I don’t want BuddyTV readers to get the wrong idea about my opinions of Michelle. I’m certainly not her biggest fan and I can see where she made mistakes in her social game. However, voting out strong players early on in Survivor is a mistake that many have made in the past and it never works out in their favor. People get too paranoid early on. Last night, the Fang tribe was even trying to send Dan home! This kind of irrational gameplay is exactly what will be their undoing and I think every Survivor fans sees Kota basically floating along, no problem, to the merge. They’ll have the numbers and a Fang tribe member will be lucky just to get to final four. They’ll have a lot of work ahead of them if they make it to the merge, trying to fit in with people who have already bonded and been living together. The’yll just have to hope to become a swing vote. Michelle knows thi too, and today, she spoke about it in her exclusive interview with BuddyTV.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
Hey everybody. This is Gina from BuddyTV, and today I’m talking to Michelle from Survivor: Gabon. My first question is: how stupid is the Fang tribe for voting you out first?
You picked up on it too? I think their IQs altogether may equal mine.
Well, it just seems like tribes who vote out strong players in the beginning just never succeed in this game.
Yeah.
So what do you think ended up happening? They said that you didn’t mesh well with them, but I didn’t really see that in the episode. Was there something that we didn’t get to see?
No. I think Gillian or some of the older people were just looking for anything. They knew that they were the weaker ones. In common sense, though, they would be the first ones to go, so I think they were just looking for anything. And the fact that I was super cold, and I was visible at night – I was freezing cold; I had no clothes. Aside from that, I got along with everybody. They were a lot of fun. It was just at night, and I think they really played that up and was like, “She’s miserable and blah blah blah.” Seriously? If you had two percent body fat and mini shorts on, you’d be freezing too. You know, I’m extremely fit, so the fact that I have really low blood pressure, I get cold super easily. That definitely didn’t help me out at all.
Is it safe to say that people really underestimated you in the beginning of this game?
Oh, definitely. I mean, I was the last one picked and then I was the third person up the hill. I was definitely underestimated. I flew by everyone.
Didn’t you think that when you were the first girl to the top of the hill that you had earned your place in the tribe? I would think that that would do it, but apparently not.
I definitely think that that would do it, but even if I hadn’t been the first girl up the hill, just looking at my tribe members, I’m obviously in better shape than more than half of them. And if you really want to get down to it, I know for a fact that I’m the most fit person on that tribe, and probably in the entire game. I’m a freakin’ boxer. You have to be in incredible shape to box, and I’ve been boxing for years.
We saw on last night’s episode that you formed a good friendship with Ken. When you were in Africa, did you know that he had a crush on you?
No, I didn’t.
So when you watch that back and you hear him say all those things about you, what’s going through your mind when you see the episode?
I was cracking up. I thought it was so adorable. It was the cutest thing ever.
Does Ken have a chance to survive in this game, or do you think the tribe will pick him off early on?
It’s definitely hard to say. I think that if they lose the next challenge, he probably does have a good chance of being the one to go.
Who’s really manipulating the Fang tribe and getting the votes to go their way?
I thought that Gillian tried the hardest. I mean, obviously, it didn’t do anything, but she definitely tried the hardest. I think Randy’s kind of silent but deadly. He says he’s just going to shut up and sit back, but I really don’t think that’s the case with him.
In last night’s episode, your tribe loses three challenges in a row. Is this tribe just on a path of destruction the whole time or are they going to be able to get it together?
I mean, they lost me, so I’m going to have to go with no.
Your tribe made some really odd picks when it was time for that schoolyard pick. What was the strategy? Do you have any idea?
I have no idea. To this day, I’m stunned by the people that were chosen before me. I was just shocked and I still am.
Do you think that you could have done anything differently to stay in the game, or was your fate sealed from day one?
Of course, looking back, I could have played it differently. I could have gone Parvati’s route and flirted with all the guys on my tribe. I’m sure there were a couple tricks I could have pulled out of my hat, but I was completely cocky. I was like, there’s no way that I was going to be voted out before some of these other people in my tribe. So I wasn’t even thinking that. I didn’t think I needed to think strategy yet, you know what I mean, so early in the game.
So, what’s going on with you now, Michelle? Are you still boxing?
Yes, I’m still boxing. I have a fight on pay-per-view over Super Bowl weekend, and I’m training for that right now.
Alright. Well, thanks so much. I’m sorry you went out so early. I think they’re crazy.
Thank you.
– Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
