This week Big Brother Mzansi contestant Thobeka ‘Venus’ Mtshali (26) was evicted from the house alongside Nale.
During eviction night, Venus told the Big Brother host Lawrence Maleka that she saw her eviction coming a mile away.
“I felt too peaceful the whole week, weirdly calm. I’ve been in the Big Brother house for seven weeks, that was the first time where I felt so at ease. I knew that there was a shock that’s coming.”
She tells Drum that she is disappointed.
“I don’t think anyone applied with the intention of not winning,” she says.
“I wanted to win the R2 million but I came there without a game plan because I wanted my personality and character to carry me,” she says.
What she loved about the housemates was that many of them were “spiritual people”.
“What I did pick up was that I was surrounded by a lot of spiritual people. So, I took my time to get to know everyone on a personal level. There was never a person I can say I didn’t get along with,” she says.
“There was never any animosity on my side, and I didn’t take anything personally because I understood that it was a game after all.”
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Venus is more interested in knowing people outside of the house, with their game faces removed.
“There are people who I would want to know outside of the house. I know people came with strategies and started acting out of character. But I think the housemates thought of me as too quiet, the wallflower, not everyone took the time to get to know me on a personal level. I don’t overexert myself, I’m not a forceful person. I take time to get to know people. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being overly calm. I was in a house full of overly expressive and loud people, there had to be the loud and the calm.”
Like Nale, she is routing for the female contestants.
“I’d like for a female to win, possibly Terry because I considered her a confidant and a friend. Our friendship was real on my side, it was genuine. I liked Nale as well, but she is also out.”
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The Richards Bay singer had a romantic affair with Luthando “B.U” Mthembu who was evicted a week before her and a day later she exchanged a passionate kiss with Themba.
In an interview with Drum BU said what happened between him and Venus was genuine and she was his “ride or die.”
“I didn’t see myself meeting a person like that. I was going into the game with me wanting to be in the house for the money and not to build something special with anyone,” he told Drum.
But Venus says she had no intentions of being in a relationship with anyone in the house.
“It was all a game,” she laughs.
“Even though I was getting a lot of consistent offers, people trying to get to know me on an intimate level. I was not looking for a love interest and neither am I now,” she says.
“I was getting to know everyone in the house. I found BU interesting which is why I spoke to him more than anyone else. I wouldn’t overthink that. I haven’t seen him outside the house as yet, so don’t know what he thinks. Even with Themba, I still need to see him outside of the house. But I am not looking for anything. Everyone was going there to play the game, so was I. I didn’t overanalyze or stress myself.”
Before going to the house, she was single, and she wishes to remain that way for now.
“I wasn’t seeing anyone before going into the house and I’d like to keep it that way for now.”
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Although she has her favourites, it’s tricky to say who she feels deserves the prize money.
“Everyone deserves to go in the house. I may not have won but everyone came to the house deserving”
She even wishes her least favourite person in the house good luck.
“Gash1 was my least favourite person. His personality might have been too in your face and too overpowering and some of the things he did were just not necessary. But I respect his game. I understand that it’s a game and I would like to know him outside the house maybe he was under pressure due to the game,” she says.
Right now, she will watch on her tv screen while working towards her singing career.
"I definitely want to pursue my music career. I had released a four-track EP and now I am working on releasing my full album Venus Shinobi. A Shinobi is a ninja that specializes in surprise attacks. I like ninjas and martial arts. One of my favourite cartoons was Samaria Jack and I admired him. He was always getting attacked even when sitting by himself and he would fight and never give up. A Shinobi is a ninja that goes rogue and leaves a clan to live his own life and I identify a lot with that mindset."
Her album will be a Neo-soul project mixed with alternative music, R&B music, and African electric dance music.
