Omarosa Talks Hulu’s ‘Got to Get Out’ — and Her 'Survivor' Dreams

To say Omarosa Manigault Newman is a great get would be an understatement. One of the most memorable reality TV stars of all time – who is known just by her first name at this point – undoubtedly has networks banging on her door at all times.

The latest venture for the former White House aid, 51, is Hulu's new competition series Got to Get Out where 20 people – half of whom are celebrities – attempt to escape a house and steal $1 million from each other.

While wading through the pile of offers she likely receives on the daily, Omarosa, who shot to fame after her breakout appearance on season 1 of The Apprentice, told her agent she wanted "to do something that will reflect my love for the genre" as she celebrates her 20th year on television. "I love reality TV. Make no mistake," she says. "And a couple of the pitches were interesting, but this was interesting because it was so different than anything I've done. I have never done a show like this. I can't even tell you what would be close to this because there wasn't that type of structure. In Big Brother, there are all these rules and limitations and restrictions on what you can and cannot do. This show is like if you see a green light, run for your life, get out of there. You get out with money. It was that lack of restrictions that gave us, I think, some of the best moments on TV. So when he pitched it to me, I was really excited about the concept and really excited about getting to know the other people."

Speaking of other people, Omarosa acknowledges her cast mates "absolutely" had preconceived notions about her prior to playing the game together – which she notes was a "disadvantage."

"You walk into a house and I could hear them whispering in the other room," the Ohio native explains. I was trying to walk into the kitchen the first time and they're like, 'Did you hear?' Oh, we're obsessed here. ... So then how is it possible to even build any type of rapport with people or just say, 'Hey, look, trust me, I want to work with you.' In reality, I wanted to take all the money and run, but trying to overcome that obstacle of them knowing me, knowing the shows I've done, knowing the major game plays that I've made, I've made some really big moves in games. I've won tons of comps in these games, and I've eliminated contestants on reality shows. ... So it was really hard to overcome that, and then I realized I don't have to overcome it. I'm just going to kind of lean into it and try to actually leverage the apprehension that they had with working with me by just gathering intel. So that's what I did."

Meanwhile, in the midst of all this gameplay, Omarosa was also studying for law school and is set to graduate soon. She even set up shop inside the house so she had time and space to study, which also made her miss some of the action. "I didn't think I had missed out on a lot until I watched a show," she says. "I was like, oh my gosh, when did that happen? And then I could tell by what people were wearing and where they were that it was certainly during that time, but I don't regret it. I knew that there was a risk of some impact on my game by doing this, but I really wanted to be a part of it. They wanted me to be a part of it, so I was just really grateful that I could do it because there were so many shows that I have not been able to participate in the last three years while I was studying, so I was just a sigh of relief that I was able to do it. But now watching a show, I'm like, oh my gosh, so many different things were going on while I was in my little makeshift office."

In the end, she walked away with a little over $42,000 out of a bigger prize pot the remaining 16 players split. Now she's manifesting her next run on reality TV – a celebrity season of the long-running CBS series Survivor.

"I've been talking to Jeff Probst probably 20 years, every time I see him and Mark Burnett as well, about Celebrity Survivor. And there have been rumors over the years that that would manifest, and it's been 20 years and hasn't," Omarosa says. "There are a lot of celebrities that want to do it. Some of them who are even more passionate than I am. I want to do it, but there are people who will message me or text me or see me at an event, and we are just kind of hoping and praying that this manifests. And as physical as this particular game is, give time to train and get ready, and I would be so excited to do celebrity version of Survivor."

She adds, "It's got to happen. I've heard all the chatter about Traitors. I'm open to doing Traitors. I think it's a brilliant show, and I love the way reality TV has evolved to these more sophisticated gaming. It is not just that you have an alliance, but you have to be strategic about who you take out and how you present yourself in the game."  

Got to Get Out is currently available for streaming on Hulu.