Was Jerri’s Behavior Really So Bad? A Debate

Phil: When I watched the Survivor: All-Stars reunion, I was taken aback by the way the audience booed Jerri when she tried to talk about how Survivor is more than just a game, and people’s feelings were being hurt in the process. I agreed with her, and to a point it is more than a game. However, when other people were making similar comments, they weren’t being booed. I didn’t understand why everyone was still against Jerri.

David: I don’t think it was a case of people still being against Jerri. I think it was people being against her for butting into a conversation that she had no part of, and trying to put the blame on the audience for the actions of the contestants. I think anybody who had said that would have gotten booed. And I’m sorry, but nobody made “similar comments.” In fact, every other contestant who spoke – both on that show and on the follow-up million-dollar special – disagreed with her.

Phil: See, then we disagree right off the bat. I feel had any other of the cast members made the same kind of comment, nobody would have booed them, especially from the second they started talking. Had Rupert made the comment, everyone would have felt sorry for him. Since it was Jerri, no mercy was shown.

David: But none of the other cast members made that kind of comment. They were all smart enough to know that they volunteered for it and, like I just said, every one of them who spoke out disagreed with her.

Phil: I may not even say this, but after Richard, Jerri is one of the least liked contestants ever to appear on the show. Actually, she might be the least liked contestant ever. I don’t happen to fall in this category. After Jerri appeared in the Outback edition of Survivor, she knew that she had garnered a very bad reputation from the way that she acted on the show. She ran with this reputation, and even though she stated the whole time that she was not a “bitch” in real life, that was just the way that she was edited. I can sympathize with her on that one. We have seen many times when the editors mold characters into what they want them to be. The simple fact is, like it or not, Jerri did everything that they showed, one way or another. She accused Kel of smuggling beef jerky, she said mean things and treated some people like crap. I can’t hold that against her though – because so many other people have done the same thing.

David: You may be right that Jerri could be the least-liked contestant ever. But she has only herself to blame. She reveled in being a bitch. She got a Playboy spread out of it and tried to rationalize her behavior there. She even had a Playboy website chat in which she implied that Tina’s breasts were fake. But she’s not a bitch? Please. As you said, she did everything they showed. They didn’t need to mold her. Hell, just ask those who were there. There is a reason Colby still seems to have a healthy dislike for Jerri. There is a reason Ethan couldn’t believe Lex would vote him out before her. There is a reason Shii Ann and Kathy called her a bitch. That wasn’t the editing. And she sure as hell can’t blame her behavior in the reunion and million-dollar special on editing either, since it was live!

Phil: Look at Jonny Fairplay. He said his grandmother died! Yes, everyone agreed that it was a horrible lie, but strategy-wise, almost everyone applauded him for it! It blew over and nobody even talks about it anymore. I can’t think of anything that Jerri did that bad, I honestly can’t.

David: Speaking only for myself, I gave gave Jon a Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment for that behavior. And no, I didn’t think it was good strategy either – he didn’t actually get anything out of it! And I can’t agree that nobody talks about it anymore, since it was nominated as one of the greatest Survivor moments ever. And Jon won the Best Villain category on the “America’s Tribal Council” show. But really, who did Jon’s lie hurt? Well, somebody else didn’t get a chance to spend time with a loved one. That’s it. Jerri, however, assaulted the honor of a military man by accusing him of smuggling food into a game. She claimed that a professional chef couldn’t cook. And she didn’t just do these things as strategy – she stood by all of her claims, even repeating them on All-Stars. Yet she had the gall to sit there and accuse the audience of forgetting that they were real people? What a hypocrite! I think that’s far worse than lying about having a relative die. Incidentally, I think I should note that Jon revels in his role as a villain. When he came into the audience for the finale, he was booed – and loved it. He gave us everybody the finger, with a big smile on his face. In fact, he posed for pictures giving people the finger!