An Interview with Bismah Ahmed from ‘The Anonymous’

THE ANONYMOUS -- "Refresh. Revamp. Restrategize." Episode 110 -- Pictured: Bismah Ahmed -- (Photo by: Rico Torres/USA Network)

After weeks of staying under the radar and using her knowledge as a political lobbyist to help her game, a strategic win on Nima’s part led to Bismah Ahmed’s exit during this week’s episode of The Anonymous on USA Network. And to properly bid her farewell, we sat down with Bismah to discuss her time on the show.
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John Betancourt: I'd love to start by asking the same question I've asked all of your cohorts on the show, because you guys have such a diverse group of competitors, how you came to be involved in the show?
 
Bismad Ahmed: You know, casting reached out to me, and I essentially didn't know what this was. I've never done reality before, and so kind of got intrigued with the concept. And I was like, “You know what? This is something that I could see myself doing, especially since I work in politics, my job is extremely stressful, and I thrive under stress.” It's just unfortunately, the way I work. And so, I was kind of like, “Ah, they should just hand me the check. I've got this, you know.” So, I was like, “Okay, this sounds great. Sign me up”. Um, but, yeah, I didn't expect to do reality,
 
John Betancourt: I'm curious now, because some of you had that background of skills that you could really use to your advantage here. So how much did your time in Washington, play into your strategy?
 
Bismah Ahmed: You know what, it played, but it didn't play, right? So, for me, it was like in Washington, you're not as blatant with your rumors. You can't trace back your rumors quite as easily. So, for me, I'm also very observant. As a lobbyist, your reputation is everything, if you don't have a good reputation, I mean, and that's very easy to have, people just don't trust you. You don't even want to be in the same room. You don't want to be, you know, known to be working together. It's just very… it's a volatile environment, right? And so, for me, I did take that into the house. I didn't want to be as open with certain people that I knew that were backstabbing their alliances, and it was pretty obvious going in. And so, I took the tactic of being more of an observer and listening more than talking, because I knew that when people were talking too much, that information was going around, and I did not want to be a part of that. We saw that with Jack and Nina. We saw that with Dillian. You know, it just didn't, it wasn't working out great.
 
John Betancourt: Now coming from that environment, and obviously getting into what was a very challenging show, what was the most challenging aspect of doing this series?
 
Bismah Ahmed: The most challenging aspect of this was creating alliances, but then backstabbing them in the chat. I mean, it was, it was tough. I mean, at the end of the day, I really grew fond of Marcel, but I was targeting them in the chat. It was tough. And if I had gotten The Anonymous, you know, maybe shocking to say, and maybe people wouldn't believe it, but I would not have gotten Marcel out. And you know, so it's a really multi-dimensional concept and game, because you have to deceive on so many levels. And so, I would have done a lot of things differently, but I do think that this is a, this is one of the toughest games that I've even heard of. If I'm being honest, there's so many layers.
 
John Betancourt: Speaking of doing things differently, since you’ve had time to reflect, let’s expand on that.  
 
Bismah Ahmed: Oh my gosh, I listen. I always hope that the Women's Alliance will work out and all of this stuff. Because listen, I don't watch a lot of competition reality, but I do think that in this game, when I came in, I saw four women that were eliminated, and I'm like, “This narrative works to my interest and all of the women's interest,” right? So unfortunately, I did not realize that people were playing their own game at that point. But like on a just strategic level, I thought that would have worked, but it didn't. And so, I think I wouldn't have played so hard into that. And not only that, I think I would have created more of a closer bond with a few people and played into Nina's game of spreading a couple rumors here and there. I didn't do that. I took in the information. There's a lot I could have told but I just decided to keep it in and not draw attention. But then at the end of the day, the people who were creating the rumors, of course, they're going to draw attention to you. So, it was something that watching back, I see the strengths and weaknesses, yeah, and then, you know, hopefully I'll play next game, and I would play it very differently. I think I would be a little bit more savage in person versus the chat.
 
John Betancourt: Now you were saying loudly to whomever was to become The Anonymous that you wanted to say, and you clearly enjoyed playing the game. So, how tough was it to leave the game?
 
Bismah Ahmed: It was tough. I will say it was extremely tough for me. I just wanted an explanation, because after Dillian's outburst, I almost felt extremely confident, right? First of all, I wasn't really up for elimination. I just happened to get the wrong box. So, for me, I was like, “Give me an explanation of why I'm out right now. Okay? Because what I've been doing is has been working, right? I'm not drawing in a lot of attention to myself. I am not spreading it in rumors.” I feel like I was playing a good game. Had it not been for that Face-Off, I would have still been in the game. And look at Andy, he’s flying under the radar. I think he's playing a phenomenal game. Okay, that would have been me, had I kept going a little bit further on. Nobody was putting me up for elimination that day. So, it is a game of luck in some circumstances.
 
John Betancourt: So, what are you going to miss the most about being on the show?
 
Bismah Ahmed: You know, we all wanted to win. I think there's so many lovable personalities on this show. I've met so many incredible people, like in Washington, I'm not going to meet a professional gamer or a Big Brother winner, right? Like, it's very cool to have met these very accomplished individuals in their own respects, right? Like, I just don't meet these kind of people, and so it's the people for me, I will really just cherish this experience for that reason in itself.
 
John Betancourt: We all kind of learn something when we do very unique and new things we haven't done before. What did you learn about yourself in going through this game?
 
Bismah Ahmed: I learned that I can be very nice and very empathetic, and I have to tone that down a little bit in a game like this. So, if you see me on another game, you're going to see a different version of me, because I don't think that worked out great. Um, let me be a little bit more savage in person, versus virtual. So that's what I've learned about myself. I'm going to tone down the niceness, but I do think that I connect with people easily. It's just that when I know that you're blatantly being fake, because I'm very observant, and so if I feel like I sense that, I just back away. So, I saw it on the screen. And you know that can be a weakness in a game like this, but all of this you take in, and you can change going forward.
 
John Betancourt: Alright, so everybody, watch out. Bismah’s coming for everyone in the next round.
 
Bismah Ahmed: I'm coming for you. (Laughter)
 
John Betancourt: Last question, what does it mean to you, to be part of the show that is this new and this unique.
 
Bismah Ahmed: It's so exciting because it really is a compilation of different aspects of different -- um, I mean, The Traitors and The Circle combined. I mean, that's the ultimate game, this game. I even think watching it back on TV, like, it's way harder in person. And I will say that this is a very, very hard strategic game, and I don't know if the viewers could see it watching that, but like, I mean, this was the coolest, hardest, craziest experience of my life. And on so many levels, you have to mentally be aware, socially be aware, you know, physically be able to do the challenges. And if you don't stack up on any of those, your target -- and then, not to mention your background, I don't regret not telling anybody that I was a lobbyist, because that would have been an extra, you know, target, I had on my back and so for no reason, but maybe for a little reason, but I'm glad I did it.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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