If there is one person who consistently proved that she was worthy of being a winner on Deal or No Deal Island, it was La Sell Wooten. So what happened? We talked with her about her strategy, trusting Parvati, and much more in our exclusive interview with her.
La Shell quickly became a fan favorite. She also quickly became a favorite on the island. By keeping her cool and focusing on her own energy levels, she was able to be there for everyone else as they struggled. She was someone with no allegiances on the island, which may have been to her detriment in the end. However, the game she played was solid and clean, and there’s no doubt that I wanted to see her win.
I talked with her about her game. We discussed strategy, Dr. Will, Parvati, and much more.
La Shell shares the strategy she went in with on Deal or No Deal Island season 2
Hidden Remote: I loved the game you played. It was clean but also smart. What was your strategy as you went into Deal or No Deal Island?
La Shell Wooten: I never watched these kinds of challenge shows before. I did watch the first season, and it was a very different show this time around. My only strategy I had was to just go in and be me, because to think up a new strategy that I think might help me felt like just too much. It's enough to face the challenges and face my fears and then new people, so I was like, I'm just gonna go in as me.
I’m calm, and I'm perceptive. I like people. I'm a social worker, right? So I support people, and I'm smart. I can see what you're not saying in your actions, and I can hear in between the words that are coming out of your mouth, and so the only strategy I had was to kind of use the skills that I've had to use in my career. It helped. It worked a lot.
HR: Did you trust anything Parvati was saying when she said she was going to keep you safe?
LSW: No. Why would you trust Parvati? She’s known as being untrustworthy. That’s her game. She’s gotten a long way a lot of times playing the way she does. That’s perfectly fine, but no, I did not trust her.
I hoped that she would be influenced by her two alliances, which was David, who I was close with, and CK, who I was also close with. I hoped the power of them would support her in doing what she said she would do.
HR: Watching back, did it surprise you when David had that conversation with Dickson and then told Parvati everything Dickson said?
LSW: No, because I lived with David. We were in the same tent, and David was a very authentic person. Dickson was as well! That conversation continued beyond what you saw between me and David talking about our fathers—we both lost our dads—and how much what Dickson said to him really impacted him. So it didn’t surprise me that he shared it.
I don’t think the intention was to share it to influence her. I don’t know what she thought about how it would look to pick Dickson as her son after he said “I don’t want to do it.” And he said to her, “But I’m your son, right? You should be doing what I want you to do.” So, I felt like there was a chance I was gonna go up. It was only me and Dickson to be chosen, a 50% chance. Parvati did was Parvati does.
HR: You went into the series with no alliances. Was that a personal choice, and would you change it now?
LSW: I wouldn’t change it, but it was a choice of ignorance, because I never watched this shows. I didn’t really understand the alliance thing. I watched Deal or No Deal Island season 1, but I kind of skimmed through it. I didn’t really watch it in full detail, and I heard them talking about alliances.
But the way that I play the game of life is that my alliance is to me. If I’m okay, then what I put out into the world can help other people, which is exactly how it played out on the show. I’m gonna make sure I’m okay, so that way, when you come to me either with some drama or you’re coming undone emotionally, I have something to give you. If I’m pouring out my allegiance to all these different people, I’m not paying any attention to my own game.
That’s just how I am in life. I feel like everyone should have an allegiance to themselves, and then when they connect with other people in the world, there’s something vibrant and juicy and useful to the other people. People call it strategy, but if you knew me before this show, you’d be like “Oh, year, that’s her. That’s just how she is.”
HR: You said in the confessional at the end that it’s just a game. Is that still your mindset?
LSW: Everything in life is a game. A lot of people didn’t know this, but I accidentally ended up on the show. I didn’t look to apply to be on the show, and then I saw an ad when I watched the first season, and I just wanted to see the application. So I loosely filled it out and they called me. I didn’t really want to be running around in the jungle doing these risky things, but I followed it to the end.
I didn’t think I’d end up on the show. When I got there, I was like “Okay, well, this is just a game like every other game.” Life is a game, and you have to play full on in the circumstances you’re in and ride it as far as you can. I do still feel that way. I just feel that way about life in general.
HR: You faced a lot of fears throughout the challenges. Which was the toughest for you?
LSW: There were two. The hammock challenge, which you could not see, but right after we came off the ground, my arms started going numb. I really don’t like heights, so that was very difficult for me. Because of my smarts, I didn’t want to leave the most expensive case on the tower, which meant I had to put my emotions aside, which I didn’t, as you could see. I was bawling.
Then the other one was the ring challenge where we had to run and grab the ring, because that was also more heights. We were quite a few feet above the ocean surface, and I was just standing on that thing looking at my ring.
HR: Were there any challenges you loved doing?
LSW: I really loved all of them. I actually loved the one where we had to go through the swamp and open up the blue trunks. That was fun because I love to swim. I used to be a lifeguard, so I could swim. It was sort of a scavenger hunt, and you got to do it with someone else. I was with CK, who was a really great partner for me in this game. So that one was probably the most fun.
HR: So, when I’ve spoken with others, they said having Dr. Will come in changed everything. He made it his game. What was it like for you?
LSW: Will’s arrival was insanity for me. I never saw Big Brother so I didn’t know who Dr. Will was. Sydney was crying before he arrived because she was having some chronic body pain. As soon as she tells us about this, here comes this dude in a tuxedo on the front of a boat in the summer, and they’re all saying “It’s Dr. Will!” I’m thinking he’s coming for Sydney because she just told us she’s having chronic body pain, so I was totally confused.
Then when he started yelling and screaming at us and telling us we were horrible, I started laughing. I was like “I like this guy, because he’s a nut!”
I did see his strategy. It was to be as chaotic as possible to rattle everyone, and I didn’t mind, because I’m not easily rattled. I was quite calm. I would kind of roll my eyes at Will, just to make sure that everyone else thought that I thought he was just as ridiculous as he was actually being. But honestly, I liked him. I thought he was great in the game.
HR: Who did you want to see win at this point in the game?
LSW: Based on the effort I saw people put in and the way they played the game, my Top 3 are Phillip, David, and CK. They all played hard. They all poured their hearts, playing with this level of care and kindness. They had to make choices to keep themselves safe, but they were really authentic people I could feel for.
HR: Are you still friends with some of them?
LSW: Of course! I’ve been to LA twice to hand out with Will and Maria. I’ve hung out with David. I still talk to CK all the time. I talk to Seychelle all the time. I was talking to Phillip last night. I even talked to Dickson last night. We are pretty close.
We have this group chat, which is great. We stay in there, especially while the show’s on. We’re having so much fun watching it back. But we also have our own connections. I’m pretty connected to almost everyone on the cast.
HR: You’ve all been through the same experience nobody else understands.
LSW: Exactly. No one else. There have been other shows, but never this show at this time with this cast. It’s just phenomenal.
HR: Are there any reality shows you would love to go on next?
LSW: Absolutely! I want to do The Traitors for multiple reasons. I love The Traitors, but that’s not the only reason I want to do it. I want to do it because it’s a game of perceiving people, and I do that very well. That’s how I stayed safe for as long as I did in Deal or No Deal Island.
It also reminds me of the game Clue. You just have to work together, so I feel like I have a little bit of experience under my belt now, so I definitely want to do that.
I also love these shows where they take people to these islands and like fall in love, but everyone’s falling apart and crying. I want to be the coach for these people. Sometimes I see commercials, and I’m like “Oh my gosh, someone needs to talk to him.” That could be me!
I’ve started watching reality TV more, so I’m sure there are more as I watch them. Those are my top picks for now.
Deal or No Deal Island airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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