“They Were All Completely Useless” – RealityNewsOnline’s Exclusive Interview with Survivor: Gabon’s Michelle

I think we caught Michelle at a bad time for the interview – in fact, I think we woke her up. Based on her personality on the show, I expected her to be a bit more acid-tongued and have more to say. Then again, the morning after you’ve been shown on TV as the first person voted off of Survivor might not be a time when somebody is at their most talkative. I did draw her out and get a few answers – and even a couple laughs – out of her, though, so let’s take a look.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Michelle, and thanks for taking the time to talk to RealityNewsOnline! What was your strategy coming into the game?

Michelle: To hide my strengths.

RNO: Such as?

Michelle: The fact that I box and I’m extremely athletic.

RNO: You told Ken that you aren’t good at pretending to like people if you don’t really like them. How did you plan to overcome that key factor in playing Survivor?

Michelle: I guess I just didn’t expect to have a whole tribe of people I didn’t really like.

RNO: Was there anybody beside Ken that you did like?

Michelle: I got along with GC and Dan.

RNO: When Ken told you it seemed like the vote was aiming your way, what did you do to try to turn things around?

Michelle: I definitely talked a lot about how if anyone would be put into my shoes – if anyone was solving the puzzle was put in my shoes – they would have been even worse off.

RNO: Speaking of them, what did you think of the puzzle solvers?

Michelle: They were all completely useless.

RNO: By the time Tribal Council arrived, did you know you were leaving?

Michelle: I didn’t really know until we were actually there. It was kind of obvious.

RNO: Did Ken join everyone else in voting against you?

Michelle: Yes.

RNO: Did you tell him to (to keep himself with the group)?

Michelle: No, I didn’t tell him to. (Said in a tone like, “Are you crazy?”)

RNO: Now that you’ve seen the episode, what do you think of the reasons you were voted off?

Michelle: I think it was kind of unjust. I think everyone was playing it safe and didn’t wan to be the first one to go.

RNO: What do you think you could have done differently to change the outcome of the vote?

Michelle: Yeah, definitely. If I would have played completely different all over, of course.

RNO: Did you know Ken was harboring potentially romantic feelings for you?

Michelle: No. (Laughing)

RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn’t know about while you were there?

Michelle: I got voted off. That was really surprising to me. (Awkward pause while I try to figure out if she’s joking or saying something else that I’m just not getting, then she laughed.) No, not really.

RNO: What did you do on the show that we didn’t get to see on TV?

Michelle: I box and talked a lot about that. That’s a huge part of my life. That wasn’t brought up at all. The only reason I’m disappointed they didn’t bring that up is that I think it would have made my tribe look even more retarded for voting me off. I could kick anyone’s butt on any tribe.

RNO: Do you have anything to say to your tribemates at this time?

Michelle: No, not really.

RNO: Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us about your time on Survivor?

Michelle: It was awesome. And I wasn’t $#!t on by a hippo, so that was good. (Laughing.)

RNO: What are your plans moving forward? I presume you’re continuing with your boxing?

Michelle: Yes, I’m fighting on pay-per-view over Superbowl weekend in Vegas, so I’m starting to train for that fight.

RNO: Good luck! And thanks again, Michelle!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: Gabon articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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