He came, we saw … and he didn’t quite conquer. Not even close, actually. But even though he didn’t win the $250,000, during those three hours during the Bachelor Pad season 2 premiere, when we weren’t rolling our eyes at the Jake/Vienna saga, Justin “Rated R” Rego was entertaining us with his over-the-top, almost cartoonish villainy.
And, according to Justin, who spoke with the media the morning after his embarrassing elimination aired (watch it again!), that was his plan and hope all along: To entertain us. Of course, you should probably take that, and everything else “Rated R” said in this interview, with a hefty (boulder-sized?) grain of salt. A hefty, entertaining grain of salt.
Highlights from the ABC conference call with Bachelor Pad‘s first eliminated guy, Justin “Rated R” Rego:
On what, if anything, he’d do differently if he could go back:
Yeah, I wouldn’t open my big mouth to Alli. If it isn’t one Ali getting me in trouble it’s another! What’s going on here? No, yeah, definitely it would just be that one move.
On his allies in the house:
I did build a solid alliance, I had Gia and Jake with me and everything and Alli was kind of the flip-flopper.
On whether he still thinks Jake giving the immunity rose to Vienna is the “biggest mistake in Bachelor Pad history”:
Yes, Jake the Snake — wrestling pun in there for you guys. You know what, I still think it was a major mistake because that changed everything. Because out of the girls, Vienna was supposed to go home. And he went ahead and tried to be, I don’t know, Mr. Superman over there trying to save her — which is a bunch of BS. I still think that’s the biggest mistake that was made in the game and, you know what, we’re going to see what happens to him. But I’m sure it’s going to bite him in the butt later on down the road.
On what he thinks of Jake Pavelka:
As the time went on in the house, I never got to know him, I always got to know this outer shell of him. We never had any deep conversations, it seems like he was always — I know it’s ironic me saying this, but it seems like he was always [putting on] this little front, this little fake image.
On his Bachelorette villain image:
Let me start out by saying this, the last year of my life I’ve been doing nothing but defending myself and my actions on The Bachelorette. And to be honest with you, it’s been an up and down battle. Some people will always continue to say “You know what, I hate you no matter what you say.” So I’ve kind of learned to love the villain character that I’ve been portrayed to be. And there’s people that I might have changed their minds and other people that, no matter what I do, will never change their minds. So I’m going to give The Bachelor fans exactly what they wanted. They want to see Justin the “Rated R” jerk villain whatever you want to call me, I’m gonna give it to them. And I think in last night’s episode I definitely gave it to them. I definitely made things entertaining and put a whole bunch of humor in that episode.
On whether he prefers Bachelor Pad or The Bachelorette:
I can tell you personally right now that I enjoyed — even though I was on Bachelor Pad for one episode, I enjoyed it so much more than The Bachelorette. I’m not the type of super soft mushy-mush type of guy that you kind of need to be on a show like that. But Bachelor Pad? Honestly I think I was made for Bachelor Pad. And if I was given the choice to do Bachelor Pad every single year I would come back over and over and over again.
On his one that got away… the Bachelor swimming pool:
I was in shock at the rose ceremony ’cause that’s when it hit me right at the end and I was like “Oh my God I still haven’t been in the pool.” And that’s the one thing I was saying — because I broke my leg before and I had the cast so I couldn’t swim, and I was like that’s my one thing I want to do on this season. And I still haven’t swum in the pool.
On why he acts like such a jerk:
If the Bachelor fans want to go ahead and say I’m a jerk, I’m this, that and the other, and talk negatively about me, that’s fine. I’m okay with that. Because being a contestant on that show, I wanted to be entertaining. I wanted to get an emotion out of that viewer watching, regardless if you love me or hate me, I got an emotion, I got a reaction out of you and that’s exactly what I wanted. It’s wrestling 101. I was there to entertain the viewer watching at home and that’s exactly what I did.
On what surprised him when he watched this week’s episode:
Besides Ames and Jackie making out right away, which I was shocked about? I’m like “Man, I’m the jerk, so shouldn’t I be the one making out with all these girls?” But anyway, yeah, the one thing I was shocked about was just how the voting went. It kind of, from watching the show, it seemed like Gia was the deciding vote, the reason why I went home. So definitely at the reunion show I want to clear that air. I want to see whose vote sent me home. And I’m actually surprised at Blake. All the props to Blake. He tried his best to keep me around and tried to scramble and get Kasey out of there. So I have a lot of respect for him as well. All in all, I’m happy with the edit of the show. … Actually, one thing I am upset about is that they didn’t show my Rated-R shirt. I’m actually really upset about that.
On what he does when he’s not being a Bachelor villain:
Unfortunately I’m not wrestling. I don’t want to break any more bones. I’ve already suffered a concussion, bruised sternum, broken hand, broken foot. No more broken bones. I’m more focused toward the stock market right now.
On why he was so anti-Kasey:
The reason I wanted to get him eliminated so quickly is I know how manipulative he is in real life. I know that he’s very, very good at getting people on his side and I knew he would be a threat. I definitely knew for my safety I needed him out that door. And I came into the game to play and to play hard. And if I was going to be eliminated it was going to be because I went after the biggest personality in the house. The one worry that I had was being one of the quiet guys and not being shown or not really being that entertaining. I definitely wanted to go in there, stomping my feet and making my presence known.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Set a reminder for when your favorite show returns this fall with the NEW BuddyTV Guide App for iPhone. You’ll never miss another episode, get recommendations and surf Netflix. Coming soon to Android.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.
