House of Villains has its first-ever champion. After an intense and drama-filled season, the hit E! reality series came down to Tanisha Thomas and Johnny Bananas. Their fellow cast members got to choose the winner during the finale vote. When it was all tied up, Anfisa Arkhipchenko got the tie-breaker vote after being eliminated.
You could hear a pin drop as Anfisa made her decision. She ultimately cast her vote for Tanisha over Bananas. Tanisha became the first winner of House of Villains and spoke exclusively with Hollywood Life about her victory.
“I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it,” Tanisha, 38, said about her win. “Towards the end of this thing, Anfisa and Bananas started to get so close so I thought Bananas had this in the back for sure. When Anfisa broke the tie with me, it was a moment. I’m still in shock.”
She added, “The way everything played out, like the drama, you could literally cut it with a knife that day. It was wild. You could not script it. Everyone had voted to a deadlocked tie between me and Bananas. Not just me and any other villain. I mean, this is my bestie, my homie, and we’re up against each other. It was such a bittersweet feeling. I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t believe it.”
House of Villains cast members Omarosa, Jonny Fairplay, Jax Taylor, Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Corrine Olympios, and Shake Chatterjee returned for the final vote. Tanisha revealed she was the most shocked by Jonny voting for Bananas in the end.
“Fairplay was making all types of deals with me and told me that he would have my back and turned on me,” she explained. “Of course, I should have known that he doesn’t play fair, but I was upset because I consoled him. I’m the reason why he came back. I voted for him to stay, and I felt like he owed me the favor. But ultimately, he was in love with Johnny Bananas. And that’s his homie, that’s his bestie, and he was willing to cry up a river for him.”
Tanisha noted that she was “thrown for a loop” when Omarosa voted in her favor. “You see, the word around town was that she had told Bananas previously if it comes down to you and Tanisha in the end and you keep her in this house — and this was when she was trying to send me home before — I’m going to vote for her to win,” the Bad Girls Club alum revealed. “Bananas never listened to that. Bananas stayed loyal. He stayed my homie, and he kept his word. I didn’t know what to think. I thought she was playing. I guess the saying is true, “If you can’t beat them, you gotta vote for them.”
In addition to being named America’s Greatest Supervillain, Tanisha also walked away with $200,000. She told Hollywood Life what she plans to do with the money.
“I’m going on a long-needed vacation,” Tanisha said. “Jamaica’s calling my name. Then I want to come back and bring my podcast to life and spend more time with my son and keep growing and working on being an epic, amazing mom for my son. That’s the center of my life. He is the apple of my eye. I’m going to pay off some bills and really get my life together.”
Tanisha revealed that she’s “adamant about being a [podcast] host. I love hosting. It’s my passion. It’s what I want to get back into. I’m going to go away to Jamaica, clear my head, come back, dive right into that. I’ll take my son to Disney World. He’s really into Mickey Mouse right now. He’s never been.”
In a finale confessional, Bananas admitted that he felt like he knew the outcome of the show when he chose Tanisha to sit next to him in the winner’s circle. Even though he didn’t win House of Villains, Bananas was thrilled for Tanisha.
“I literally came here to leave with the bag, and I got a brother for life and a friend,” Tanisha said about Bananas. “I just helped him open up his new boxing gym in Boca Raton. I sent people to decorate. I got sponsors, sent liquor, the whole shebang. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it because of baby daddy drama, but we’ll talk about that later. I’m doing his podcast this week. I’m excited for what the future holds, but I’ve definitely gained a friend for life and a brother.”
For Tanisha, this win “means everything” to her. “I’m showing that when good and bad try to collide and coexist, it can,” she continued. “Excuse my language, you can be a bad b*itch but a good person. I played exactly like that throughout the course of the show. I played with integrity. I played with my heart. I was consistent. I was loyal. I was focused. I was myself. And in the end, it definitely paid off and made me $200,000 richer.”