'Celebrity Big Brother' weekend recap: Shannon Elizabeth evicted as Omarosa Manigault becomes new HoH

Celebrity Big Brother evicted Shannon Elizabeth, crowned Omarosa Manigault the new Head of Household, and then Omarosa nominated two houseguests for eviction during the CBS series' Friday and Sunday night episodes.


Celebrity Big Brother's weekend broadcasts were packed with action and a couple of shocking moments.

On Friday night's show, actress Shannon and Big Time Rush singer, James Maslow, were on the chopping block under the HoH reign of Miss Universe 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez.

Shannon felt very betrayed and thought there were much bigger targets in the house. She believed her houseguests were giving her too much credit for being a strong player, and she was most upset with RuPaul's Drag Race star Ross Mathews and actress Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Shannon disclosed that neither Ross or her close friend Marissa would receive her vote to win at the end of this game.


It quickly became clear that the whole house, except for James, wanted Shannon gone. But since James was on the block as well, he knew he had to fight hard to win the Power of Veto and save himself.

Shannon, James, Ari, Ross, former White House staffer Omarosa, and former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville ended up playing in the PoV competition, which required the players to walk through a series of rooms and food-themed obstacles -- including sticky honey and spraying desserts -- in the dark in the fastest time.

But before the competition commenced, Omarosa got caught lying to James about how he was the house's real target this week. She hoped to plant seeds of paranoia in his mind so he would potentially win the veto over Shannon.

Omarosa also attempted to befriend Shannon again, telling her that she'd love to see a woman in the end and so she needed to win the veto and survive.

Because she was a little sneaky and conniving, Ross and Marissa decided to have James join their alliance so that in case he won HoH the next time, he could feel safe and work with them to take out Omarosa next.


After James won the Power of Veto thanks to his fast time of six minutes and 24 seconds -- compared to second-place finisher, Shannon, who completed the course in eight minutes and 41 seconds -- James used the power on himself at the Veto Meeting.

Ari therefore decided to nominate Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath as a pawn in James' place on the chopping block.

Shannon, as expected, was later evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house through a 5-1 vote in which Brandi later revealed she was the person who had voted for Mark instead.

The Friday night episode concluded with the start of an HoH competition dubbed "Courtside Seats." The houseguests had to sit on the edge of a small seat as a wall leaned them forward and popcorn, T-shirts and water were thrown at them.

Sunday night's broadcast kicked off on Day 17 with the remainder of the HoH competition.


Omarosa, a former The Apprentice contestant, knew how important it was going to be for her to win HoH this time, so she gave the challenge every ounce of energy she had, and she really dug deep.

Meanwhile, Brandi was on the outs of her alliance because she had admitted to everyone about voting for Mark when she was supposed to vote with the house as a unified group. Ariadna was especially disappointed in her pal, saying she had lost trust in Brandi.

The houseguests dropped in the HoH competition in the following order: Former NBA player Metta World Peace after 32 minutes, Ross, Mark, and then Marissa after one hour and six minutes.

James didn't want to win this particular HoH title since he knew Omarosa was the target and throwing the competition would allow him to compete in the next one, but once it came down to Brandi, Omarosa and himself, he felt he had to win.

However, Brandi dropped after one hour and 28 minutes, and then Omarosa promised James that if he dropped from his seat, she would keep him safe and not backdoor him. Omarosa confessed that she had other targets in mind anyway.


James couldn't last much longer, and so he took the deal. Ari was shown whispering that James had "made a deal with the devil."

As a result, Omarosa won HoH with a time of one hour and 31 minutes. James acknowledged he wasn't in a great position in the house and needed to realign, so he realized Omarosa might surprisingly be his ticket out of a sticky situation.

Brandi grew worried because she knew Omarosa was smart enough to gun after "the four" -- Ross, Marissa, Ari and herself. The group of four, however, was more like two power couples, with Ross and Marissa being a tight pair.

Omarosa then revealed in the Diary Room that Ross was her main target because he had previously nominated her for eviction and also was a member of a strong alliance. Omarosa just wasn't sure whom to nominate with Ross.

But after feeling out her competition, Omarosa realized Brandi might be a good option since many of her fellow houseguests were upset with her for voting for Mark at the prior eviction.


The house then learned America would be voting to "shake up" the next Power of Veto competition, which would be announced before Monday night's competition. (A commercial later revealed home viewers must choose between a "Diamond," "VIP" or "Spotlight" type of Power of Veto competition).

"Be prepared for anything," Omarosa read off a card to the house.

Omarosa feared the twist could screw up her plans, but she did as much as she could in the time being. For example, Omarosa got Mark on her side after she made him promise that he would not target her if he became the next HoH. Mark said he had never plotted or schemed against Omarosa before, and so he didn't intend to start now.

Omarosa then locked in James and Metta as well, creating a Final 4 alliance with those two men as well as Mark.

At the Nomination Ceremony, Omarosa announced she had nominated Ross and Brandi for eviction.

Omarosa told Ross that he had targeted her before and it was nothing personal until he questioned her character and integrity to other houseguests.


Omarosa also told Brandi that she was placed on the chopping block because she had went against the house's plan to vote out Shannon.

Omarosa pointed out that Brandi's decision was mainly a betrayal to the former HoH, who also just so happened to be her best friend in the house. Omarosa suggested it would be hard to trust Brandi because of her choice to vote for Mark. 

Omarosa's speech did nothing but light a fire under Brandi, and Ross slammed Omarosa in the Diary Room, saying that 15 years of reality TV is what made people question the new HoH's integrity.

"I had to expose a couple of people, expose their game and make them seem untrustworthy. I can't wait to see this alliance crumble," Omarosa told the cameras as the latest episode concluded.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski