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Claudia Defends Her Honesty & Sacrifice Move That Ousted Her From Deal or No Deal Island
Former Deal or No Deal case model Claudia Jordan defends her open and honest game.
Don't cry for Deal or No Dead Island contestant and former OG Dead or No Deal case model Claudia Jordan. The Tea-G-I-F host and reality TV celeb told NBC Insider that she sweated buckets, battled bugs and backstabbing contestants, and then finally faced her real target: The Banker.
"My bucket list was to come here and play Deal and No Deal, and I did," Jordan said.
RELATED: Who Is the Banker on Deal or No Deal Island?
Despite having some big battles with fellow contestant Kim Mattina, Jordan said she's content with her big swings and third-episode elimination. And she's especially satisfied with confronting Kim during the early days of the competition, and Dr. Stephanie Mitchell during the high-flying mission where Jordan said the good doctor blew up their alliance plan to place Kim in the bottom two.
"I feel like when you see people engaging in behavior that you don't approve of, that you should call it out," Jordan said. "It's not about being mean, it's about being honest. And I think honest people are now being deemed as mean or bullies when they call people out.
"But I feel like the way you stop people from being shady or unethical is to say something about it in front of people," she emphasized. "Don't just do a little sidebar. Bring it to the floor. And that's me all day."
The Kim vs. Claudia breakdown
From the very first challenge, Kim clearly rankled Claudia, and the two snipped at one another until the very end. However, Jordan said Kim's performance in their first muddy mission was not the source of their problems.
"It was hard in the mud and I'm not taking that away from her," she clarified. "I struggled with it as well and I consider myself to be a pretty in shape person. I was actually one of the people to help her, but they didn't show it. So, it was something about her demeanor. I felt like she was playing us out the gate.
"When I looked at her, she didn't look physically fit. She wasn't really giving much as far as like an aesthetic. So I'm like, there's gotta be a reason why she's here," she said. "Like, she probably exhibited some sneaky, "I'm willing to do anything" to be on the show [vibes]. There's a reason why everyone's here. No one's just here because of a lottery. So I felt it from that day."
RELATED: "Don't Be a Self-Proclaimed Villain": Jamil Sipes Responds to Kim's Deal or No Deal Island Attack
As Kim's tent roommate, Jordan said she was also turned off by her constant gaming. "I would see her creeping out in the middle of the night, eavesdropping on other people's tents," she revealed. "I'm like, 'You don't have to win the game like that, ma'am.' You want to be a villain so bad, and if you want to be a villain, I'm gonna give you that villain smoke and you're gonna deal with my assessment."
Claudia's full circle moment - taking on the Banker
In Episode 3, Jordan finally made it to the banker, though it wasn't how she imagined her big arrival. After Stephanie threatened to back out of the case alliance in the challenge, Jordan spontaneously offered to trade her case, which would put her in the bottom two. In turn, that buffeted "Boston Rob" Mariano from elimination. While she doesn't regret that big move, Jordan wasn't pleased with how Rob framed the dynamic.
"Watching it back, I didn't appreciate him saying that some of us were his soldiers because I didn't look at it like that," she said. "I like looked at him more as a co-captain. Not that I was not his soldier or his minion, so let's not get it twisted. I never felt that I was doing it for that reason."
RELATED: Deal or No Deal Island's First Eliminated Warns How "Dangerous" *These* Players Are
In the end, during the final game, Jordan suffered from a terrible first round of case reveals featuring big money. It forced her to take the Banker's $180,000 offer, which in turn ended up being a Bad Deal and eliminated her from the game.
"I was actually sad that day," she said of her mood. "I knew I was gonna go home. I felt it. I even told Rob, 'Put me in the game and I'm ready to go. My goal is to just put money in the pot, and I'm ready to get out of here.' And he was like, 'No, please don't even don't worry about the pot. Do what you got to do to make a good deal.' And I was like, 'Nah, I'm good.' People didn't get to see that moment."
After all the heat, bugs in her bed, a scorpion in their Porta Potty, legs full of mosquito bites, and isolation from her family, Jordan admitted she was also not enjoying herself anymore.
"I felt like if I would stay around, I didn't want more ugliness to come out of it," she explained. "I have a little sister that watches me. And OK, I didn't make the millions there. But guess what I am blessed with? The ability to make millions outside. And I did my thing."
Unpacking Claudia's beef with Stephanie
Asked what about Stephanie's decisions got her so incensed, Jordan said she was "heartbroken" after Stephanie suddenly pulled out of the alliance against Kim. "I was like, 'Wow, sis! We've had so many conversations in the tent and you whispering in my ear, telling me stuff.' I have to work on me believing in the good in so many people because sometimes they don't really deserve it.
"And if I agree to a plan with several people, how dare I then go around and change it up without giving them a heads up?" Jordan continued. "I don't think you should blindside people like that. I feel like character means more than money. So I don't feel bad about the way I went out. And matter of fact, the love that I've been getting on social media is: you are a team player and they don't really make them like you anymore."
If Jordan had won her round against The Banker, Jordan admitted her elimination vote was either Kim or Stephanie. 'Honestly, I was thinking about some good a-- TV," she said, laughing. "I thought about taking Stephanie out and then Kim will be in the bottom two next week because she's in the bottom two every week. I really wanted to up punish disloyalty so I was leaning more towards Stephanie, actually.
"And looking back, if I didn't do what I did, it would have been Rob and Aron in the bottom," she said. "One of them would have played Rob and if he won, he would have taken out Stephanie or Kim. And if he lost, he would have been gone, one of the biggest threats. Maybe I should have chilled but I don't regret what I do. I go for my gut. The way I see it is I showed such good integrity and I gave such good TV, all y'all gotta do for next season is bring me back as co-host and everybody wins," she said with a laugh. "I don't see what the problem is. Hey Joe, you need a co-host!"
New episodes of Deal or No Deal Island premiere on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. All episodes will be available next-day on Peacock.
