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Omarosa slams White House on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ premiere

"There's a lot of people (here) that want to stab me in the back, kind of similar to the White House," said Omarosa.
Former Director of Communications for the White House Public Liaison Office Omarosa Manigault listens during the daily press briefing at the White House, October 27, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Spoiler alert: This story contains significant details from Wednesday's episode of CBS's Celebrity Big Brother.

Just a week after her casting raised eyebrows, Omarosa Manigault Newman has moved into her new home on Big Brother: Celebrity Edition — and folks, she's not messing around.

Clad in a sweeping black ballgown, the cutthroat Apprentice alum and self-proclaimed "queen of the boardroom" strutted into the Big Brother House Wednesday night, where she was introduced to the 10 other stars she'll be competing against for a $250,000 cash prize over the next three weeks.

"There's a lot of people (here) that want to stab me in the back, kind of similar to the White House," said Omarosa, who left her post in the Trump administration in December. "The one thing that I learned from politics is you have to watch your back, and sometimes you have to watch your front, too."

A self-confessed "super fan" of the long-running reality competition, she made it clear from the get-go that she needs to varnish her bad reputation if she hopes to evade eviction.

"I am fiercely competitive, but I came in with a strategy of building a very strong social game," Omarosa said. "I've got to control my competitive nature to build trust."

She succeeded. Within minutes of stepping inside, Omarosa dialed up the charm and hobnobbed with her fellow houseguests, making her first order of business to "recruit some ladies" for an alliance and take down male competitors.

"For the first time in Big Brother history, women should work together," she stressed to her newfound posse of American Pie actress Shannon Elizabeth, Broadway veteran Marissa Jaret Winokur and Miss Universe runner-up Ariadna Gutiérrez.

That spirit of female camaraderie carried over into the first competition dubbed "Award Squeezin'," in which contestants were tasked with holding onto giant Oscar-like trophies hoisted in the air. One by one, celebrities dropped from their rigs as they were spun around, and doused in paint and smoke — eventually coming down to Big Time Rush singer James Maslow and Elizabeth, who emerged victorious.

As the season's first Head of Household, who has the power to put two houseguests up for eviction, Elizabeth vowed to protect her ladies: "Sorry, guys, this is the season of the women," she said in a post-game interview. "We're coming for you."

With female competitors on her side (for now), who might Omarosa clash with in episodes to come? Well, she already smack-talked Maslow during the competition, after he awkwardly asked who her boss was on The Apprentice.

E! correspondent Ross Mathews also declared that he can't deal with her "toxicity and negativity," suggesting that they won't be building an alliance any time soon.

The inaugural Big Brother: Celebrity Edition continues its three-night premiere Thursday and Friday, and runs through Feb. 25.

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