Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 continues to gift us with excursions that combine physical and mental challenges. Remember, nothing is as it appears on the Banker’s private island. Game Master and host Joe Manganiello prepares the guests for the excursions. He also serves as the Banker’s intermediary during Temple. During this week’s Temple, Parvati Shallow had to choose either Dickson Wong or La Shell Wooten to play the Banker. She had promised La Shell that she would keep her safe, but she also didn’t want to force her island son, Dickson, to play the Banker again.
So, Parvati put La Shell in the hot seat. Once she found her groove, La Shell was entertaining as she faced off with the Banker. She added $1,558,000 to the final case. However, she made a bad deal and was eliminated from the game.
La Shell joined Reality Tea writer Kim Stempel to discuss her elimination, why she wasn’t surprised Parvati put her in to play the Banker, and who she is still in contact with since the show wrapped.
Why La Shell Wooten felt that the most recent challenge on Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 was revealing
Kim Stempel: Were you surprised that Parvati went back on her word and put you in to play the Banker?
La Shell Wooten: No! Parvati does that. That’s her game, right? She works really hard to convince you of what she’s telling you, then she does something totally different. So, no, I wasn’t surprised. I was a little bit disappointed, because, you know, I gave her safety in that very challenge. But, you know, she’s Parvati.
Kim Stempel: That’s a good way to put it. With the last challenge, did the vibe of the game change?
La Shell Wooten: Not really. You know, doing the last challenge, there was a lot of encouragement and support. We were all kind of feeling good. Of course, we had to send people down the mountain and decide who to eliminate, so I think as people went down, their vibe changed.
I mean, I went all the way to the top, so I didn’t get a sense of that vibe until I got back. But I think it did help each player see where their alliances were. For example, Dickson tried to protect [Alexis] Lete from being sent back, and then she put him up to play the Banker immediately. So, yeah. Yeah. Pretty rough.
Kim Stempel: Then you came down the mountain to that nasty surprise.
La Shell Wooten: Oh my God! That damn Banker! When I was coming down I was so happy. I’m like, Yes! I finally got to complete a full challenge. I’m not going to be in the bottom. Hooray! And then Joe was like, And there’s a twist. I was like, Here we go again. This doggone Banker is ridiculous with the twists.
Kim Stempel: It’s crazy this season.
La Shell Wooten: Oh, this season is nuts!
Who is La Shell still in touch with since Deal or No Deal Island wrapped?
Kim Stempel: Who were you closest to on the island?
La Shell Wooten: I was close to a few. I was really close to Courtney Kim (CK). I mean, of the people who were left, I was closest to CK and David [Genat]. In the entire game, I was pretty close to David and Maria-Grace Cook (M.G.) because we actually lived in the same tent together. So, we got an opportunity to have a little more time with each other than, you know, other people. Honestly, I pretty much like most of the cast.
Kim Stempel: Are you still in touch with anyone?
La Shell Wooten: I am. I am. I’m very in touch with David, M.G., Dr. Will [Kirby], CK for sure, and Seychelle [Cordero]. And Phillip [Solomon]. Those are the ones I’m in touch with the most. But occasionally, I’ll talk to Dickson, I’ll talk to Luke [Olejniczak]. I’ll text with Storm [Wilson].
Haven’t really talked to [Charles] “Rock” [Carlson] much. A little bit of texting … I follow his stuff on social. And I haven’t talked to Sydnee [Peck] at all. But for the most part, we’re all pretty close.
Kim Stempel: That’s awesome!
La Shell Wooten: It’s pretty cool. It’s a great experience. You know, people who have done these shows before are like, Oh, that wasn’t my experience. But that seems to be how it’s working out with this cast.
Why La Shell didn’t feel good about playing against the Banker
Kim Stempel: What did it feel like in The Temple when you played the Banker? I know Joe was getting everyone hyped up.
La Shell Wooten: I so appreciated Joe. He is such a great host. I think he could feel my energy because I wasn’t zoned in on the game. Like, I knew from the beginning of the day when I was an option to play, I just felt in my gut, this is not … like the tides are going to turn. Partially because it was a gut feeling, but also partially because everyone kept winning and sending someone home. I’m like, Someone’s got to lose. It’s just the odds.
And so, I didn’t feel good about it. But Joe was very good at hyping everyone up. Everyone was a little bit tense. Most of the people there did not want to see me go, so they were very nervous. And Joe really helped kind of elevate the energy and helped me to calm down enough to play the game. It was unnerving, but I felt supported.
Kim Stempel: Who would you like to see play for the final case?
La Shell Wooten: Oh my goodness. That’s a hard question. I mean, there are so many people who are left that I feel are super deserving just because of how hard they worked. CK is one. Phillip is one. David is one. You know, I don’t want Parvati to win. She’s won other stuff and … she’s the reason I’m not there. And so, you know, I think everyone’s deserving.
But I’ve found that CK … even though people don’t like CK, I love her. Phillip’s game, and David’s game, the three of them played with a type of intensity that really encompassed a lot of work. Like game strategy, mind strategy, compassion – like really trying to let people know why they did what they did. That kind of effort I think should be rewarded.
La Shell shares why CK is getting a bad rap
Kim Stempel: Why do you think so many people are having trouble with CK?
La Shell Wooten: One, because she’s a woman playing a very smart, strategic, no apologies game. Right? If she was David or Dr. Will, people would be cheering her on. But she’s a woman, right? And she’s small, and she’s tiny, and I think people probably, just from her physicality, counted her out early on. The same way they did Aron [Barbell] in Season 1.
And it’s hard for people to accept that a woman can beat you at your own game. And that a woman can put herself first because that’s what she had to do once we got to the halfway mark of this game. Her alliances … they did not have her back. And she kept seeing it, and she was like, okay. That’s it. Knives out … I’m going for mine. And I don’t blame her. You’re there to win.
Kim Stempel: I thought it was gutsy when CK was playing the Banker and she outed everyone’s alliance. And the Family had no idea there was another alliance!
La Shell Wooten: At all. I thought that was gutsy. You know what else was gutsy? When she sent Dickson for that captain’s case for her safety.
Kim Stempel: Yes.
La Shell Wooten: What people didn’t know … CK’s goal was to get women to the finals, right? She’s very pro-women. And if she got safety, then all the women were safe, because all the women were on the other team. So this was just another step in her strategic plan.
And people thought, Oh, that’s terrible. She lied. And I’m like, This is a game, people. And everyone has their own motives and desires. She did what she had to do. Look, she’s still there, right? I’m not. And there’s a bunch of us who aren’t. Even Dr. Will is gone. So, she’s doing something right.
Why La Shell enjoyed Dr. Will’s DOND Island antics
Kim Stempel: There’s been a big turnaround in everyone’s feelings about Dr. Will from the time he first arrived.
La Shell Wooten: Yes! Lord, we didn’t know what that was … I certainly didn’t know what that was. I had never seen Big Brother. So, I was very confused about this person who was coming in a tuxedo at the front of a boat … like I just didn’t know what this was. And then he just starts yelling at us about how horrible we are, and as soon as he started doing that, for me, I found it comical.
But as the game went on, I started to recognize that chaos was his cloak. That is his game. And it worked well. I really watched it work well. He made people second-guess themselves, [and] break alliances … he had an impact.
Kim Stempel: Oh, he did for sure! Especially when Dr. Will said he took the deal, but he didn’t.
La Shell Wooten: I know! I was like, This man is insane! But how brilliant. Those are my two favorite Temple moments. CK outing everybody, and him saying he took the deal just to get people to relax enough to say what they really think about him. Favorite Temple moments of all time.
This interview was edited for clarity.
Deal or No Deal Island is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DEAL OR NO DEAL ISLAND SEASON 2? WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT LETE, PHILLIP, AND CK TURNED ON DICKSON?
