WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.339 Hello, and welcome back to the Deep Dive. Glad 00:00:03.339 --> 00:00:05.860 to be here for this one. Yeah, we are really 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:08.599 getting into the weeds today. I'm excited because, 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:12.640 well, we have a stack of sources that paint a 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.279 picture of someone truly unique. Someone who 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:18.160 is, frankly, a massive contradiction. Exactly. 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:21.859 We're looking at a figure who, if you were anywhere 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:24.760 near a television set in the mid -2000s, you 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:27.460 know this guy. He was absolutely impossible to 00:00:27.460 --> 00:00:29.859 ignore. Unavoidable, really. Right. Unavoidable. 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.280 We're talking about someone who didn't just participate 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:35.719 in reality TV. He arguably defined the entire 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:39.219 archetype of the modern reality TV villain. But 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:41.299 not just a villain. And I think that's the key 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:43.060 distinction we need to make right off the bat 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:45.320 for you, the listener. Yeah. Clarify that because 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.259 usually a villain is just the person you root 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:49.240 against. Right. Usually the villain is the person 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:53.119 you love to hate. You watch hoping to see their 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:55.859 downfall. Yeah. But in this case, we're looking 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:58.340 at a villain who was. Paradoxically Beloved. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.840 Beloved and highly successful. We are diving 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.420 into the life, the game, and the very surprising 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:07.459 real -world reality of Richard Donato, though, 00:01:07.480 --> 00:01:10.980 of course, the world knows him by his much more 00:01:10.980 --> 00:01:13.939 colorful handle. Evil Dick. Evil Dick, exactly. 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:16.939 A name that, looking at the records, he certainly 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:20.219 lived up to in many ways. He did. And yet, as 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:23.019 we dig into these sources, it's a name that might 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:25.379 be a bit of a misnomer when you look at the actual 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:27.950 trajectory of his life. especially his later 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:30.549 years. It is a massive contradiction. And honestly, 00:01:30.730 --> 00:01:33.230 that is the hook for me today. That's the whole 00:01:33.230 --> 00:01:35.230 mission of this deep dive. To figure out how 00:01:35.230 --> 00:01:37.310 those pieces fit together. Right. You have this 00:01:37.310 --> 00:01:40.329 guy, Evildek. He's aggressive. He is loud. He 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:43.230 is incredibly confrontational. And yet, looking 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:46.590 at the voting records here, he was voted favorite 00:01:46.590 --> 00:01:49.189 villain, which makes total sense. It fits the 00:01:49.189 --> 00:01:51.390 branding perfectly. But in the exact same breath, 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:54.370 he won favorite reality performer. And he actually 00:01:54.370 --> 00:01:57.890 won the grand prize. of big brother it's a trifecta 00:01:57.890 --> 00:02:00.489 that simply shouldn't exist in the genre it really 00:02:00.489 --> 00:02:02.590 shouldn't you aren't supposed to be the bad guy 00:02:02.590 --> 00:02:05.510 and the fan favorite and the winner usually the 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:07.569 narrative forces you to pick one lane yeah you 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:09.710 can be the strategic villain who gets cut at 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:11.870 the very end or the nice guy who wins the money 00:02:11.870 --> 00:02:14.939 exactly But he managed to do all of it. It's 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:16.840 like winning Most Hated and Prom King on the 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.139 same night. It just doesn't compute initially. 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:22.719 So our mission today is to unpack that specific 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:25.759 paradox for you. It's a fascinating psychological 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:28.599 case study. It really is. We want to know how 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:31.039 a 44 -year -old bar manager from Los Angeles 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.479 becomes a national phenomenon. We're going to 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:35.599 look at the unique dynamic of him playing the 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:37.819 game with his daughter. Which is a whole separate 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:40.680 layer of complexity. Oh, absolutely. And we absolutely 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.199 have to cover the later years. Specifically, 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:46.599 that sobering real life twist that ended his 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:49.039 reality career. Because that shifts the story 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:52.460 from just a fun game show recap to something 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:55.659 much more human. and much more serious. Right. 00:02:55.740 --> 00:02:58.259 So just to orient you, the listener, before we 00:02:58.259 --> 00:03:00.620 jump in, what exactly are we working with today 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:03.020 in terms of sources? Our sources are primarily 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:05.939 biographical data, the official voting in game 00:03:05.939 --> 00:03:08.740 records from Big Brother seasons 8 and 13. So 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:10.879 two seasons he was on. Right. And then we have 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:13.699 the media coverage surrounding his later appearance 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:16.680 on VH1's Couples Therapy. Okay. So we've got 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.639 the game stats and we have the personal fallout. 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:22.020 Let's start right at the beginning. Section one, 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:23.979 looking at the persona. Where it all started. 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.000 Before the cameras rolled in 2007, before he 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:29.439 was a household name, who was Richard Donato? 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:32.099 Well, if we look at the vital stats, Richard 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:35.960 Louis Donato was born on June 24th, 1963 in Los 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:38.419 Angeles, California. So he's an L .A. native. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:40.479 That feels pretty important to the overall story. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:43.080 Through and through. Being from Los Angeles carries 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.520 a certain cultural weight. especially in this 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:47.939 context. You are adjacent to the entertainment 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:50.639 industry, you understand the hustle, and you 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:52.599 inherently understand the importance of image. 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:55.340 Yeah, you're breathing that air. And his professional 00:03:55.340 --> 00:03:57.460 background before the show is listed as a bar 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.219 manager. Correct. a bar manager, and later he 00:04:00.219 --> 00:04:02.520 became a podcaster. I gotta say, I've always 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:04.840 thought managing a bar is the perfect resume 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:08.000 for reality TV. It really is the ultimate training 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.099 ground. If you can manage a crowded bar in Los 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.780 Angeles, you can definitely manage a house full 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:17.180 of egomaniacs on a soundstage. It requires a 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:19.980 very specific skill set. You have to be able 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:23.470 to de -escalate fights. Or, you know, finish 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:26.069 them if necessary. Yeah, you have to manage intoxicated 00:04:26.069 --> 00:04:28.250 people, you have to control the social environment 00:04:28.250 --> 00:04:30.649 and the general vibe of the room. It is essentially 00:04:30.649 --> 00:04:32.870 Big Brother, just without the cameras. That's 00:04:32.870 --> 00:04:35.029 spot on. You're dealing with people at their 00:04:35.029 --> 00:04:38.029 absolute most volatile. So he walks into the 00:04:38.029 --> 00:04:41.069 house with that training already deeply embedded 00:04:41.069 --> 00:04:43.310 in his personality. He wasn't a novice when it 00:04:43.310 --> 00:04:46.269 came to reading a room. Right. But there is one 00:04:46.269 --> 00:04:48.430 detail in his background that I think really 00:04:48.430 --> 00:04:51.480 paints the picture of who he is. physically and 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.060 culturally. It's honestly my favorite piece of 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:55.980 trivia in the whole file. Yeah, you're talking 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:58.180 about the Hollywood connection. Yes. So rewind 00:04:58.180 --> 00:05:01.360 to 2007. There was a massive movie out called 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:04.300 Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End. A massive 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.240 global blockbuster. You literally couldn't go 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.459 anywhere without seeing marketing for it. And 00:05:08.459 --> 00:05:11.360 in that specific movie, there was a cameo by 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:14.160 a legitimate rock and roll god, Keith Richards 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.600 of the Rolling Stones. Playing Captain Teague, 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:19.790 the father of Johnny Depp's character. Which 00:05:19.790 --> 00:05:23.069 was perfect testing in itself, given Depp based 00:05:23.069 --> 00:05:26.670 the character on him. Right, exactly. Now, obviously, 00:05:26.790 --> 00:05:28.829 Keith Richards is a busy guy. He's a legend. 00:05:29.290 --> 00:05:31.610 He's not going to stand around on set for 12 00:05:31.610 --> 00:05:33.750 hours while the crew sets up the lighting and 00:05:33.750 --> 00:05:35.870 checks the camera angles. No, the stars have 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.209 stand -ins. Yeah, they need a stand -in. Someone 00:05:38.209 --> 00:05:40.990 who looks like him, moves like him, embodies 00:05:40.990 --> 00:05:43.069 that specific weathered vibe so the lighting 00:05:43.069 --> 00:05:45.410 looks right. And who do they hire? Richard Donato. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.199 It's just perfect. If you close your eyes right 00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:50.800 now and picture Keith Richards, you know, the 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.079 headband, the heavy eyeliner, that rugged I've 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.019 lived a thousand lives look, and then you look 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:57.120 at a picture of Dick Donato. It's the same picture. 00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:00.240 The resemblance is striking. It tells us so much 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:02.259 about his aesthetic. He did not look like the 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:06.259 typical reality contestant. Not at all. In 2007, 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:08.759 the casting for these shows was often very rigid. 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:12.180 You had clean -cut college grads, aspiring models, 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:14.240 people who looked like they belonged in a clothing 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.860 catalog. Yeah, the typical pretty people. Right. 00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.779 But Donato had this gritty, authentic, rock and 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:23.379 roll edge. He looked like he belonged on a tour 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:26.420 bus, not locked in a suburban house set. It gave 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:29.459 him an immediate cool factor. He stood out visually 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:32.000 before he even opened his mouth. But looking 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:34.759 at our notes here, that connection to the rock 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:37.160 world also got him into a bit of trouble in L 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:39.120 .A., didn't it? It did. There were accusations, 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:41.420 which happen a lot in Los Angeles social circles, 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:44.480 that Donato was a name dropper. Oh, the cardinal 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.100 sin of Hollywood. Exactly. People accused him 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:48.959 of lying about meeting or dating celebrities 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:51.100 just to make himself seem more important to the 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:53.980 scene. Just a way of saying he's a poser. Yes. 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:56.240 It undermines his authenticity. It's people saying, 00:06:56.339 --> 00:06:58.930 oh, you say you know so -and -so. Prove it. Right, 00:06:58.970 --> 00:07:01.209 calling his bluff. But he had a pretty good character 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:03.230 witness come to his defense on this one, didn't 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:05.670 he? He did. And it was a witness that carries 00:07:05.670 --> 00:07:09.550 a ton of weight in that specific rock subculture. 00:07:09.730 --> 00:07:12.850 Who stepped up for him? Dizzy Reed. The keyboardist 00:07:12.850 --> 00:07:15.970 for Guns N' Roses. The very same. Dizzy Reed 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:18.550 actually went on record to clear this up. What 00:07:18.550 --> 00:07:21.750 did he say? He stated explicitly that Donato 00:07:21.750 --> 00:07:25.279 is not a name -dropper. But he went a step further 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:27.660 than that. It wasn't just a simple defense. No, 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:30.759 it was much stronger. Our sources quote Reid 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:33.259 as saying that Donato doesn't drop names. Yeah. 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:36.709 Rather, people drop his name. Wow. That is an 00:07:36.709 --> 00:07:39.350 absolute power move. It really is. When a member 00:07:39.350 --> 00:07:41.529 of Guns N' Roses says, no, you guys are lucky 00:07:41.529 --> 00:07:45.230 to know him, that completely cements your status. 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:48.970 It validated his entire persona. It proved that 00:07:48.970 --> 00:07:51.170 he wasn't just some fan on the periphery looking 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:53.910 in. He was a legitimate figure in that rock scene. 00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:56.430 He had the respect of the very people he was 00:07:56.430 --> 00:07:59.050 emulating. Exactly. So we have the look. We have 00:07:59.050 --> 00:08:00.649 the industry connections. We have the attitude. 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:03.069 Now let's talk about that name. Evil Dick. It's 00:08:03.069 --> 00:08:04.990 iconic. It sounds like something a wrestling 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:07.009 promoter would come up with in a boardroom. It's 00:08:07.009 --> 00:08:09.250 so catchy and descriptive. You would think a 00:08:09.250 --> 00:08:12.230 producer pitched it to him. Reality TV is heavily 00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:14.970 produced and they love to brand people. They 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:17.629 love to give contestants distinct roles to play. 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:21.689 The hero, the villain, the flirt. Exactly. But 00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:24.430 in this case, the brand was entirely self -made. 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:26.509 The producers didn't give him that nickname. 00:08:26.750 --> 00:08:29.149 Really? Where did it come from? The nickname 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:31.959 Evil Dick. actually originated from an email 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:34.659 address that Donato had created for himself long 00:08:34.659 --> 00:08:37.000 before he ever applied for the show. He literally 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.000 gave it to himself. Effectively, yes. He created 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:42.600 the handle for his digital life and it just stuck 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.480 with him. I love the irony of that. He chooses 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:48.080 this handle, presumably just to be edgy or maybe 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.279 funny in his emails, maybe a warning like, don't 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.960 mess with me. And it ends up becoming the way 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.070 millions of people refer to him nationally. It's 00:08:56.070 --> 00:08:58.269 like he manifested his own destiny with that 00:08:58.269 --> 00:09:00.629 email account. He really did. And it speaks to 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:02.710 a very high level of self -awareness. He knew 00:09:02.710 --> 00:09:04.669 exactly who he was. He wasn't trying to go on 00:09:04.669 --> 00:09:06.950 TV and be nice guy Richard. No, he was fully 00:09:06.950 --> 00:09:09.309 comfortable with evil. And that comfort with 00:09:09.309 --> 00:09:11.470 being the antagonist is what made him such a 00:09:11.470 --> 00:09:13.889 formidable player. He wasn't fighting against 00:09:13.889 --> 00:09:16.649 his edit on the show. He was leaning into it 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:18.470 because he had already defined himself that way 00:09:18.470 --> 00:09:20.769 for years. That is a great point. He walked in 00:09:20.769 --> 00:09:24.110 already wearing the costume. So he enters Big 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:27.970 Brother 8 in 2007. And this is really the main 00:09:27.970 --> 00:09:30.899 event of his public life. He doesn't just participate. 00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:34.460 He dominates the entire narrative of the season. 00:09:34.659 --> 00:09:37.360 He makes history in several distinct ways. First, 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:39.200 we really have to look at the demographics of 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.500 his win. Okay, let's look at the numbers. Donato 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.820 won Big Brother 8 at the age of 44. Now, in the 00:09:44.820 --> 00:09:47.980 real world, 44 is arguably your prime. But in 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:50.679 reality, TV years. That is practically ancient. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.019 It is statistically very significant. These shows, 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.269 especially social strategy games like... big 00:09:56.269 --> 00:09:59.350 brother, skew heavily towards people in their 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:01.509 early 20s. Yeah, people who have nothing to lose 00:10:01.509 --> 00:10:03.669 and want to be on TV. Right. They have the physical 00:10:03.669 --> 00:10:05.789 stamina for the endurance challenges and often 00:10:05.789 --> 00:10:07.950 they are more socially malleable. They want to 00:10:07.950 --> 00:10:09.470 make friends. They want to be liked. They want 00:10:09.470 --> 00:10:12.409 to be popular. And at 44, Donato became the show's 00:10:12.409 --> 00:10:15.240 oldest winner. A record that really stands out 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:17.179 in the franchise history. He was like the old 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:20.120 man Logan of the house. He had life experience 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.759 that the 22 -year -olds just couldn't comprehend. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:25.679 He probably looked at their petty drama and thought, 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.480 I've managed bars in Hollywood, this is nothing. 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:31.759 Precisely. He had a much thicker skin. But, we 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.759 have to note, he didn't go into that house alone. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.299 And this is the twist that makes Season 8 so 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:40.159 legendary in the reality TV community. The Donato 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:43.039 duo. His daughter, Danielle Donato. And she was 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.799 on the completely other end of the age spectrum, 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.700 wasn't she? Yes. She actually turned 21 while 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:50.539 they were competing on the show. So imagine this 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:53.019 context for a second. You are turning 21. It's 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:55.840 a huge milestone. You are in a house with cameras 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.379 on you 24 hours a day, completely cut off from 00:10:58.379 --> 00:11:00.860 the outside world. And your dad is there. Living 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.139 in the same room. And your dad is evil dick. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:05.919 It is a unique pressure cooker of a situation. 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:08.779 And our sources indicate it wasn't exactly a 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:10.960 happy family vacation. No, there was a lot of 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.220 tension. There was deep complexity there. Old 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:16.980 family wounds, current tensions playing out on 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:20.419 camera, but purely from a game perspective. Their 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:22.820 performance together was unprecedented. How did 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.080 they end up finishing the season? They are the 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:27.899 only family member pair to win the American Big 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:30.600 Brother program's top two prizes in the same 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:32.980 competition. They completely swept the board 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:35.539 first and second place. Dick won the grand prize 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:38.840 and Danielle was the runner up. That is incredible 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:42.159 dominance. Usually alliances crumble or the rest 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:44.200 of the House targets a pair because they are 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:46.759 too strong and obviously won't vote against each 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:50.039 other. Exactly. But they managed to survive every 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:52.919 single eviction vote to make it to the very end 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:55.379 together. And to round out those stats, while 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:57.980 Dick became the oldest winner, Danielle is noted 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:00.279 as the youngest person to win one of the top 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:02.700 two prizes. So they captured both extreme ends 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:04.980 of the demographic spectrum. They had the youth 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:08.080 appeal and the physical prowess on her end and 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.940 the wisdom or at least the aggressive strategy 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:13.840 of age on his end. It's a reality TV dynasty. 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:16.970 But let's go back to that villain idea. Because 00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:19.590 you don't get nicknamed Evil Dick and just play 00:12:19.590 --> 00:12:22.629 a quiet, polite, under -the -radar game. You 00:12:22.629 --> 00:12:24.929 don't just float to the end. No, absolutely not. 00:12:25.009 --> 00:12:27.269 He was incredibly aggressive. He was loud. There 00:12:27.269 --> 00:12:29.269 are famous scenes of him waking people up by 00:12:29.269 --> 00:12:31.750 banging pots and pans together. Total psychological 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:34.309 warfare. He made life miserable for his opponents. 00:12:34.509 --> 00:12:37.570 And the fascinating thing is, the industry rewarded 00:12:37.570 --> 00:12:40.409 him for it. This is where the awards history 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:43.549 becomes very telling about the pop culture climate 00:12:43.549 --> 00:12:46.070 of 2007. Yeah, tell me about the hardware. What 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:47.990 did he actually take home besides the price check? 00:12:48.190 --> 00:12:50.190 There was an event called the Fox Reality Really 00:12:50.190 --> 00:12:53.269 Awards. The Really Awards. That is so perfectly 00:12:53.269 --> 00:12:56.769 mid -2000s. I can practically see the low -rise 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:59.529 jeans and flip phones from here. It was definitely 00:12:59.529 --> 00:13:02.549 a different era. But Donato swept these awards. 00:13:02.690 --> 00:13:05.679 He won the Golden Rialettini. The Golden Realatini. 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:08.179 Incredible name. And that was for what category? 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:10.399 For favorite reality performer. Which basically 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.860 translates to most entertaining. The person the 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:17.059 audience just couldn't look away from. Yes. But 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:19.799 look at the other categories he was in. He was 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:23.019 nominated for, and based on the historical records, 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:26.320 likely one favorite villain. Okay, so he's the 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:29.200 favorite overall performer. A and D, the favorite 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:31.519 villain. It gets better. He was also nominated 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.399 for favorite potty mouth. Favorite potty mouth. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.519 I completely forgot that was even a category 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:38.899 back then. It really reflects the censorship 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:41.740 standards of the time. The bleeps were treated 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:43.740 as part of the comedy and the fun of the broadcast. 00:13:44.019 --> 00:13:45.980 Right. The more bleeps, the better the TV. And 00:13:45.980 --> 00:13:48.080 finally, he was nominated for Best Fight. Who 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:50.779 was the fight with? It was for a specific confrontation 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:54.159 with a contestant named Jen Johnson. Oh, I remember 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.620 that one. It was intensely personal and just 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:59.179 constant bickering. So think about that overall 00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:01.960 profile for a second. He's winning favorite performer. 00:14:02.570 --> 00:14:05.429 while simultaneously winning for being a villain 00:14:05.429 --> 00:14:07.690 with a potty mouth who gets into the best fights. 00:14:07.909 --> 00:14:10.990 That is a very specific, aggressive niche to 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:13.590 carve out for yourself. He isn't winning congeniality. 00:14:13.590 --> 00:14:16.330 He isn't winning best strategist. He's winning 00:14:16.330 --> 00:14:19.110 for being a chaos agent. And look at who he beat 00:14:19.110 --> 00:14:21.509 out for these awards. He wasn't competing against 00:14:21.509 --> 00:14:23.470 unknown people. Not at all. He was up against 00:14:23.470 --> 00:14:26.149 Sanjaya Malikar from American Idol. Oh, Sanjaya. 00:14:26.289 --> 00:14:28.590 With the hair. He was absolutely massive back 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:30.690 then. He was on the cover of every tabloid magazine. 00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:33.169 He was a true cultural phenomenon that year. 00:14:33.350 --> 00:14:36.129 And Donato beat him. He was also up against New 00:14:36.129 --> 00:14:39.669 York. Tiffany Pollard from Flavor of Love. Who 00:14:39.669 --> 00:14:42.850 is arguably the queen of reality TV drama. She 00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:45.350 practically invented a whole genre of reactions. 00:14:45.629 --> 00:14:48.419 Exactly. Beating the York in a popularity contest 00:14:48.419 --> 00:14:51.679 is no small feat. It places him firmly in the 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.799 highest pantheon of 2000s reality stars. And 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:57.679 the broader media confirmed this status, right? 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:00.500 You mentioned a specific list from TV Guide in 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:02.399 our sources. Yes. A couple of years later, in 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:06.139 2009, TV Guide put out a definitive list of evil 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:08.519 reality TV villains. And who made the cut on 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:10.659 that list? The absolute heavyweights of the genre. 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:13.679 Simon Cowell. The ultimate mean judge. Gordon 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:16.120 Ramsay. The screaming chef. And right there sitting 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:19.019 next to them, Evil Dick Donato. That completely 00:15:19.019 --> 00:15:21.399 elevates him. He's not just a game show contestant 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:24.820 anymore. He's an archetype. He is, to Big Brother, 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.759 what Simon Cowell was to American Idol. He is 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.559 the standard bearer for being evil on television. 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:32.879 Which raises a really fascinating question about 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.340 audience psychology. Why do we vote for the villain? 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.740 Yeah, why? Why didn't the public vote for the 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:41.100 nice, quiet person to win the fan -favorite awards? 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:44.120 Why did we actively want the potty mouth who 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.759 banged pots and pans to get the glory? I think 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:48.919 it marks a noticeable shift in how the public 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.659 consumed reality TV. By 2007, audiences were 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:54.879 savvy. They knew how the sausage was made in 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:56.320 the editing room. They weren't looking for a 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.360 documentary anymore. Right. They rewarded gameplay. 00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:01.429 They rewarded raw entertainment value. And Donato, 00:16:01.649 --> 00:16:03.649 with his constant aggression and his conflict, 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:06.529 was undeniably entertaining. Yeah. He drove the 00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:08.809 narrative forward every single week. And in the 00:16:08.809 --> 00:16:11.090 economy of attention, the person who drives the 00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:13.809 narrative wins the check. That's exactly it. 00:16:13.950 --> 00:16:16.529 That makes total sense. We stopped looking for 00:16:16.529 --> 00:16:18.830 a moral role model and started looking for a 00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:21.009 compelling protagonist. And he was definitely 00:16:21.009 --> 00:16:23.149 the protagonist of that season, even if he was 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:26.250 a deeply jagged one. Precisely. He gave the audience 00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.600 a show. Now, speaking of the check it. Let's 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:32.059 talk about the money, because there is a very 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:34.919 interesting story in the sources about the economics 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:38.460 of his win. Moving into section three, the prize. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.519 Right. So he wins the grand prize, $500 ,000. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:46.519 What was his stated plan for that money? According 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:48.980 to his public statements at the time, he planned 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:51.419 to use a portion of that money to pay for his 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:53.710 daughter Danielle's college education. Which, 00:16:53.730 --> 00:16:56.090 you have to admit, is a very noble, fatherly 00:16:56.090 --> 00:16:57.610 thing to do. It's like, I'm going to be the villain 00:16:57.610 --> 00:16:59.370 on TV, I'm going to crush everyone emotionally 00:16:59.370 --> 00:17:01.690 so my kid can go to school. It humanizes him 00:17:01.690 --> 00:17:04.170 a lot. It does humanize him. Yeah. But here's 00:17:04.170 --> 00:17:06.029 where it gets tricky with the actual mechanics 00:17:06.029 --> 00:17:09.329 of the game rules. Oh, the fine print. I love 00:17:09.329 --> 00:17:11.950 the fine print of game shows. Most of these shows... 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:14.460 Big Brother included, have very strict rules 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:16.660 banning the direct splitting of prize winnings 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:18.960 between contestants. Right, because you can't 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:21.259 go into the house on day one and whisper, hey, 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:23.420 if I win, I'll give you half the cash, so let's 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:26.890 just team up. That's collusion. breaks the entire 00:17:26.890 --> 00:17:29.170 integrity of the game. If everyone agrees to 00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:31.750 split the money, it doesn't matter who actually 00:17:31.750 --> 00:17:33.809 wins the final vote. Exactly. You cannot cut 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:35.990 a deal on the prize money. It has to remain highly 00:17:35.990 --> 00:17:39.450 competitive. So technically speaking, he couldn't 00:17:39.450 --> 00:17:41.250 just write his daughter a check for half the 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:43.869 winnings and call it a split. Right. But. He's 00:17:43.869 --> 00:17:46.430 her dad. Yeah. So how do you navigate that legally 00:17:46.430 --> 00:17:49.490 within the show's framework? You find the loophole. 00:17:49.549 --> 00:17:52.569 The dad loophole. Basically, yes. The rules strictly 00:17:52.569 --> 00:17:55.289 ban splitting winnings as a game mechanic or 00:17:55.289 --> 00:17:57.950 a bribe, but they don't ban a father from buying 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.109 gifts for his daughter or paying for her tuition. 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:03.809 Oh, I see. I'm not giving you half the prize 00:18:03.809 --> 00:18:05.769 money as a fellow contestant. I'm just being 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:08.190 a generous father in the real world. Exactly. 00:18:08.569 --> 00:18:10.809 And the sources confirm he did exactly that. 00:18:11.470 --> 00:18:13.849 In a later episode, specifically an appearance 00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:17.589 on March 19, 2008, during Big Brother 9 -12, 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:20.710 Donato came back and revealed exactly what that 00:18:20.710 --> 00:18:22.990 spending spree looked like. What did he end up 00:18:22.990 --> 00:18:25.869 buying her? He took Danielle to Europe. Nice. 00:18:26.430 --> 00:18:29.369 A European vacation is a great way to bond after 00:18:29.369 --> 00:18:31.309 locking yourselves in a house for three months. 00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:33.769 And he also bought her a red car. A red car. 00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:37.190 Very specific detail. It shows that he followed 00:18:37.190 --> 00:18:40.349 through on his intent. He successfully navigated 00:18:40.349 --> 00:18:43.029 the strict rules against collusion to ensure 00:18:43.029 --> 00:18:46.470 that the Donato duo both tangibly benefited from 00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:48.650 the overall victory. It really blurs the line, 00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:50.569 though, doesn't it, between in -game strategy 00:18:50.569 --> 00:18:53.849 and real -life obligation. Like, were they in 00:18:53.849 --> 00:18:56.089 alliance because they were playing a brilliant 00:18:56.089 --> 00:18:59.390 strategic game, or were they in alliance simply 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:02.609 because they share DNA and real -world bank accounts? 00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:05.289 That's the unique feature of having family members 00:19:05.289 --> 00:19:07.609 playing in the same game. When you play with 00:19:07.609 --> 00:19:10.190 family, the basic economic incentives totally 00:19:10.190 --> 00:19:12.269 shift. Because the money goes to the same place 00:19:12.269 --> 00:19:15.849 regardless. Right. If I win, we win. That fundamentally 00:19:15.849 --> 00:19:18.470 changes how you play. It might actually explain 00:19:18.470 --> 00:19:20.890 why they were so incredibly dominant that season. 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:23.069 House. They had a foundational level of trust 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:26.509 and a shared financial goal that two random strangers 00:19:26.509 --> 00:19:29.609 meeting on day one could never match. Even if 00:19:29.609 --> 00:19:31.730 they hated each other in the moment, they knew 00:19:31.730 --> 00:19:33.579 the money was staying in the family. That's a 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:35.220 really great point. Even if they were fighting 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:38.200 personally, which they did, their financial interests 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:40.579 were perfectly aligned the entire time. Exactly. 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:42.660 So let's fast forward a bit in the timeline. 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:45.259 We've had the victory. We've had the red car. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:48.599 We've had the big European vacation. Now we move 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:52.859 to section four, the return. Season 13. The year 00:19:52.859 --> 00:19:55.880 is 2011. The producers decide to bring back a 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:58.720 theme called dynamic duos. And naturally, if 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:00.640 you're bringing back famous duos, you absolutely 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.279 have to call Dick and Danielle. It was a highly 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:05.779 anticipated return for the franchise. The fans 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:08.140 were clamoring to see them play again. But the 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:10.279 personal context had changed dramatically since 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.160 2007. How so? What happened between them? Well, 00:20:13.220 --> 00:20:16.299 reports indicated that prior to season 13, Dick 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.059 and Danielle had not spoken to each other for 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:21.200 three years. Wait, three years? Three years of 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.450 complete silence. So they went from winning the 00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:26.210 show together, going to Europe, buying cars, 00:20:26.410 --> 00:20:29.750 to total estrangement. That is what the reports 00:20:29.750 --> 00:20:32.109 from the Times say. So when they walked into 00:20:32.109 --> 00:20:35.250 the house in 2011, the tension wasn't just about 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:37.859 the game anymore. It wasn't just can we pull 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:41.099 off a second win? No, it was deeply, deeply personal. 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:44.680 The audience was tuned in specifically to see 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:46.960 if they would reconcile on camera or if they 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.660 would completely implode. That is absolute TV 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:52.559 gold. That is the exact kind of real world drama 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:56.480 producers dream of capturing. But we didn't actually 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.119 get to see much of it play out, did we? No, we 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:01.720 didn't. And this is where the story takes a very 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.220 sharp, very serious turn. Walk us through what 00:21:04.220 --> 00:21:06.740 happened. Dick left the house abruptly on day 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.019 six. Day six. The game has barely even started. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:10.720 They probably haven't even unpacked their bags 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.440 yet. Barely. And the initial explanation given 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.980 to the public and to the other house guests was 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:19.700 incredibly vague. He simply cited personal reasons. 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:22.140 The classic PR catch -all. Personal reasons. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:24.579 And he stated that something bad had happened 00:21:24.579 --> 00:21:26.660 to someone close to him. Which usually implies 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.859 a family emergency on the outside. Everyone assumes 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:32.619 a relative is sick or there's been a tragedy 00:21:32.619 --> 00:21:35.220 back home. That is what everyone assumed. And 00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:37.619 it effectively deflected attention away from 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:41.380 himself. But, as we later learned, that was a 00:21:41.380 --> 00:21:43.480 cover story. It wasn't someone else who was sick. 00:21:43.720 --> 00:21:46.519 No. The personal reason was actually a severe 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.559 medical emergency involving Dick himself. And 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:51.690 this is, I mean... This is one of those moments 00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:54.950 where the reality of the real world violently 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:58.430 crashes into reality TV. It is. The show's medical 00:21:58.430 --> 00:22:01.509 staff, as part of their standard procedure, conducts 00:22:01.509 --> 00:22:03.990 routine blood testing on all contestants. Just 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:05.670 to make sure everyone is healthy enough to be 00:22:05.670 --> 00:22:08.130 locked in a house. Exactly. They screen for everything, 00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:11.289 and the medical staff discovered he was HIV positive. 00:22:11.549 --> 00:22:14.430 Wow. And they delivered the news to him while 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:17.740 he was inside the house. Specifically... In the 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:19.819 diary room. Wait, let's pause on that image for 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:21.960 a second. He's sitting in the diary room. Yes, 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:24.700 the show's confessional booth. The diary room 00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:26.359 is where you go to complain about someone eating 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:28.680 your peanut butter. It's where you plot your 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:31.339 sneaky strategy. It's fundamentally a game space. 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:34.759 It's a television set. And in that highly artificial 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:38.960 space, a doctor or production staff deliver the 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.579 news that he was HIV positive. I can't even imagine 00:22:42.579 --> 00:22:45.680 the intense cognitive dissonance of that moment. 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:47.920 You are in full game mode. You're thinking about 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.099 vetoes and alliances. You're thinking about winning 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:52.380 the money again. And suddenly you get a diagnosis 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:55.039 that changes the rest of your life. It is a profound 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:58.440 intersection of the trivial and the vital. The 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:01.039 game instantly becomes irrelevant. That completely 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:03.480 explains the immediate departure. He couldn't 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:05.960 stay. He couldn't play. Of course not. So he 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:08.200 leaves. He tells everyone it's a family emergency. 00:23:08.420 --> 00:23:10.799 And then he just goes quiet. For a while, yes. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:13.799 Donato kept the diagnosis private from the public 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:17.420 from 2011 until 2014. That's three years of carrying 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:20.799 that heavy secret. Three years. Dealing with 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:23.319 the reality of the diagnosis, dealing with getting 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:25.480 into treatment, and dealing with the immense 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:28.680 public stigma that still surrounds it. He eventually 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:31.619 decided to go public, though. And, true to his 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:34.859 career, he didn't do it via a standard press 00:23:34.859 --> 00:23:37.480 release. He didn't just tweet it out. How did 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:39.970 he do it? He did it on reality television. Really? 00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:42.990 Where did he reveal it? On season five of VH1's 00:23:42.990 --> 00:23:46.089 Couples Therapy, he was on with Dr. Jen Berman. 00:23:46.309 --> 00:23:48.029 Couples Therapy, that's an interesting choice. 00:23:48.089 --> 00:23:50.650 Was he explicitly there to talk about the diagnosis? 00:23:51.170 --> 00:23:53.650 It seemed to be the venue he deliberately chose 00:23:53.650 --> 00:23:56.630 to control his own narrative. On October 1st, 00:23:56.630 --> 00:23:59.190 2014, he revealed on the show that he had been 00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:02.400 living with HIV since 2011. Did he go into detail 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.279 about how it happened? Because I feel like with 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:06.099 a public figure, especially someone known as 00:24:06.099 --> 00:24:08.619 a villain with a very cultivated rock and roll 00:24:08.619 --> 00:24:11.740 image, the public speculation must have been 00:24:11.740 --> 00:24:14.000 rampant. He was actually very candid about it. 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:16.299 He told People magazine around the same time 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:18.599 that he doesn't know the exact moment of contraction. 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:21.640 Which is common, right? The virus can be dormant 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.079 for a long time. Yes, very common. But he did 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:29.200 offer a specific speculation. He stated he suspects 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.759 it occurred during unprotected sex with a stripper 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:34.279 in Las Vegas. In Vegas. After what he described 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:36.799 as a long night of drinking. It's a very gritty 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.519 detail. It fits the rock and roll lifestyle image 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.859 he projected. But it's also just it's a very 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:44.539 human mistake. It completely strips away the 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:47.460 evildicta persona and reveals the deep human 00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:50.759 vulnerability underneath. It's not cool or edgy 00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:54.339 anymore. It's just a stark medical reality. It 00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:56.859 shows that the lifestyle he projected had very. 00:24:56.970 --> 00:24:59.549 real world risks. Absolutely. And I think that's 00:24:59.549 --> 00:25:01.750 what makes this final part of the story so compelling 00:25:01.750 --> 00:25:03.650 to look at. You have this guy who is portrayed 00:25:03.650 --> 00:25:06.789 as completely invincible in the game. He was 00:25:06.789 --> 00:25:09.509 Teflon. He couldn't be evicted. He won the money. 00:25:09.549 --> 00:25:11.509 He fought everyone. And then a routine blood 00:25:11.509 --> 00:25:14.049 test reminds everyone that he's just a biological 00:25:14.049 --> 00:25:16.210 organism like the rest of us. It also brings 00:25:16.210 --> 00:25:18.730 up a fascinating issue regarding reality TV production 00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:21.410 ethics and public health. If not for being cast 00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:24.470 on Big Brother 13, if not for that specific routine 00:25:24.470 --> 00:25:27.230 screening mandate. He might not have known his 00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:29.789 status until he was much sicker. That's a crazy 00:25:29.789 --> 00:25:31.829 thought. The show might have actually saved his 00:25:31.829 --> 00:25:34.470 life or at least significantly extended it by 00:25:34.470 --> 00:25:36.930 catching the virus early. It's very possible. 00:25:37.089 --> 00:25:40.029 Early detection is absolutely key with HIV management. 00:25:40.349 --> 00:25:43.009 The show inadvertently acted as a lifesaver. 00:25:43.170 --> 00:25:46.750 So he comes out publicly as HIV positive in 2014. 00:25:47.390 --> 00:25:50.589 How does this change his overall legacy? Because 00:25:50.589 --> 00:25:53.190 up until that moment, he's primarily known as 00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:56.180 the villain. Does he become an advocate? He does, 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:59.500 largely simply by being visible. He is listed 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:02.000 in our biographical sources as a prominent person 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.339 living with HIV AIDS. By being a public figure, 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:08.640 a winner, a tough guy, a villain living openly 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.059 with the virus, he challenges the traditional 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:13.420 stigma. Yeah, he doesn't fit the expected mold. 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:16.019 Right. He isn't the stereotypical victim image. 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:18.730 He's evil dick. He's still loud, he's still highly 00:26:18.730 --> 00:26:21.589 opinionated online, but he's actively managing 00:26:21.589 --> 00:26:23.930 a chronic condition. It adds so much texture 00:26:23.930 --> 00:26:26.509 to his story. It makes him completely three -dimensional. 00:26:26.730 --> 00:26:28.930 It really does. It forces the audience to look 00:26:28.930 --> 00:26:31.069 back and see him not just as a flat character 00:26:31.069 --> 00:26:33.910 in a game, but as a man surviving a very difficult 00:26:33.910 --> 00:26:36.769 reality. So let's try to pull all these diverse 00:26:36.769 --> 00:26:38.630 threads together because this has been quite 00:26:38.630 --> 00:26:41.349 a journey. We have the Keith Richards stand -in 00:26:41.349 --> 00:26:44.369 from the movie set. The Los Angeles bar manager. 00:26:44.630 --> 00:26:47.490 The father who drags his estranged daughter to 00:26:47.490 --> 00:26:50.450 a shared victory. The potty mouth award winner. 00:26:50.630 --> 00:26:53.230 And finally, the man living with HIV who found 00:26:53.230 --> 00:26:56.230 out in a fake diary room. It is a trajectory 00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:58.930 that could only possibly happen in the 21st century. 00:26:59.410 --> 00:27:02.950 It is uniquely tied to modern media. It really 00:27:02.950 --> 00:27:05.809 is. From a literal standing in someone else's 00:27:05.809 --> 00:27:07.890 shadow to becoming the absolute main character. 00:27:08.190 --> 00:27:10.029 And we have to remember the central duality here. 00:27:10.190 --> 00:27:13.559 We call him evil. We literally gave him physical 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:16.000 awards for being a villain. We cheered when he 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:18.180 fought with people. But the prize money went 00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:20.839 to his kid's college tuition. And his dramatic 00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.519 exit was due to a very private medical crisis. 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:25.859 It really challenges that label, doesn't it? 00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:28.059 The word villain. It does. In the isolated bubble 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:29.980 of the game, he was the antagonist. But in the 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:32.099 meta -narrative of his actual life, he's a much 00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:34.480 more complex protagonist. He is flawed, certainly, 00:27:34.619 --> 00:27:37.279 but he is incredibly resilient. It makes you 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:39.440 wonder about the very nature of these shows we 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:42.079 watch. We cast these real people as characters, 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:46.079 the villain, the sweetheart, the brain. But they 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:49.960 are still people. And real life, you know, viruses, 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:53.220 estranged daughters, aging, it doesn't care about 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:55.480 the script the producers wrote. The reality of 00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:58.059 the real world inevitably crashes the party. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.880 No matter how well you play the game inside the 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.579 house, you cannot control the biology or the 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:06.019 complex relationships outside of it. And maybe 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:08.119 that's the ultimate takeaway of Richard Donato 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:09.799 for us. You can win the game. You can win the 00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:12.180 prize money. You can even win the title of best 00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:14.579 villain on television. But at the end of the 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:16.759 day, you're still just a guy who has to deal 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:19.420 with what life throws at you. And sometimes what 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:22.440 life throws at you is vastly harder than any 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:24.640 head of household competition. Ain't that the 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:26.900 truth? What stands out to me the most is that 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:29.559 despite the villain moniker, his story is fundamentally 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:32.839 about survival. Surviving the game, surviving 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:35.539 the intense public scrutiny, and now surviving 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:38.539 the diagnosis. He's a survivor. Evil Dick, the 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:40.619 survivor. It has a nice ring to it, honestly. 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:43.640 It fits perfectly. Well, that is a lot to process. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.720 From the Pirates of the Caribbean set, to the 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.160 Big Brother house, to the couples therapy couch. 00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:53.759 What a journey. A truly unique slice of pop culture 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:55.839 history. We want to thank you for listening to 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.180 this deep dive into the life and game of Dick 00:28:58.180 --> 00:29:00.980 Donato. It's a story that reminds us that behind 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:03.720 every character on TV, there's a whole lot of 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:06.440 unscripted reality. Indeed there is. We'll leave 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.160 you with this final thought to mull over. In 00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:12.339 the age of reality TV, we love the villain. We 00:29:12.339 --> 00:29:14.140 actively vote for them. We give them awards. 00:29:14.539 --> 00:29:16.380 But how much of that villain is a performance 00:29:16.380 --> 00:29:19.500 and how much is the actual person? And does it 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:22.220 even matter once the cameras finally stop rolling? 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:24.640 Something to really think about. Thanks for joining 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:26.859 us. We'll catch you on the next Deep Dive. Goodbye.