‘House of Villains’ Exit Interview: Bobby Lytes Still Believes He Made The Right Choice Putting Himself Up For Elimination

The secret formula of E!’s reality competition series House of Villains is that there is no formula. Contestants zig when you think they’ll zag, friendships mean nothing, and everyone routinely lies to save their own skin. Nothing is predictable. This week’s eliminated contestant, Bobby Lytes, might not have started the show with as notorious a reputation as co-stars like Omarosa or Tiffany “New York” Pollard, but thanks to his lying and broken alliances, not to mention his incredible wardrobe, he’s leaving the show decidedly more infamous than when he entered the house.

In a shocking twist last week, Bobby, who was named the Supervillain of the Week, put himself on the Hit List alongside his foes Johnny Bananas and Shake Chatterjee, because he was sure he could beat them in the elimination challenge. In doing so, he also broke a promise he made to his roommate Jonny Fairplay, who was stunned by the betrayal to include Bananas on the Hit List. Alas, Bananas won the challenge, and trash-talking Bobby was ousted by his housemates. It was a risky gamble that didn’t pay off for the Love and Hip Hop star.. or DID IT? Decider spoke to Bobby this week to discuss the fact that he thinks his reputation as a villain is worth more than any prize money, and to get the scoop on that web shirt he wore during his elimination.

DECIDER: Do you regret your choice to put yourself up on the Hit List?

BOBBY LYTES: I’m gonna be honest… Once I was sent home, you know, a little bit of regret kicked in. But I’m pretty confident I’m still gonna have my chance one day to prove that I am America’s number one supervillain. Everything happens for a reason, you know?

I think that for some people winning the money became the the end all be all. But for me, I kind of looked at everything as the bigger picture and I was like, I have yet to see anybody in this house really make a villainous move. So I’m like, you know what? I’m in this game, I’ll blow this whole shit up. Let me just let me take a gamble. And I think that’s what life is about. I think that’s what being a villain is about taking a gamble, doing your own dirty work. I mean, yeah, I didn’t make it all the way to the end. But I feel that I was ultimately able to show America that I am the ultimate villain.

So to answer your question, no, I don’t really regret it. I mean, a little bit of the feeling of regret was seeping in when I was in a chair being thrown through the wall. But now watching the show the way it played out, I’m like, you made the right choice, Bobby.

You made a move and you own it.

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. I feel seen. This is amazing. Yes.

One of the craziest things about these past two episodes was seeing Jonny Fairplay so bent out of shape about so many different things, first not being the supervillain of the week, but then especially you betraying him. Do you feel bad for not honoring your deal with him?

When it comes to Johnny Fairplay, I think, first of all, his anxiety is so bad, like I think his anxiety gets the best of him in a lot of situations. So you know, you it’s easy for for you to feel bad for him. It’s easy to assume that I crossed him or you know, I was being disloyal. But at the end of the day, when you’re there in the house and time passes by, you don’t really know what the other villains are saying during confessionals. You don’t know what other secret alliances they’re forming. So what happens is you just create this mindset where it starts becoming every man for themselves. So that’s how I was doing it. Not that I was trying to backstab them, I just had to do what’s best for me in the game. And it’s like, when else am I going to become that supervillain again?

To me, it just seemed like the perfect moment to throw Johnny Bananas up there. I mean, he put me up there and had me blindsided making it seem like he really loved me and had this vibe going on with me, just for him to throw me. He put me on the hit list. Then throughout the competition, he’s gunning for me the whole entire time. So I thought it was it was only fair. No pun intended, Jonny Fairplay, for me to, you know, make that play the way that I wanted to make it whether he considered it fair or not.

Like, hey, we all have a great relationship after the show. Everyone understood not to take things personally. However, he clearly did. At the same time, the viewers want to see good television, if I did not do that, I’m not sure if that elimination ceremony would have went as well or been as entertaining.

I feel like on this show, probably more than any other reality show I’ve ever seen, you truly can’t tell who is being a friend and who’s being a liar at any given point.

Exactly.

What do you think is more important on this show, forming an alliance with somebody that’s genuine, or being able to lie your ass off?

I think both. I think that an alliance is important for the beginning phase of the competition. And then, you know, once it starts slimming down and some villains start going home, then you might want to start either reconsidering your alliances, or you know, doing some, you might want to audit your alliances. But the point is, I think that it can work in your favor. But at the same time, you do have to take the other route, and you have to just think for yourself, honestly, I mean, at any given moment, you know, me and Omarosa can be in the kitchen making an omelet, and then she’s upstairs telling Anfisa she doesn’t trust me. So it’s just one of those things. You’ve got to play the game for yourself, at least if you want to win, if you want to make it to the end. If not, stay a floater like Anfisa.

On to more pressing matters: How many outfits did you pack for the show?

I mainly just packed Balenciaga. My goal was to just wear black all black throughout the whole season. I think in total I probably packed like 30 looks. I didn’t want to have a spot of color on, except for my hair. When I got into the house, I see that the house was purple and I’m like, I’m so psychic. That’s one of my villainous powers, I’m actually clairvoyant.

I’m shocked you didn’t fall down the stairs wearing your platform shoes or your – 

The web.

Yes, the web, which I think is now your signature look.

That was Rick Owens, which I love, like I was wearing Rick Owens from head to toe that elimination. I said to myself, I said, “When I become supervillain, I’m putting this on.” It was just sitting in my closet waiting for me to become supervillain.

It’s basically a metaphor, you’re the web that you caught everyone else in.

Yesss, look at that. Right?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by E! Entertainment (@eentertainment)

One last question for you – When you were trash-talking Johnny Bananas, you called him Barbara Gilbert. Or was it Margaret Gilbert? Who is that?

Oh, my goodness. Good question! Wouldn’t we all like to know?! I have no idea who that person is. But in that moment, looking at him, that’s what came out my mouth and that’s what felt right.

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