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The latest Villain to get the boot (and the second member of the jury) is New Yorker Courtney, one of the wittier and snarkiest Survivors to date. Read on as she talks about her tribe's downfall and Russell's one man show in this conference call. And - she really enjoyed bonding with Coach at Ponderosa. Go figure!
I’m so sad you’re off, I’m going to miss your wit and honesty out there!
I know, I know! It’s going to be a lot less hilarious without me, I tell ya. They’ll be sorry.
I know you guys weren’t told anything about Russell, but he had to be one of the worst to make it on the show. What did you think of him when you first got there?
Russell was really, really quiet and he would just disappear all the time. So he was never around. And also - people are like, oh, he’s on the Villains team! - but Coach is on the Villains team. Coach never did anything to anyone, he was all about honor and integrity and he never sold anyone out, you know? So just being on the Villains team doesn’t mean you’re burning people’s possessions and hiding stuff. Like, Rob was one of the best people around camp, and he was the most giving and he’s a “Villain”. I think the term “villain” as applied to Russell is different than as applied to each person on the Villains team. So it’s not that easy to make the jump from “You are on the Red team, therefore you are a sociopath and we should all be afraid of you.”
How would you describe your whole relationship with Rob and Russell and the gang?
Rob and Russell started off in an alliance all together - it was me, Sandra, Parvati, Danielle, and then Rob and Russell. It was against Tyson, Coach, Jerri and Randy, right? But they kept butting heads because Russell’s whole thing is, “I’m not here to work, I’m here to win.” [mocking Russell’s accent] So Rob is going bananas, because he’s like, oh my God, we need a friggin’ house. What are you doing, help me! You can lift things, get over here! And Tyson and Coach were off scheming in the bushes on how to get rid of Parvati, and Russell was off looking for his Lucky Charms. There was just nobody around, so Rob was getting really frustrated.
And you know, we never did get a friggin’ house together, we won a tarp and then we won another one, because the first had holes in it. The Villains were a disaster at the camp. Those two just decided to butt heads, and you knew there was going to be a big showdown for dominance at some point. It didn’t’ go well for our team, I’ll tell you.
Did you know that Sandra was as sneaky as she was?
I knew that she was! I feel like the Russell, Danielle, Parvati and Jerri alliance really, really underestimated her when they kept her over me, because I mean - I’ll be honest, I was stunned. I was like, is this really happening? You’re really going to keep Sandra? Sandra was the winner of Pearl Islands, you’re gonna keep her over me? I’m a sidekick, you guys are retarded! This is insane. Sandra is just like total rogue, you never know what she’s thinking. As much as she’s loud and has this reputation for being loud and brash, she holds her cards so tight. And I was like, these fools do not think that this woman is a threat to them. And she really is.
And you were close to her. Did you know all her secrets?
I knew some of them. I knew more than they did, and I think I didn’t underestimate her. But Sandra is not a stupid player, and she sort of plays it off like she’s a goof and she keeps her head down, blah blah blah. But come on. She’s a much bigger threat, and she’s much more independent and she’s much more of a wild card. She’ll just do something, make something up, start messing with people. And I really don’t do stuff like that. I couldn’t believe it, I was really shocked. And then I was laughing, I was like, “I can’t wait to watch this go down.” These people do not know what they’ve done.
She must have had some relationship with Rupert. Did that come into play at all?
I mean, everyone sort of went over and over all these past relationships on different shows, and it didn’t matter because everyone decided what relationship you had, there was nothing you could do about it. They decided that Parvati and Amanda were married, which, they didn’t have anything together. They decided that me and JT had some secret alliance, which obviously, we didn’t. He handed over his immunity idol not to me, but to some stranger he’d never met! [laughs] I didn’t have an alliance with anyone on the other side. I had faith that Amanda and I would help each other out, because we had played so well together in the past. I definitely would have tried to help her, and I have confidence that she would have looked out for me, too, if she could have.
So I think the “past” things were relevant only in the eyes of the paranoid people.
I’m still blown away by Russell. Did you think he was a good guy? Did you buy all his stuff?
No, I mean, Russell and I didn’t really have that much interaction. Which you can tell. In the very beginning he was a part of our alliance and he pushed me once to say “Do you trust Boston Rob?” And I was like, what are you getting at, you crazy lunatic? It’s day two, there are twenty people in this game, don’t turn on the people in your own alliance yet! What are you doing? I told Rob, go talk to this man, he is losing it. And Rob was like, “Aw, geez, Russell!”
So Russell was like, really in it at the end, and I think he saw quickly that I wasn’t going to be useful to him in any way. I kinda like raised eyebrows at him and his intensity, and our styles were not going to gel and so we just sort of went our separate ways. But I had a great time talking to Russell, we talked a lot about fried chicken and you know, random things. It’s funny, you could tell he was making stuff up as he went along, just like little stories about stuff that didn’t line up and we were just like “Aw, Russell. You’re just a ball of energy, you’re so cute!” [laughs]
Who was the most annoying person on your tribe?
I think everyone took turns being annoying. I’m sure I had my fair share. I think...I don’t know if it’s the second time around, it gets to you less, or you just have a higher expectation of people being annoying, but noone really got on my nerves that badly. I know everyone wants me to have a new Jean-Robert that I hated, but...nobody bugged me that much. I was just like, “Eh, here you are, everyone sucks, alright, whatever.”
So, with all the talk about one - why didn’t you form a girls alliance?
Well, because Parvati and Russell were very much attached to each other, and Danielle, very much attached to Parvati. They had gone through being in the minority and now they were in power - they were not gonna separate from each other under any circumstances. Also, Russell magically kept everyone safe with all these million immunity idols. If I was in their position, I would not have flipped to join two losers who had tried to vote them out. Me and Sandra were trying to get rid of them! And when we were in the alliance with Rob and Tyson and it was six versus three, we were laughing heartily and being like, “Oh, look at them scramble!”
So now, they’re (the girls) not gonna be like “Let’s get rid of this guy who saved us all and is keeping us safe, and is running everything really well. Let’s go with these two idiots that hated us.” It’s just so stupid. Everyone thinks that “Well, we all have vaginas, so let’s get together, guys!” It’s like, no. Who’s going to keep you in the game, who’s the player that is benefitting me most. Russell was benefitting them, they’re going to stay with him. And nobody likes him, so why wouldn’t you bring him?
Really? So people are plotting to bring him to the end because nobody likes him?
Well, yeah! I mean, Coach is first one on the jury and I’m the second, and none of us are Russell fans. So Sandra, Parvati, Jerri and Danielle - at least a few of them are gonna be on the jury too. The whole jury is shaping up, and the Heroes are obviously not going to vote for a Villain, they want a Hero, or whatever. So...and he’s already thinking that. That’s why Russell voted for me instead of Coach when we voted out Coach, because he wanted Coach’s vote and he wanted to keep Jerri loyal to him by saying “Look at what Parvati and Danielle did! Aren’t they evil? They sided against you!” So she doesn’t like them, she only likes him.
Is there a point when you asked yourself “What the hell am I doing here, am I nuts?”
I mean, I think that’s every moment on Survivor, so...[laughs]
Was this time harder for you?
No, it wasn’t at all. I think the first time was much harder because you were actually starving to death, you didn’t have coconuts everywhere, it was so hot, and I had insufficient clothing (in China). I actually felt like I was eking out my existence and I felt like I was going to die. Whereas this time I’m like “Oh, yay, look - everyone’s here! We’re having a great time! What’s going on - coconut?” [laughs] So it wasn’t as hard this time around, I knew what I was getting into.
And you did only lose four pounds?
Yeah, well, you know, I ate normally. We had coconut and we just had the reward before I was voted off, so that probably had something to do with it too. It wasn’t as hard. China was a really difficult location, and the game itself was really hard. And so Samoa was...we had bananas and coconuts everywhere. That’s pretty awesome.
What did you miss the most (in the real world)?
I missed my friends at home, you know...my bed and television. All of those things. [laughs] But you know, I didn’t really think about all that stuff when I was out there. When I was out there I thought how I was just lucky to be able to come and play again.
Russell said he didn’t trust Sandra last night - but what didn’t we see about him trusting Sandra about Coach voting him off?
Russell and Sandra hated each other and it was really funny. They would get in fights about Russell not washing and Sandra getting mad at him about something else, and they were really funny, those two. They would go back and forth and I’m surprised they didn’t use more of it, because it was really funny to watch in the front row, I’ll tell you that! They would just go at each other like brother and sister, it was really funny.
But I don’t know - I think their motive for getting rid of getting rid of me and keeping her was that I’m more believable to the other team. They would listen to me if I said “Listen, this guy’s crazy, you gotta get rid of him.” Sandra is more known for double crossing, and making things up. So I think they figured it was better to put a sock in me, and deal with her.
Was anyone totally different than you expected them to be?
You know what? I found out at Ponderosa that Coach was like, the greatest guy ever. And he was such a tool in the game. He kept hugging me, and I was like “What are you doing?!” And then outside of the game he’s totally chill and fun. I was like “Why didn’t you act like this in the game, everybody would have liked you!” So we have two solid weeks of bonding back at the ol’ Ponderosa, which he calls the Dragon’s Lair. [laughter] So, it’s fun. That was a total bonus, I got the boot and we’re both losers, but at least we had a fun time together and made friends. So that was good.
Are you shocked that Todd hasn’t returned to Survivor in some form? Some thought he was one of the best players...
I agree, I also think Todd was one of the best players, and I think that he’s overlooked. But then, also you have to think that for men in Survivor, there’s so much more competition in all seasons for spots than there are for women. The women tend to be booted first, they go early, or they have nothing to say, you know...whatever. So it’s a lot harder. I don’t know why he wasn’t picked for this one, the only thing that I can think is that Todd is a teeny little nugget, he’s my size. We’re about the same size. So maybe they figured it wouldn’t be fair to pit him up against James, although they had no problem putting Randy against James. So I don’t know what the thing was, but...we were both disappointed that he didn’t get to go.
But he sent me his hat that he wore in China, he sent it to me to wear so I wore it proudly throughout the show. I represented the little munchkin brigade [laughs]. Todd was with me in spirit the whole time, and he was so proud of me for doing it, he was proud I got as far as I did. I’m hoping he gets to go back at some point, and I get to sit at home and be proud of him! That’s how it was meant to be.
Why do you think the Villains went from dominating the immunity challenges to losing so many in a row?
I think because Tyson was really good in the challenges, and he’s really funny. He and Rob set off of each other, sort of like palled around. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that those two boys were carrying a lot of the weight in challenges. Tyson was great in his season, and Rob was like some prodigy from Survivor. So, you know - vote out your best two people in challenges, and it’s all going to turn into a big hot mess.
Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?
In hindsight? No, I think I did it the best that I could, I put myself in a really good position and I had alliances surrounding me, I was completely buffered from anyone trying to target me. My name only started coming up when Rob was getting the boot, and Coach wanted to target me instead of Rob, and Rob wouldn’t have it. He said no, she’s loyal, I’m not doing it. So I wasn’t even in trouble up to that point, my name never came up. When it was like the first boot, you would think that everyone would think I was the weakest person, I have to go. My name was never brought up, not once. It was between Randy and Parvati.
I thought I was doing great, and then we got fubared with the whole Tyson/idol situation. Then it all went to hell and there was only so much I could do at that point. But how can you account for that, that was such a freak thing to happen. Then it’s like if that hadn’t happened, we can play this game til whenever. But I think for being the type of player that I am, doing what I do, building really strong alliances with good people who are going to protect me a little bit. We help each other through the game, everyone gets to the end and we’re all happy, you know? [laughs] I think I did the best I could.
What have you seen on tv that surprised you the most?
Um, I don’t know...I guess the Heroes being so boring surprised me. Besides that, nothing really.
It certainly seems like your camp was more entertaining.
Yes, I agree. Tyson was hilarious, and Parvati is really funny too. We have some really funny people.
What event do you think really sent your team south? Was it Rob getting voted out, Tyson getting voted out...?
I would say it was Tyson getting voted out. Because Tyson was the link to the big alliance, and as soon as he went, the small alliance of Danielle, Parvati and Russell just turned sooo cocky. They were just laughing by the fire and we were like “Oh my God, what happened?” Jerri and Coach wandered off and never came back, and Rob was just looking, kind of running over the tape in his head. You could see him, he was like “What the **** went on?” There was no recovering from that. And I was confident that me and Sandra would be able to skate through, but it didn’t work out so well for me. [laughs]
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Originally Posted by dantrb;3879048; 
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