BY DC CUEVA
Coming up, we'll take an In-Depth look at The Backstory of Theo & Kassius and the events that led up to last week's fight and the former being kicked out of the house. Then after the poll results, we'll have another Mannequin Challenge video to share with you with a Real World alum who knows this feeling of having to walk in to a twist unfolding before before him. See you after the jump.
#DCExtraTime IN-DEPTH
THEO & KASSIUS: THE BACKSTORY
We begin our story in 2011, when Theo - a football and basketball player and track athlete for Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, IL, committed to Indiana State - best known to those outside Terre Haute as Larry Bird's alma mater. At Bishop McNamera, Theo was a jack of all trades: a quarterback, wide receiver, kick returner and a defensive back -- contributing to all three phases of a football team in the offense, defense and special teams. There, he made history in two ways: he has the longest kick return in his state's football history (99 yards in a IL playoff game), and was the first black QB recruited at his catholic high school.
This was supposed to be the start of a journey that would take him to the biggest stage in football and Sundays in the autumn. However before he could ever suit up for the Sycamores, he redshirted that fall and then transferred back close to home to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston in the central part of the state. He did have the benefit of having a full-ride scholarship, an all-expense paid scholarship covering tuition, room and board awarded to top freshman students based on academic excellence, leadership and character. It was almost certain that Theo would go on to a future in the NFL and follow in the footsteps of other fellow Panthers who went on to Sundays. This included Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garappolo, who was thrust into the spotlight when he started the first 4 games of this season in place of Tom Brady after the ladder's suspension in the wake of Deflate Gate.
At the same time, Theo's cousin Kassius would ultimately join him in the town located roughly in between St. Louis and Indianapolis, and a several hours drive south of Chicago. As their bio states, they were thick as thieves and as very close as other cousins are. They attended every possible family function within their inner circle and knew how to stay together, even though they were situated far away from each other prior to them calling a dorm room home. But one day during Theo's sophomore year there, things would change in a snap of a finger.
Three police officers were waiting for him outside his dorm complex when they found of news that was broken to them about a suspicious smell that came from the EIU campus. There in this game of conflicting stories, Theo had warned Kass to not keep the pot in their room if he was caught, he would suffer the consequences. But there, Kass did not heed to those warnings and hid the marijuana in their room anyway. However, the cousin has a different take on this: he claims that the pot was Theo's, which only complicated things by the time the police came to their door.
When Theo got off work, he found that residents had called the cops over the smell of marijuana coming from his place, and they asked police to search the complex. Theo denied that he did any wrongdoing, claiming that Kass was the one who was smoking weed. The police told him to look through every container in the room, and inside a Muscle Milk protein milk bottle located on Theo's bedside was 12 grams of pot. The cops then asked Kass and he told them that it wasn't his bottle either. But in addition to finding the weed, they also found counterfeit money in Theo's wallet. In the end, Theo was led away in handcuffs by local police and spent two days in local custody. He did pass a drug test in jail and a few months later in his trial. he pleaded guilty to the pot offense and was handed two years probation, substance abuse treatment and fines totaling $3,000.
When Theo got off work, he found that residents had called the cops over the smell of marijuana coming from his place, and they asked police to search the complex. Theo denied that he did any wrongdoing, claiming that Kass was the one who was smoking weed. The police told him to look through every container in the room, and inside a Muscle Milk protein milk bottle located on Theo's bedside was 12 grams of pot. The cops then asked Kass and he told them that it wasn't his bottle either. But in addition to finding the weed, they also found counterfeit money in Theo's wallet. In the end, Theo was led away in handcuffs by local police and spent two days in local custody. He did pass a drug test in jail and a few months later in his trial. he pleaded guilty to the pot offense and was handed two years probation, substance abuse treatment and fines totaling $3,000.
But most importantly, the consequences are as severe as you might get: he was suspended from school and kicked off of his football team. Eventually, he went from a university which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference to a lower-tier college in the Ohio Valley Conference, and then to a college in Division III, outside of the glamour and attention of major colleges. Theo remembered in his casting interview, "That singlehandedly ruined everything, 'cause football was my life. A lot of the players that I was playing with are now in the league as we speak. That next year, I would have been a starter, and to know that all of that has been cut short because of some B.S., that haunts me."
Along with all of this, this bond between Theo and Kassius was left in ruins, and led to the two not being on speaking terms until the moment he found his cousin in the Seattle house. Kass says of the fallout, "Me and him were pretty much brothers. He was my right hand. Like, that was my guy, my main guy. We got caught with weed in our room. It wasn't mine. It was his. He wanted me to be expelled too. To this day, he still blames me for it, and I don't understand why. You can't even think about your best friend from forever turning on you one day and then, like, literally becoming your worst enemy. And he's your family." And Theo adds, "I don't need to talk to him. That belonged to him. And to know that I got suspended from school because of it, and he was still there, in the past years, he has tried to talk to me. I'm not trying to hear that. Your apology is not gonna allow me to rewind all the way back to that time."
And of course, there was all of those weeks of aggression and pent-up tension brewing that, just like what we saw with Nia & Averey in Portland, CeeJai & Jenna last season, and in a way Farrah and the Teen Mom OG ladies on their reunion last week, it was pretty much inevitable that it would all come to this: fists flying in their bedroom, security having to break them up and producers having something on their hands. Despite having come to a truce after he took to the mic at a Black Lives Matter protest, it was Kass' ways of getting drunk and him provoking him that finally got this matter to the breaking point and them falling off the deep end.
Theo had promised to keep his distance from Kassius, but them having to do an interview with the producers together that you pretty much knew that this was gonna go from a bad situation to worse. And when they got into it in their room, it became a tough one for all of us to watch. It's when Theo talked to show co-executive producer and one who might be counted as the 15th member of this cast by the manner we saw him earlier on in him revealing that twist to the group, Matt Ruecker, that Theo told him that this bickering would not be resolved, that they made the call that a lot of people have questioned since we saw it last week. Of course, that would be of Theo being removed from the house permanently in judging that he urged Kass to shove him.
Theo immediately regretted letting his emotions boil over the way it did and adding, "I just allowed (my own blood) to take another opportunity away from me. Regardless of all the b/s, I love (Kassius). And I actually mean that." Some of the housemates share the view that many of you fans have Theo should not have gotten the plane ride home and that it was his cousin who instigiated this mess. Robbie felt, "The wrong guy's going home. If you're gonna send one person home, send them both home," which was the scenario that took place at the end of last season when after the two got into two fights, CeeJai and Jenna were sent home.
Theo immediately regretted letting his emotions boil over the way it did and adding, "I just allowed (my own blood) to take another opportunity away from me. Regardless of all the b/s, I love (Kassius). And I actually mean that." Some of the housemates share the view that many of you fans have Theo should not have gotten the plane ride home and that it was his cousin who instigiated this mess. Robbie felt, "The wrong guy's going home. If you're gonna send one person home, send them both home," which was the scenario that took place at the end of last season when after the two got into two fights, CeeJai and Jenna were sent home.
For longtime Real World fans, you might remember EP Matt as the man who, along with producer of Season 20 in Hollywood - Ken Chien, gave housemate Joey Kovar the ultimatum of either leaving the house permanently or taking a temporary month-long retreat at a rehab facility when Joey went through his publicized bout with alcohol abuse which ultimately cost him his life four years after that season aired. On his Twitter @MTVMatt he explained, on behalf of the production crew behind the fourth wall, the reasoning for them evicting Theo: "Every incident (is done) case by case. Theo shouldn't have entered Kass' room and continued to engage. Fighting policy continues to evolve and we don't base it on past events. Hope that clarifies :-)"
So, did the big wigs do the right thing and send Theo home, and could this have been avoided? Should Kass also gotten that plane ride home and was he responsible for this mess? A lot of you have socially voiced your opinions since last week and though it would be a bit of a drag to post all of your thoughts on this site (We no longer include fan tweets in our 'Pulse diaries for the sake of getting these posts out a bit quicker to all of you who read this site), but the general opinion of those of you out there is that producers made the wrong call and it should've been Kassius, not Theo, who should've went home. From looking over the thoughts of the both of them as well as Robbie and EP Mattj, they do make a lot of points about this, and they can make a strong argument that either Theo should've stayed or both could've gotten that plane ride, like what happened last season in Vegas.
Just as it was with those two fights from recent Real World's, this whole fracas could've easily been avoided, considering what we saw with the cousins being on the right route towards calling a truce to this bickering after what happened the previous week. Yes, the RW/Challenge franchise still has that violence policy in place after all these years and yes, it can be a bit spotty in places, especially in light of what happened in Portland. Yes, Kass had developed, as MTV.com reported, a drinking habit that eventually made him provoke Theo even more and eventually it led to their fight. But Theo was being provoked to the point that it was going to happen, and he snapped.
The premise of this season has been of bringing together people who they harbor strong animosity with and seeing if they can work out differences and begin anew. For this case, these two were given all of this season -- and for here, one chance -- to get it all right, and after telling Matt that he didn't think it would work out, Theo got the boot. If he had told production that he wanted another chance, then the tone of this post would've been different and perhaps we would've told this story a little later than right now.
In my judgement, it's actually 50/50 and some of you will go off on me in the comments below, the producers did not make the make the right decision to kick Theo out. From seeing what happened there, he should not have charged after Kass the way he did and having to engage more than he should have, though the fight was not as brutal as what we saw with the past two instances of big fights in the RW house. But from seeing all of that footage that Kass was provoking him so much and being driven by what we saw there - and also that he also put Theo in a choke-hold as well, it should have been Kass that would've gone home and not Theo... he provoked him into instigating this fight. But production based this decision around Theo and his snap judgement, and not the history and what led up to this that would've been easily preventable.
Theo & Kass have had time to think about their actions since filming this season this past summer, and now they've gotten to see this whole ordeal again, this time with more than just close friends and family watching. Of course, something as widely voyeuristic as a reality TV show and documentary-based program means that this behavior will be documented for everyone to see, and the two have also heard from everyone on social media the past week about what they think of believing that Theo should've stayed and Kass should've gone home, or the other way around.
We don't speculate as much as other sites do, but supposedly there was a spot in between Theo leaving the house and this episode airing here in December of him and Kass coming together privately to talk about this and squash this whole beef. This could've taken place in public on last week's After Show, but we didn't see both of them on set as that was taped shortly after this season began back in mid-October and Theo was on a business vacation overseas, as we always like to say around here. And from seeing their tweets this past week, they're considering doing some things together and both do follow each other socially as well too, so a truce has been called.
This was an ugly ordeal that began all the way back when these cousins went to college, were close cousins and Theo was on the verge of following his high school and college football teammates into the NFL. One day changed it all for the both, which cost Theo his football career and both this deep relationship. Ultimately, this day would come back to haunt them and they squandered this chance to mend things in the house thanks to what happened last week. It would've easily been the end of their relationship, but off-air they've been able to squash that bickering and things are alright. In a way, and though some people think it's not done its purpose at least in the episodes, this Bad Blood twist has served its purpose: we've seen this twist work things out for most of these people in the house and typically without incident. And here, this experience has brought together these two cousins from south of Chicago and has achieved what this twist forced them to get a fresh start in this once-close relationship... even if it did take for a pushing match and a controversial decision to get there.
In my judgement, it's actually 50/50 and some of you will go off on me in the comments below, the producers did not make the make the right decision to kick Theo out. From seeing what happened there, he should not have charged after Kass the way he did and having to engage more than he should have, though the fight was not as brutal as what we saw with the past two instances of big fights in the RW house. But from seeing all of that footage that Kass was provoking him so much and being driven by what we saw there - and also that he also put Theo in a choke-hold as well, it should have been Kass that would've gone home and not Theo... he provoked him into instigating this fight. But production based this decision around Theo and his snap judgement, and not the history and what led up to this that would've been easily preventable.
Theo & Kass have had time to think about their actions since filming this season this past summer, and now they've gotten to see this whole ordeal again, this time with more than just close friends and family watching. Of course, something as widely voyeuristic as a reality TV show and documentary-based program means that this behavior will be documented for everyone to see, and the two have also heard from everyone on social media the past week about what they think of believing that Theo should've stayed and Kass should've gone home, or the other way around.
We don't speculate as much as other sites do, but supposedly there was a spot in between Theo leaving the house and this episode airing here in December of him and Kass coming together privately to talk about this and squash this whole beef. This could've taken place in public on last week's After Show, but we didn't see both of them on set as that was taped shortly after this season began back in mid-October and Theo was on a business vacation overseas, as we always like to say around here. And from seeing their tweets this past week, they're considering doing some things together and both do follow each other socially as well too, so a truce has been called.
This was an ugly ordeal that began all the way back when these cousins went to college, were close cousins and Theo was on the verge of following his high school and college football teammates into the NFL. One day changed it all for the both, which cost Theo his football career and both this deep relationship. Ultimately, this day would come back to haunt them and they squandered this chance to mend things in the house thanks to what happened last week. It would've easily been the end of their relationship, but off-air they've been able to squash that bickering and things are alright. In a way, and though some people think it's not done its purpose at least in the episodes, this Bad Blood twist has served its purpose: we've seen this twist work things out for most of these people in the house and typically without incident. And here, this experience has brought together these two cousins from south of Chicago and has achieved what this twist forced them to get a fresh start in this once-close relationship... even if it did take for a pushing match and a controversial decision to get there.
• • •
DC FORUM: POLLS
Now, last week's poll results...In your mind, who is preventing Theo & Kassius from mending their relationship?
● THEO 0%
● KASS 88%
● BOTH 12%
Out of 17 votes at @DC408Dxtr
Should Theo be sent home for his role in the fight w/ Kass?
● YES, he should go home. 6%
● NO, he gets a 2nd chance. 94%
Out of 17 votes at @DC408Dxtr
Do you think Kassius should also be sent home just for starting the fight too?
● YES, he should go too. 86%
● NO, he should stay. 14%
Out of 22 votes at @DC408Dxtr
Was it the right call for producers to send Theo home for his actions?
● YES, it was. 86%
● NO, bad move! 14%
Out of 24 votes at @DC408Dxtr
#DCExtraTime
JAY JOINS THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE
It was at this time three years ago that we were anticipating the new Real World in many ways: new season, new format, new cast and new everything, all taking place in an old city: San Francisco for Real World Ex-Plosion. One of the exes who had to face the music in the Bay Area were a couple from the Big Apple: Jay was that womanizer who had built up a large social media following and had become close with girls at and outside the club where he was an emcee. Jenna was his ex-girlfriend model, who eventually exposed what he did to her while he was in the city. Of course, we know what happened when they got together again on Exes 2...he'd rather not want us to mention what happened in that last act. And we know what's happened to her in her two succeeding finals appearances too.
Since then in the aftermath of what happened in the final, Jay has translated that humble experience into a passion for fitness. He has become a CrossFit athlete and has competed in several Spartan Races... he and my brother in law suddenly have something in common there in the ladder. And as he awaits a chance for redemption, he has been taking part in the past two seasons of the internet game show Sequester, where Jay and contestants like him go onto webcam to take apart in competitions to stave off elimination and have a chance to win prizes voted by viewers. He took part in Season 5 and just recently Season 6, the All-Stars edition.
Just before filming that season, Jay and his family spent his Thanksgiving week not in the cold of New York City but down the coast in good old Florida and at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. He got to see some real life Star Wars, and hung out by the pool in the nice 80* and sunny conditions of the vacation paradise, and even found time to do a a couple live Periscope chats. Jay even gave one of his biggest fans and someone who's supported him from the very beginning - yours truly - a shoutout when he spotted me in the chat room.
During all this, he found time to do his own Mannequin Challenge video being filmed in the Movies portion of Disney's All-Star Resort complex located right next to the Animal Kingdom park of the mega-resort. Many of the most-beloved characters from Disney's great animated films of years past -- Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Rex from the Toy Story movies as well as Donald and Daisy Duck make an appearance in a mannequin challenge that the kids will enjoy. Check it out below.
And on that lighter note, we will wrap things up here for our Real World Episode 9 posts here at DCBLOG. As you await what happens tonight, there is one webcast of note to share with you before we conclude...
● After last week's episode, the reality TV-based podcast Bring Me Your Torch with hosts Elaine and Jesse got to talk with Anika about what's happened up to last week, her experience in the house, and even the odd feeling of having to share just that one bathroom with 13 people in the house. Check out their interview here, plus check out Mike's first exit interview with the duo just after the events of the previous week at bringmeyourtorch.com.
With our usual reminder to follow DCNOW for Real World tweets at 10:00PM ET/7:00PM PT on @DC408DxNow and #DCRealWorld, next week yours truly and Andrew Kirk will host our third annual Reality Debrief Year-in-Review here at DCBLOG. If you got any questions pertaining to last night's finale of The Voice, the current season of Survivor, the Big Brother seasons that just past or the Trifecta, feel free to send them away to us at #AskDCBLOG on Twitter, and Andrew and I may answer them during the holidays.
Of course, DCBLOG will have the 'Pulse of tonight's episode for you this weekend, plus join some of The Challenge's biggest names as they take over New York, as well as two Real World'ers doing a take on one of reality TV's most well-known shows. And with new seasons of the former as well as Are You The One? coming up in the new year, it'll be a good time to bookmark this site as we'll be covering every angle of it for you on this site.
That's how we look at it for the week that was in the MTV Trifecta. Thanks for joining me, and until we talk later tonight on DCNOW, see you then.
- I AM DC
Just before filming that season, Jay and his family spent his Thanksgiving week not in the cold of New York City but down the coast in good old Florida and at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. He got to see some real life Star Wars, and hung out by the pool in the nice 80* and sunny conditions of the vacation paradise, and even found time to do a a couple live Periscope chats. Jay even gave one of his biggest fans and someone who's supported him from the very beginning - yours truly - a shoutout when he spotted me in the chat room.
During all this, he found time to do his own Mannequin Challenge video being filmed in the Movies portion of Disney's All-Star Resort complex located right next to the Animal Kingdom park of the mega-resort. Many of the most-beloved characters from Disney's great animated films of years past -- Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Rex from the Toy Story movies as well as Donald and Daisy Duck make an appearance in a mannequin challenge that the kids will enjoy. Check it out below.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And on that lighter note, we will wrap things up here for our Real World Episode 9 posts here at DCBLOG. As you await what happens tonight, there is one webcast of note to share with you before we conclude...
● After last week's episode, the reality TV-based podcast Bring Me Your Torch with hosts Elaine and Jesse got to talk with Anika about what's happened up to last week, her experience in the house, and even the odd feeling of having to share just that one bathroom with 13 people in the house. Check out their interview here, plus check out Mike's first exit interview with the duo just after the events of the previous week at bringmeyourtorch.com.
With our usual reminder to follow DCNOW for Real World tweets at 10:00PM ET/7:00PM PT on @DC408DxNow and #DCRealWorld, next week yours truly and Andrew Kirk will host our third annual Reality Debrief Year-in-Review here at DCBLOG. If you got any questions pertaining to last night's finale of The Voice, the current season of Survivor, the Big Brother seasons that just past or the Trifecta, feel free to send them away to us at #AskDCBLOG on Twitter, and Andrew and I may answer them during the holidays.
Of course, DCBLOG will have the 'Pulse of tonight's episode for you this weekend, plus join some of The Challenge's biggest names as they take over New York, as well as two Real World'ers doing a take on one of reality TV's most well-known shows. And with new seasons of the former as well as Are You The One? coming up in the new year, it'll be a good time to bookmark this site as we'll be covering every angle of it for you on this site.
That's how we look at it for the week that was in the MTV Trifecta. Thanks for joining me, and until we talk later tonight on DCNOW, see you then.
- I AM DC
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