House of Villains Winner Safaree Calls Finale ‘No.1 Most Insane’ Reality TV Moment Ever

And no, the “shocking” moment wasn’t even when he was declared the winner!

In an interview with TooFab, Safaree detailed his House of Villains victory and journey on the show, while also breaking down the final banishment ceremony, which the Love & Hip Hop alum described as “unbelievable.”

During the final banishment ceremony, the entire cast of villains — including those who had previously been eliminated — all cast their vote for whom they deemed the ultimate supervillain, having to choose between Safaree, Wes Bergmann, and Jessie Godderz.

Teresa Giudice, Camilla Pointdexter, Larsa Pippen, and Kandy Muse all voted for Safaree, while Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Richard Hatch, Victoria Larson, and Larissa Lima chose Bergmann. Since Jessie received zero votes, he was out — but since both Safaree and Wes got three, Jessie became the tiebreaker.

While host Joel McHale then asked both Safaree and Wes to plead their case to Jessie, Jessie didn’t hesistate to intervene, immediately — and boldly — telling Wes he can “win” if he were to “get on your knees and beg” for his vote.

“Beg, and you’re the winner,” Jessie said.

Everyone was shocked — but were even more shocked when Wes actually got down on his knees and begged Jessie to vote for him to win. Jessie threw all of the villains for another loop when he ultimately put his hand out to Safaree to shake, and said, “Safaree, congratultations. You just won.”

After being crowned “America’s Ultimate Supervillain,” and becoming $200,000 richer, Safaree sat in his winning throne and “banished” Wes and Jessie.

Looking back, Safaree called those final moments of the banishment ceremony the “number one most insane” thing he’s ever participated in on reality television.

When asked if believed Jessie was going to vote for Wes after he begged, Safaree told TooFab, “I, 100%, thought he was gonna give it to him.”

“Being there in the moment, the tension and just the air in that room was so thick. I really believed that he was really gonna do it,” he continued. “Like, the look in his eye. He said, ‘Say sorry for the opportunity that you ripped outta these people’s hands and I will give you the opportunity.’ Like, I really believed him. And I was very shocked when he reached over him to shake my hand.”

“What was more shocking than me winning is the way it happened,” Safaree said. “That last banishment ceremony, being in that room, I’ve been doing reality television for over 10 years. That was my number one most insane participation of a reality moment ever. That was a unbelievable thing to be a part of. I was very surprised at how it played out.”

Shortly after he was crowned the winner on Thursday night’s episode, Safaree stressed that he was able to win even without “any fake politicking,” while remaining the same person he was when he walked in the door throughout the whole competition.

“All of these people from all these shows, had all these strategies and ideas, and ways to manipulate thinking, ‘Ah, yeah I’m a gamer. This is how I play the game.’ Man, shut your stupid a– up!” he told the E! cameras, later adding, “I walked into this house being myself. I said, ‘You know what? The Joker he was himself.’ And the Joker is somebody I respect. He laughed his way through life. And I laughed my way through this entire house, and I’m the one wearing the crown.”

Safaree reflected on maintaining his choice of strategy or essentially lack thereof, sharing why he didn’t reconsider his gameplay even during the times he was on the Hit List.

“The word strategy never crossed my mind once while I was in that house,” he told TooFab.  “That’s the crazy part. And I kind of said it in the end. I said, ‘Hey, I didn’t come here playing a strategy. I came here and I was myself.'”

He said that “some people call it a social strategy,” adding that Wes came up to him after his win and told him that he “played a great social game.”

“Wen he said that, I was like, ‘I guess it could be looked at as that,'” Safaree recalled. “I’m a social person. Anyone who knows me or I’m around, I’m a very likable person. I’m a positive, fun going guy. And I don’t really do the banter and all that other crazy nonsense too much.”

He added, “Everybody knew, ”Okay, Safaree, he’s cool. He’s not a threat. We ain’t gotta really worry about him.’ And I just really wanted to just have fun. So I guess my strategy was just being myself and having fun.”

Prior to the final vote, it was revealed during the banishment ceremony that New York and Wes had met before the show started filming, and formed a secret alliance when they entered the house, maintaining it throughout the competition.

While a few villains said they weren’t surprised, Safaree told TooFab that he had “no idea” that it was going on.

“Even when she said it there, I still didn’t really, fully grasp it,” he said. “… I didn’t know that they were really like locked in, tied in, but not ever talking. And then after the fact I’m like, ‘Damn. She never got into any arguments or had had anything to do with Wes.’ So it was very sneaky. It was very sticky.”

Meanwhile, Safaree also opened up about how he felt about New York ultimately voting for Wes rather than himself. As shown in the episode, he told the E! cameras that it said “a lot about [her] character.”

He further elaborated on why he was surprised about how New York voted.

“I just thought me and her had like an unspoken thing going on,” Safaree said. “But then clearly her alliance was stronger with Wes and I just, you know, she was somebody that I felt like throughout the show that I was always riding for. Me and her, we kept having conversations and saying, ‘Hey, look, if we could take each other to the end, hey, let’s do it. I got your back. I’ll never let anyone cross you.’ I was never gonna put her up for banishment in the end. It wasn’t, the energy wasn’t reciprocated.”

While speaking with TooFab, Safaree got candid about how his experience appearing on House of Villains compared to his years starring in the Love & Hip Hop franchise. He has appeared on all four shows, Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, Love & Hip Hop: New York, Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, and Love & Hip Hop: Miami.

As for where House of Villains ranks? Safaree said the E! series is at the top!

“Honestly — and I’m not saying this just because I won — I would have to say that I’ve been doing reality TV for 10, about to be 11 years. And this, House of Villains, this was my #1 experience doing a reality show,” he told TooFab. “Everything about it was just, it was amazing — the producers, the way they shoot it, the quality, the budget, just the whole angle of the show. It was more of like a fun … we get to be ourselves kind of show.”

“It wasn’t like … the whole bantering, arguing and just nonsense that goes on in other shows,” he continued. “And I’m kind of in a space where I wanna back away from that kind of thing because it’s like I’m on TV, I’m in these situations and people believe everything they see.”

“Sometimes things are enhanced, sometimes things are edited and it is not real perception of my character,” Safaree shared. “So I kind of like that with House of Villains, I was able to really be myself.”

When asked which of his past Love & Hip Hop costars he believes would fare well on House of Villains, Safaree named Momma Dee and Zell Swag, but joked the latter “might be a little too villanious” for the show.

He also named Khaotic as a possible option, but said he’s “like another version” of himself.

“He’s not like villainous, you know what I’m saying?” Safaree said.

As for Ray J, Safaree said, “I don’t know what the hell … Ray J would be probably just be sleeping the whole time.”

To see more from Safaree, check out the full interview at the top of this post!