Since Deal or No Deal Island premiered, the reality show has become a must-see and is one of Peacock’s best because of its cast. For example, Joe Manganiello is a great host, the casting of the Survivor Hall of Famer Parvati Shallow is brilliant, and Seychelle Cordero was hilariously blunt. While DONDI should continue to cast newbies, it also was great that Dr. Will Kirby boosted the show’s ratings and fans loved him so much he should go on every reality show.
While seeing Dr. Will and “Boston” Rob Mariano together was fascinating, it was his “golden gods” feud with David Genat that featured a confrontation that was truly great. With that in mind, it is fascinating that David told TheThings about how much Dr. Will got under his skin.
Deal Or No Deal Island’s David Genat Revealed That Dr. Will Kirby “Flustered” Him More Than Anyone Else Ever Has
Throughout Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, David Genat proved over and over again that he could take things in stride. As a result, the few moments when David was overcome with emotion were some of the most compelling scenes of the season.
Two perfect examples of that involved David’s obvious rival in the game, Dr. Will Kirby. As a result, it seemed very clear that Dr. Will’s antics in the game were able to get under David’s skin at times during the game.
Still, no matter how obvious it seemed that Dr. Will made David frustrated, it is fascinating to see what the reality show great has said about his rival. For example, it is amazing that David told TheThings that Dr. Will made him more “flustered” than anyone has in his entire life.
The first time that David Genat played Deal or No Deal in the temple, he made a good deal and was able to eliminate Dr. Will from the game. As can be seen in a YouTube video of the moment, David appeared to be overcome with emotion and adrenaline when he announced he was eliminating Dr. Will.
Which Celebrities Have Played Deal or No Deal Island | |
|---|---|
Claim To Fame | Celebrity |
Survivor Hall of Famer | “Boston” Rob Mariano |
The Real Housewives of Atlanta/The Celebrity Apprentice | Claudia Jordan |
Big Brother Icon | Dr. Will Kirby |
Survivor Hall of Famer | Parvati Shallow |
Australian Survivor Legend | David Genat |
Former Miss Indiana USA/Professional Wrestler | Alexis Lete |
In March 2025, TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas interviewed David Genat about his Deal or No Deal experience. During the resulting conversation, David was asked about becoming overcome with emotion when he took Dr. Will out. In response, David admitted that he usually takes a lot of pride in keeping his cool.
“I have always really prided myself on being as cool as possible in those big kind of moments because that’s where it’s really happens. You know? That’s where good television is made.”
Since David obviously didn’t keep his cool at that moment, he went on to explain what led to him becoming overcome with emotion at that moment.
20:37
Related
Exclusive: DONDI’s Phillip Solomon And Dickson Wong On How One Played With Integrity And The Other Was A Weasel
Phillip Solomon And Dickson Wong exclusively talked to TheThings about how differently they played Deal or No Deal Island.
From the moment that Dr. Will showed up on Deal or No Deal Island, he was an agent of chaos in the game. Even though Dr. Will was extremely entertaining for viewers, it is easy to see how frustrating his antics may have been for his fellow players.
In February 2025, Dr. Will Kirby explained exclusively to TheThings how he knew that David Genat had to be a reality show veteran. “Very quickly I could tell that David was a veteran player. He was laughing at the right jokes. He was flattering all the contestants appropriately. His body language, his demeanor, even the way he was flirting; everything pointed to the fact that he was very, very good at this. Well, now these players will gravitate to people most like themselves, I also noticed that Australian Dave was equally dividing his time among everyone. But, the big giveaway, was in the very first challenge that I participated in. He was one of the first people to grab a suitcase, but then he kind of just meandered around appearing frazzled. It was a dead giveaway that he was purposely trying to slow down his own progress in the game as to not appear to physically dominant. I felt like that was too savvy of a move for a rookie to try to pull off.”
While talking exclusively to TheThings, David stated that Dr. Will made him more “flustered” than anyone else ever has.
I’ve never been so flustered in my entire life like I have with Will.
While talking about how much Dr. Will bothered him during the game, David told TheThings that may be a compliment to the Big Brother icon. “Maybe that’s a testament to how good he plays the game.”
In February 2025, David Genat exclusively told TheThings about the moment when Dr. Will Kirby confronted him and asked if he’d won Australian Survivor. David explained that he didn’t panic during that confrontation because of his ability to stay calm under stress. “I don’t really do ‘panic,’ the context of that conversation probably wasn’t as abrupt as what was shown. I was more concerned that maybe somehow he had cheated to get that information, like had access to a phone or something along those lines.”
While talking to TheThings in March 2025, David spoke about what was going through his mind when he eliminated Dr. Will. While explaining that, David revealed that he had a speech prepared for the moment he eliminated Dr. Will.
“I was like, ‘Just be cool.’ I had a whole speech prepared. I’d thought about what I was gonna say.”
Even though David knew what he wanted to say, what happened next at that moment was out of his control.
Related
Deal Or No Deal Island’s Parvati Shallow Has Made Her Castmates Look Completely Foolish
Deal Or No Deal Island’s Parvati Shallow has made her co-stars look absolutely foolish in a truly incredible way.
When David played his first game of Deal or No Deal, he a lot on the line. If David made a bad deal, he’d be gone from the game in an instant. If David made a good deal, he’d finally be able to accomplish his goal of eliminating Dr. Will.
In February 2025, David Genat revealed that he and Dr. Will Kirby considered aligning at one point. While that never happened, David revealed that he suggested an alliance name based off the “golden golds” moniker each gave themselves at different times. “Its not relevant or shown but when Will and I had conversations about a possible alliance he was trying to call us ‘Hard Ice’ and I was pushing very hard to call our alliance the ‘Golden Girls,’ and saying we are so golden and trying to get him to say it. At this point I didn’t realize he had called himself a golden god on BB which would have made that even more insane, but I think he even forgot he did that it was so long ago. I don’t think there is a plastic surgery procedure to improve aging memory.”
In March 2025, David told TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas that the tension of that moment got to him.
“That intensity of playing temple. And then going to do that speech for Will, I was so I was so flustered. I want him gone. I wanted him gone so badly, Matthew, so badly. It just all kind of spilled out of me. And I was like, ‘You’re gone, brother.'”
Hilariously enough, David told TheThings that he realized he lost his cool when he watched himself eliminate Dr. Will.
Even watching that back, I’m like, ‘Oh, man. Come on. Like, you really lost your cool there.’
At that point, David explained that the emotion came through because so much was on the line for him and his alliance. “There was that kind of sense with Will, especially for our alliance that, like, he was gonna just ruin the whole thing. And so to be able to send him out just epic. And, yeah, I definitely lost my cool.”
Deal Or No Deal Island’s David Genat Reflected On Not Being Able To Contain His Laughter At Dr. Will Kirby
When he got to play Deal or No Deal, Dr. Will Kirby mocked the seriousness of the moment. First off, he chose the briefcases in sequential order. Secondly, he pretended to take the first offer only to later reveal that he’d tricked his castmates to see their reactions. While talking to TheThings, David Genat spoke about how he reacted to Dr. Will’s antics at that moment.
Related
Exclusive: Deal Or No Deal Island’s Parvati Shallow And Phillip Solomon On Why He Was So Upset With Her
Deal Or No Deal Island’s Parvati Shallow exclusively tells TheThings why she thinks Phillip Solomon was so mad about her Dr. Will Kirby comment.
During the episode that showed Dr. Will pretend to take the first deal, David was shown in a confessional interview expressing how frustrated he was. “I can’t with this guy. He is the worst person I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s The Will Show. It’s so much. It’s so, so much. I swear to God, it might look funny at all. It’s not.” However, after making that statement, David told himself not to start laughing before cracking up and saying the following. “Stop laughing. It’s really funny. He’s really good. Godd*** it.”
When asked about cracking up at that moment, David told TheThings that he really couldn’t stop himself from laughing at what Dr. Will had done. However, David also stated that he really did find Dr. Will’s behavior to be disrespectful and was desperate for the Big Brother icon to go.
“It was completely sincere. I’ve never seen anything like what Will did. And I think he came into the game and he was really, like, I hate the word, but, like, unapologetic. He just did what he ever he wanted. And so I was finding that super disrespectful because I’m like, I’m here to make a television show. Okay? I’m playing by the rules of the game. People are trying to work here. And he just was like, ‘I don’t care what anyone’s doing. This is The Will Show.’ He was just big and going nuts and saying what he wanted and holding up temples and making us wait and doing just unbelievable stuff. I’ve never seen anything like it and he had to go.”
When asked further by TheThings about not being able to contain his laughter, David jokingly referred to himself as a reality TV artist while laughing. David then referred again to Dr. Will’s ability to get to him like nobody else ever had.
“Matthew, I’m an artist. Okay? I can’t work like this. I can’t work under these circumstances. I’ve never been so channeled in my entire television career. Like, I can get really hyper focused on something.”
Finally, David explained to TheThings that when he feels like someone has done him wrong, he will go out of his way to get vengeance. “I’m also very petty. If you mess with me, I’m like, ‘Alright. Well, I’m gonna make sure I get that one back. And Will just had to go. I was so focused on getting him out of there. You can see. I mean, all that stuff was just, like it was hilarious, but, like, I hated it. It was so so annoying.”
In March 2025, Dr. Will Kirby watched David Genat’s exclusive comments about him. In response, Dr. Will exclusively sent TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas some fascinating comments on David’s remarks. First off, Dr. Will expressed that he wanted to get David out too. From there, Dr. Will stated that he knew David was going to eliminate him, and he thought that made perfect sense.
“It was no secret that I was targeting the family; they were an incredibly formidable alliance. When I had the opportunity to get rid of one of them, I took it, and unfortunately, that led to MG’s elimination. Of the four family members, she was the one that I was the least worried about, and I absolutely would’ve gotten rid of any of the other three if I had been afforded that chance. When David eliminated me, I wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. That move made complete sense and he really had no other choice; I never thought he was going to get rid of Dickson over me. No one did. I was just hoping that he would lose to the banker and be eliminated himself. “
Dr. Will went on to express that he was happy that David lost his cool when he eliminated the Big Brother icon. Dr. Will. also stated that he didn’t hold any ill will that David eliminated him.
“I am glad to hear David was a little bit rattled during my elimination, but I really can’t fault him, or anyone else, for playing a game that benefits them as an individual. I know the drill.“
Since Dr. Will is a consummate entertainer, the way he finished his comments were perfect. Dr. Will commented on the entertaining moments that he created during his DONDI tenure. Dr. Will also stated that fans didn’t get to see all the times that David was fighting being amused by his antics. Finally, Dr. Will stated that he and David had become friends now that the game is over.
“Shifting gears, If you watch the show back a second time, you may notice some funny things that you missed during the first viewing. Something that I really appreciated about David was that he saw the comedic elements I was bringing to the game. A few times, I caught him trying to avoid laughing at my antics in front of ‘The Family’ members for fear of their reprisal. And if I’m being honest, I really have nothing but great things to say about David and now that the show is over, we have forged quite a friendship and still share a lot of laughs now!”
