After becoming one of Love Is Blind's most infamous contestants, Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee is finally embracing his villain title.
That's why when the veterinarian-turned-DJ got the chance to compete against nine other notorious reality TV personalities for $200,000 on E!'s new series House of Villains, he jumped at the chance.
"It's a double-edged sword," Shake exclusively told E! News' Francesca Amiker of his polarizing reputation. "Part of the reason I ever wanted to go on the show was to clear me out of that villain category. But the house definitely had different plans for me. Once you're with these people and in these unique scenarios, it brings out a certain side of you. I'm not too mad at it though, honestly."
As he put it, "At the end of the day, I think villains have their admirable qualities too and I'm no longer anti-villain."
Despite his volatile breakup from ex-fiancée Deepti Vempati on season two of the Netflix series, the 33-year-old says fans show him more love than hate when they meet him.
"I think they like the chaos, they like the honestly," Shake explained. "The thing they always say is, 'Man, you were the realest one on there. Thank you.' That means more to me than if I was some fake version of myself."
"And even if I was liked more or more embraced by everybody, if I was some fake, sweetheart type of thing, that's no good," he continued. "I was genuinely myself and if people can respect me and like me for that, that's the ultimate win for me. Even if it's a smaller number of people."
On House of Villains, Shake will have to outsmart, out-manipulate and out-scheme fellow infamous reality stars like OMAROSA, Jax Taylor and Johnny Bananas in weekly challenges in an attempt to snag the cash prize. With so many big personalities together under one roof, expect tons of drama.
As for which of his costars was the most impressive when it came to reading their other housemates to filth? That title goes to the epically shady Tiffany "New York" Pollard.
"I had never heard anybody put together strings of insults like that before and it was like art," he admitted. "Any time she would go off on one of her rants I would lose it because it was just hilarious. Nobody can do it like her."
See Shake go head-to-head with other reality TV "villains" for a $200,000 prize when House of Villains premieres Thursday, Oct. 12, at 10 p.m. on E!. And keep reading to meet the rest of the cast.