Originally posted Sunday, January 13, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Kandi Burruss of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” is joining this year’s “Celebrity Big Brother” which begins Monday, January 21 on CBS at 8.
She joins 11 other cast members, including reality star and R&B singer Tamar Braxton, former Trump communications director Anthony Scaramucci, Lindsay Lohan’s mom Dina Lohan, former TV star Joey Lawrence, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and O.J. Simpson’s former houseguest Kato Kaelin.
Others: “Mean Girls” actor Jonathan Bennett, Olympic track athlete and bobsledder Lolo Jones, former NFL running back Ricky Williams, former WWE wrestler Natalie Eva Marie and actor/comic Tom Green.
Not surprisingly, all these folks except Scaramucci are reality show vets. Burruss and Braxton have their own reality shows. Lochte, Bennett, Jones and Lawrence have done “Dancing With the Stars.” Lohan has done a show with her daughter (2008’s “Living Lohan”) and “Family Therapy With Dr. Jenn” in 2016. Williams and Green did “Celebrity Apprentice.” Eva Marie was on “Total Divas.” Kaelin did “Celebrity Boot Camp” in 2002.
Scaramucci is the second person from the Trump White House to be on the show, following Omarosa Manigault Newman last year. Of course, Scaramucci was in the White House for less than two weeks. Omarosa lasted a full year.
Last year’s cast included an Atlanta resident as well: Keshia Knight Pulliam, who lasted 13 days and was the second one out. She asked the cast to vote her out because she missed her one-year-old daughter. Actress Marissa Jaret Winokur won but comedian Ross Mathews was the most entertaining.
The show didn’t announce the cast until the celebrities were already in the house. Julie Chen will host again.
