Netflix’s new reality gameshow where contestants compete for a $1 million prize is filled with twists and deception. And now, with the finale of Million Dollar Secret released today (Wednesday, April 9), the “villain” of the maiden series has made her thoughts clear with a plea to the streaming giants.
The contest, which has been hailed as the go-to show to fill the void left behind by The Traitors, was described pre-launch as a ‘unique game of prey and predator’. The group of contestants have had to make themselves at home among luxurious surroundings. However, they weren’t there for pure relaxation. Instead, participants have had to compete to go home with the huge $1 million cash prize.
Among them was finalist Sydnee Falkner. The fitness model and medical sales specialist from Alaska quickly tagged as the “baddie” of the series. However, she spoke exclusively to the Mirror ahead of the finale, sharing her thoughts on the show, aspects fans would be surprised at, and her plea with Netflix bosses.
While fans watched on with intent, Sydnee confessed it “wasn’t all tense and plotting,” revealing the cast did have “fun, raw moments of joking and laughing together”.
However, she admitted the tension is real and still evident in the aftermath of the show. Despite admitting the contestants are in a group chat together, she said: “This is a very new experience for all of us and there definitely has been tension in the chat.
“As much as everyone understands that we played a game, I do see cast mates feeding into the negativity or drama via posts or comments online — that is hurtful if I’m being honest. We all went there to play a game, it wasn’t personal against anyone.
“It is tens of thousands of hours edited down to 45 minute episodes, so seeing cast mates encouraging hurtful and hateful comments is disheartening.”
She revealed she has “tried to check in and do mental health checks in the group chat” because she is aware how things can affect people. “On the show I mentioned how no one asked anything to get to know me and that I tried to get to know something real about this,” she went on. “That was 100% genuine to who I am and so I really try to check in on others.”
And Sydnee revealed some of the cast recently got together after the initial episodes dropped. “I had some of my cast mates come out the weekend after the first 3 episodes dropped,” she said. “We’ve all talked about trying to do a finale party together, but it might not be feasible with our “real” lives.”
She went on the make a suggestion to Netflix, saying: “Fingers crossed Netflix gives us a reunion!”
Sydnee also said she didn’t perceive herself as a “villain” despite being branded as such by some viewers. “If I was, then let’s just say I was very restrained,” she said. Sydnee added: “I chose grace…just with a dash of mischief,” before laughing: “This cat has nine lives and they couldn’t get rid of me that easily. Besides, how boring would the show have been without me there?”
Despite having a laugh, the reality TV star hit out at those abusing her online following the show. She said: “I’ll be honest, I was shocked by the amount of personal attacks and negativity there has been from viewers towards me.
“I know most of it stems from episode 3 with the tie vote between Lauren and I, but if they rewatch it they will see me say that Lauren is a very smart, strong, and “dangerous” (which is the term that will be used to describe me the rest of the show) player. All of those are extremely strong traits!”
She added: “However, at the end of the day, only one of us could win. I really don’t look at the negative comments and I’ve filtered specific words just because I don’t need to see people attacking me as a person on my own page. I focus more on the amazing, wonderful messages and comments from friends, family, and fans!”
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