Big Brother 24’s Joseph Abdin Interview: on being Arab & life after the show
Via CBS
We had a chance to catch up with Big Brother 24’s Joseph Abdin (25) and discuss a multitude of topics including his Arab background, Big Brother game strategy and being a houseguest, as well as life after the show.
Despite not winning, being an alternate and barely knowing the show, Joseph Abdin played a huge role in the massive success of the 24th season of Big Brother. Not only in his game moves and insight but also in his genuine and loving personality which allowed many fans to fall in love with and champion him. Throughout his time in the house, Joseph consistently talked about his Arab background and how part of the reason why he signed up initially was to be a representation of Arabs he did not see on TV growing up.
We asked Joseph about what his Arab background meant to him and how familiar he was with it. “My father is proud to be an American but he’s also proud of his roots and his background,” he said. “I picked up the culture from my dad. He went to Lebanon for law school and as the war picked up in Syria he came here to America in pursuit of a better life for his kids and his family. Even though I couldn’t always visit Syria, Palestine, or Lebanon ultimately I didn’t let that stop me from finding out where I’m from and still trying to represent. There’s a lot of honesty and integrity in our values that we learn through our religion and culture that made me the person I am today.” He also jokingly added, “I also love the food. Mlokheya and all of that. It all fueled my workouts.”
Joseph also commented on his American name, “My name in the house is Youssef primarily. I usually go by that with all my Arabic friends or anybody who cares to mention it. My name is just as much Joseph, but it is just as equally Youssef. Foods, parties, celebrations, honesty, family. It was all a huge part of who I am and how I was raised.”
Joseph also talked about visiting Lebanon and possibly paying Pop Tingz a visit here. “I plan to come to Lebanon actually very soon. I have a friend over there and a lot of my friends are from Beirut so I definitely want to come and visit early in 2023. I want to dive deeper into the actual culture and I want to blend it to the best of my ability. I thought no better way for me than to physically go there.”
We also asked Joseph how life has been life since he left the house. “It’s been such a unique experience. It’s nothing I would’ve ever expected to be on. The love and support that I met from the Arab community and American community were tremendous.” Joseph added that despite a lot of the positive feedback he’s been receiving, he’s also received a lot of hate. “Love and hate, both come hand-in-hand, and the hate is still a motivation for me. I made it very clear about the background I was representing and sometimes people have their negative things to say about that and that’s exactly why I stepped on the show, to vocalize it and make sure that it’s a huge aspect of my platform. I just want to keep maintaining and utilizing these great once-in-lifetime chances to normalize being Arab-American.”
During a twist in the season called Dire Fest, half of the houseguests played a separate game outside in the yard (which Joseph was a part of). In an attempt to help Joseph, a lot of his fans physically went to the wall to try and fill him in on what was happening in the sequestered game. “Yes, I heard some of the fans were trying to influence the game out of love and support for me which I was so grateful for. We didn’t hear them at all. The only word that got through to the wall was the word “Kyle”, and Big Brother made sure to take extreme precautionary measures to honor the integrity of the game.”
Joseph also admitted that he would participate in another season if he was asked. “I would definitely go. You know there was a message to be sent in the game we played. I’m so grateful for the opportunity so I would do it again.”
With Joseph signing with NV Models & Talent and Rihanna being a huge fan of the season, we cheekily asked if Joseph would walk with a future Fenty show. “Yes, yes, put it out there. I love Rihanna so much I grew up on her music and my mom is a huge fan of hers. She’s an amazing woman, she’s so great for representation. She paved the way in so many ways and I’m a huge fan of Rihanna.”
Taylor Hale, who won the 24th season of Big Brother, and Joseph, have grown closer since leaving the game and have live-streamed themselves watching a couple of episodes from the season which have become fan favorites. “We definitely want to keep doing it. The fans really enjoyed it and whatever we can do to keep them happy, they deserve it. We might not do every episode because we want our peace of mind, but we definitely will. A lot of our fans are live-feeders and so they love us letting them in behind-the-scenes a little. Also, when we have the live sessions we usually don’t plan them. We’re usually eating or something and it happens.”
While Joseph was in the house, fans were showing his family, especially his sister and brother, a lot of love. Big Brother is not new to bringing in siblings of previous contestants, so we asked if they have ever shown interest in joining. “I am not sure. This was my family’s, other than my mother, real introduction to the show. I don’t know if they would do it. They have a lot of hesitation whenever I ask them.”
Of course, any true Joseph fan knows his immense love for food, and when we asked our followers questions they wanted him to answer, the majority of them were food related. We settled on asking about his favorite type of bread. Between laughs, he answers, “Wheat and pita bread. Bread is a huge part of my culture and I eat it with almost everything.”
Despite being new to his platform, Joseph has been a great voice and representation for Arabs and Arab-Americans on US television. His goals of practicing law while trying to place a positive impact on reality television, modeling, and mental health are easily achievable with his genuine and honest spirit. We hope to see Joseph soon.
