New York” Pollard. While Shake mostly got along with everyone, he clashed with one villain from the start: Jax Taylor of Vanderpump Rules fame.

While he has no regrets about blowing up Jax’s bragging about his bloated bank account, Shake would prefer to bury the hatchet “like a normal adult.” “He is very vocal about how much he hates me still,” observed Shake. While other villains in the cast would chill when the cameras weren’t rolling, Jax was very much the opposite. Shake remembered: “One time, he was on one side of the pool while I was on the other side minding my own business when he yelled at me something like, ‘You know nobody likes you. You’re going to get voted off.'” Though Shake might have felt a bit intimidated by a house of full of reality TV veterans, he must have done something right to get under the skin of a legend like Jax.

Decider got a chance to hop on a Zoom call with Shake to talk about his introduction to the house, his soon-to-be iconic jacuzzi fight with Jax, and why Tiffany “New York” Pollard and Omarosa are two reality TV villains you don’t want to cross.

DECIDER: Tiffany “New York” jokingly did not want you in this house because you were so “mean” on your previous show! How does it make you feel for a reality TV icon to react to you like that?

SHAKE CHATTERJEE: “Oh, no, not this guy!” [laughs] I knew from the moment I walked in, it was going to be an uphill battle for me. From that initial greeting, I knew there was some work for me to do, that’s for sure.

Do you think her opinion of you changed over the course of your time together on the show?

Absolutely. I took that as a challenge. I had a target on my back from the start. There was this perception of me, and I wanted to change that as much as I could. Once people got to know me, they would see a different side of me even if they weren’t going to love me.

Your surprise nemesis Jax talks about how “being around women this intimidating is scary.” Do you agree/disagree?

The women were more intimidating than the men on the show because at the end of the day, we’re just bros. We were bro-ing out. However, the women, Omarosa specifically, were very intimidating. Omarosa has an aura. She knows what she’s doing, and even if she doesn’t know what she’s doing, it appears she knows what she’s doing [laughs]. Anfisa [Arkhipchenko of 90 Day Fiance] too. She was just this beautiful silent assassin in these skin tight dresses. She was objectively terrifying.

Speaking of Omarosa… do you regret not aligning with her immediately after she initially offered?

I wouldn’t say it’s a huge regret because things played out the way they were supposed to. All I heard coming into this house was, “Oh my God, it’s Omarosa. She’s going to be the person; everyone’s scared of her.” Her offer of an alliance almost seemed a little too good to be true? It’s like, why me? Obviously, I should have just said yes [laughs]. That’s something that Jonny Fairplay told me later on. He said: “By the way, if anybody ever asks you if you want to be in an alliance, you just say yes. Even if you don’t want to be in an alliance, lie and say yes.”

Before we get into all things episode 2, I have to ask: does Jax still have you blocked on Instagram?

Yeah, we’re not friends. He is very vocal about how much he hates me still [laughs]. I am at the point where I’m like, “Hey man, come on. We did this show together. Let’s try and all get along.” That’s what a normal adult would do, but I don’t think he has the mindset of a normal adult. He’s a little stunted.

After you were both put on the hit list by Omarosa, you knew you had to start rallying the votes to try to get him eliminated. It felt like a big “Aha” moment for you when Jax revealed that he made $450K on Cameo alone and that his wife got a $2M dollar contract.

The interesting thing about him telling me all that stuff was that I never asked. I never said, “Hey, Jax, can you show me how to be an awesome influencer?” He certainly never said, “Sure, Shake. This is what I did.” That would be different. He felt the need to spout off all this information which made me wonder how bad he needed money from the show. Probably not as bad as I do. After that conversation, I went to sleep scared and scrambling to think what I was going to do next. I woke up and thought, now I have to be cutthroat. Nothing personal. I just don’t want to go home.

Jax overhears you telling Bobby Lytes from Love & Hip Hop all the reasons why he should get voted out. Your reaction was so relatable. What was going through your mind during that confrontation?

[Laughs] Just relax, man! I was forced to do villainous things because up until then, it was like a vacation. Drinking, hanging out, meeting all these people, and then I’m put on the hit list and things got real. I had to find a way to survive. At the time, I was just using the information I had and trying to make solid points, frankly, as to why he should be voted out.

Jonny Fairplay says that Jax doesn’t know how competition reality works and he’s right. What’s the most important lesson you learned in the “school of villains” as you so aptly described it?

The most important lesson I learned, and you’ll see this later on, is not to be impulsive. Don’t get carried away and show your cards too soon. The more you keep your information to yourself, the better. I don’t want to say trust no one, but to some degree… trust no one until it’s absolutely necessary.

You and Jax gave us the first great fight in House of Villains. The back and forth is incredible. You say he “reminds you of every high school bully,” he says you “degrade women on national television.” What was going through your head as you instigated the drama?

There was a lot going on behind the scenes that led to that moment. While we almost always fought on camera, the moments where we weren’t filming were pretty chill. That was true for everyone. Even if there were hurt feelings or issues that needed to be addressed, people would wait and get into things when the cameras were rolling. As they should! In our brief down time, we’d be recharging, I’d be drinking my coffee or something, but Jax would just be talking shit.

One time, he was on one side of the pool while I was on the other side minding my own business, and he yelled at me something like, “You know nobody likes you. You’re going to get voted off.” It’s like, bro, come on. What’s going on? Even though there was the competition of the show, Jax was relentless and really seemed to fucking hate me. So when I was removed from the hit list after the redemption challenge, I’m was like, “yo, fuck you, dude. Look where you’re at now. Man, things are not looking good for you.”

The wildest part of the fight was when Jax told you, “If I see you out in Hollywood, I will gladly go back to jail for you.” How did you stay so calm?

It’s so ridiculous. It’s like arguing with a toddler. I heard what he was saying, but I wasn’t really intimidated by it. You know why he was in jail the first place, right? He didn’t go to jail for beating somebody up. He went to jail for shoplifting. So okay, tough guy. Are you going to go through my room or something and steal my iPod? You going to steal my sunglasses, Jax? That’s why you were in jail in the first place.

Maybe the most iconic moment of the entire episode happens during the banishment ceremony when Tiffany “New York” tells Jax: “I see your heart and it’s ruthless, it’s black, it’s ugly and I know why you’re in the house because you’re a demon and you’re a demon possessed.” Were you screaming inside?

I lost it. I thought that was incredible. That is why I love New York so much. Nobody can string together an insult like her. The creativity! At that point in the show, almost everyone had some type of issue with Jax.

I do have to end by asking you a medical question. As a doctor (be it of animals), should Jax be concerned about his snoring?

What I would recommend for Jax is a neutering [laughs]. That would be my medical advice for him. When an aggressive dog acts a fool, a neutering brings him down a couple notches to where we would want him to be.

House of Villains airs Thursday nights at 10PM on E!