Posted Monday, February 12, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Well, that came out of nowhere!
Saving Omarosa from probably eviction, Atlanta actress Keshia Knight Pulliam asked her castmates to vote her out because she was having trouble creating enough breast milk for her year-old daughter Ella Grace.
In a speech that is normally a plea to stay, Keshia requested they get rid of her instead: "I really wanted to compete and be here with you all. The truth of the matter is my breast milk continues to deplete since I've been here." She started crying and said she needs to be with her baby.
She threw a bone to James Maslow, saying she did the dirty work for Shannon Elizabeth and wanted him out but the alliance was no longer. "Play this game and go hard," Keshia said.
Omarosa, who had become close friends with Keshia, told her how much she loved her and was proud of her. "You are my sister," she said. "I don't know what this house will be like without you."
So all of the strategizing by Brandi Glanville and Ross Mathews to backdoor Shannon never came to be. Marissa Jaret Winokur won Power of Veto with an impressive ability to count quickly and chose to keep Omarosa and Keshia on the block. (She already knew about Keshia's issues.)
She is the second celebrity to go home after Chuck Liddell.
This is Keshia's fourth multi-episode reality competition show and her track record is not impressive. She was was fourth to go home on "Celebrity Mole" in 2004. She first to go home on the 2013 ABC diving reality show "Splash." She was also first to go home on "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2015.
She was apparently a great cook. "What are we going to eat?" Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath said after she left.
Keshia told Julie Chen said it was not easy. "I'm a very competitive player, she said. "I play to win. But $250,000 or any amount of money is worth my baby. At the end of the day, I've been pumping religiously trying to ensure she has enough. I am the main source of nutrients. A lot of kids transition to food but my daughter has just really stuck to breast milk. And as my supply started to diminish, I knew I had to make a decision. She'll eat little things but she likes breast milk. I don't know what to say."
She said she was surprised she bonded with Omarosa. "She gave me the opportunity to show me her heart. No matter where we stand, we are human beings. That's what's important. It's the human aspect and the connectivity. As an African-American woman, I wasn't going to tear her down and vice versa. It was important for little girls to see that example."
Chen was wondering if she was throwing Shannon under the bus? "Yes," she said. "I hope so... She caused a lot of divide. I have nothing to lose. You can trust what I'm saying."
She said that was the most unique experience I've ever had in her life. She is now part of the jury. She will help vote who wins on February 25.
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