‘Big Brother’ alumni unite for cancer charity
Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat, of Orlando, didn’t come close to winning the $500,000 grand prize on season 20 of “Big Brother” last summer. But he says he gained something more precious: He and fellow player Haleigh Broucher have been together since the CBS reality contest ended.
“You live with somebody for three months, you really know that person. When you get out of the house, you know them to a T,” said Shafaat, 27.
He also gained friends through the “Big Brother” community. “Once you get off the show, it’s like you’re in this ‘Big Brother’ family,” Shafaat said. “A lot of people like to help out others who were on the show.”
Shafaat and fellow player Chris “Swaggy C” Williams are staging an Orlando fundraiser to help Kevin Schlehuber, a season 19 player recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shafaat met Schlehuber in the fall at a Las Vegas event.
The Swaggy vs. Fessy Basketball Fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 5, also supports the nonprofit Zero — The End of Prostate Cancer.
About one in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and about one man in 41 will die of it, according to the American Cancer Society.
“We reached out to Zero,” Shafaat said. “Their mission is to raise awareness. They want the first generation in our country with zero deaths from prostate cancer.”
Zero stresses activism to end the disease, education to save lives and support so men don’t face the diagnosis alone.
The Swaggy vs. Fessy event will draw on other “Big Brother” alumni from season 20 to bring out fans. Broucher, Scottie Salton and Angela “Rockstar” Lantry will be there. So will Bayleigh Dayton, who accepted Swaggy’s proposal in the season finale, and Da’Vonne Rogers from seasons 17 and 18.
Shafaat predicts he will do well in the basketball fundraiser because he plays regularly. He played football for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was a two-time AllAmerican tight end. Before “Big Brother,” he worked as a substitute teacher and created the Fessy Fitness app, which drew negative commentary while he was on CBS.
“I guess what happened was when people didn’t like something I did in house, they would go on my app and write negative reviews,” Shafaat said. “That ended up making the app more relevant. It actually helped us out.”
Many fans ask if “Big Brother” is scripted or real, he said. “I tell everyone the same thing: None of it’s scripted,” he said. “But they can edit things the way they want.”
Shafaat has seen twominute highlights sent by fans, but he and Broucher passed on viewing the series after living it.
“I wasn’t going to watch 30 hours of me and torture myself,” he said. “I’m in pretty good standing with everybody from the show. I have no problems with anybody. If I were to watch the show and see all the trash people were talking behind my back, I might get mad. It’s just TV, in my opinion, so I don’t really care.”
He and Broucher joked on the show that they were terrible players. He was the ninth eviction, and she was the 11th of 16 contenders in a season won by Kaycee Clark.
“It’s a game show for your entertainment,” Shafaat said. “I know I had a target on my back because I was the biggest dude in the house. I just wanted to be as real and as upfront with everybody as I could.”
That approach obviously appealed to college student Broucher, 21, a fan favorite. The past three months, they have shuttled between Orlando and Texas, where she lives, and gone on a cruise.
“Big Brother” is not a dating contest, Shafaat said, but it offers a more natural process to meet someone than “The Bachelor.” “You have feelings for someone, you can pursue them, nothing is forced,” he said.
He competed on “American Ninja Warrior,” tried for “Survivor,” was told he was a better fit for “Big Brother” and nearly wound up on season 19.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “If I had been on 19, I would not have met Haleigh.” Email Hal at hboedeker @orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter: @tvguyhal. Instagram: TVGuyHal