Survivor 46 Jess Chong On Her Exit- Qs Fake Idol - Bhanu At Tribal
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Second person voted out of surviving 46, Jess.
00:06 Oh, man.
00:07 Jess, great game.
00:08 Happy belated birthday.
00:10 Happy--
00:10 Thank you.
00:11 --imagine that was the last episode to watch back
00:13 on your birthday.
00:14 Yeah.
00:15 How are you feeling right now?
00:16 [LAUGHS]
00:20 I'm smiling because it's over.
00:22 [LAUGHS]
00:24 We had quite an interesting spring break.
00:27 How are you feeling watching the episode back?
00:29 Did anything surprise you or stand out to you?
00:32 No.
00:33 Everything was as I thought it would be.
00:35 OK, the thing that surprised me--
00:37 I'm very glad that they showed me eating the ants.
00:39 Also, I have to show you my other prop.
00:41 My husband bought ants from some vendor on eBay
00:44 for our watch party.
00:47 He put them on some cupcakes.
00:49 I'll just show you me eating them.
00:52 I didn't think that I'd be shown eating them.
00:53 Well, I did think I'd be shown eating them.
00:55 And I also-- I was glad that they showed that.
00:58 So I made this other t-shirt.
01:00 [LAUGHS]
01:01 Because that was like--
01:03 There.
01:04 That is excellent.
01:05 As the credits roll and you have this confessional
01:08 to the camera, you're saying that the rest of the Anu tribe
01:11 are masterminds.
01:11 You got God.
01:13 In that moment, were you surprised by the outcome?
01:17 No.
01:18 Also, I feel like that was like a hostage confession.
01:21 Like, I mean, like I was reading a script or something,
01:23 but I wasn't--
01:24 I was not surprised.
01:25 Like, I knew that the thing was fake.
01:27 And I was like, OK, I--
01:30 just to set the stage, I did not sleep at all
01:32 during sequester.
01:33 So for five days, I had not slept.
01:35 By the time of the morning, I was five days in with no sleep.
01:38 That's 120 hours, I think.
01:40 Yeah.
01:41 So by the fifth day, when I got booted,
01:44 I was 200-plus hours of no sleep.
01:47 And I don't know where I'm going with this,
01:49 but I was like, this thing is fake, and I don't care.
01:52 And I need to sleep.
01:53 And I don't want to play my shot in the dark
01:56 because I don't want to have to spend another moment
01:57 with any of these people.
01:58 Except for Banu, because Banu was the only person that I
02:02 felt like took the time to emotionally connect with me.
02:05 And I love him so much.
02:06 And I don't want people to go around
02:08 thinking that he's evil or something because of that clip
02:10 where he's like, get out, which is so funny,
02:12 because at my birthday party, we made a video for him
02:14 that's like, get out.
02:17 But I just like--
02:20 yeah, I was like, goodbye.
02:22 I'm done with this game.
02:24 Nobody's giving me a chance to play anyway.
02:26 Because I was so frustrated because at the very beginning
02:29 of the game, I was obsessed with Kenzie in pregame.
02:32 To the extent that as soon as we were
02:35 allowed to talk to each other at the marooning,
02:36 I grabbed her hand.
02:37 And I was like, I am so glad we're on the same tribe.
02:39 And I really--
02:40 I was hoping to be on the same tribe as you.
02:42 I really want to play with you.
02:44 And they didn't show how much I was actually
02:46 talking to the girls.
02:47 And I was a little bit sad that it just
02:49 looked like I didn't even try to talk to them.
02:51 Like, I talked to them for a very long time.
02:53 But it became very clear to me very early on
02:55 that they did not want me around,
02:57 or Kenzie did not want me around.
02:59 And so when she comes up to me in the first episode,
03:02 and it's like, let's talk strategy.
03:04 I'm like, I'm social.
03:05 I'm playing a slow game.
03:06 I just don't want to tell her anything,
03:08 because I thought she would use it as ammo against me, which
03:11 is what you also saw when you were walking in those rocks.
03:16 I was like, I'm not going to say anything.
03:18 I don't want to work with you, because you
03:19 don't want to work with me.
03:21 I don't want to work with you.
03:22 And that's what I was like.
03:24 I don't know if you remember that part,
03:26 because I didn't remember saying that.
03:28 But yeah, where am I going with this?
03:31 I was not surprised at all.
03:32 I was just like, why are you making me look for an idol?
03:35 I have no sleep, and I just want to go home.
03:37 Like, why?
03:37 OK, I'll just like--
03:39 Jeff hates twitters.
03:40 I'll just pretend to look for one.
03:41 But please, just get me off this island.
03:44 I was praying for bats to come and bite me,
03:46 so I could get medivaced and leave honorably.
03:49 I was like, if I go one more day without sleeping,
03:51 I will die.
03:52 Like, I will actually--
03:54 I was starting to get very concerned,
03:55 because I have older people in my family that are dealing
03:58 with sleep problems.
03:59 And just seeing the cognitive problems that they have,
04:03 and how it compounds over time, I
04:04 was starting to get kind of scared for myself.
04:07 And so yeah, I was like, goodbye.
04:10 Sorry, I don't want to cry, but I am crying.
04:13 Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that the idol is real?
04:16 I found the idol on date.
04:18 I see where-- just give it back.
04:20 So in terms of from the stick, you
04:23 can tell this idol's fake right away,
04:24 to the best fake idol ever.
04:27 You knew as soon as you saw it.
04:29 I knew.
04:30 As soon as I saw it, I was like, this
04:31 looks like the beads from every piece of thing that we have.
04:35 This one's fake.
04:36 And then I went and asked Q. And then what they--
04:39 and when Q was like, no, it's real.
04:41 I have to wake up early every morning to look for it.
04:43 And now I have to find another one tomorrow morning.
04:46 And he was walking up to us while he was yelling at me
04:48 in full volume about it.
04:50 I was like, she's in on this.
04:52 I'm not long for this world, and I don't care.
04:54 And I'm going to play it because I
04:55 don't have an ego about this.
04:57 I don't care if I look stupid.
04:58 I don't care if I look stupid.
05:01 We're all stupid.
05:02 I don't care if I look stupid.
05:03 Like, I didn't personally suck at the challenge.
05:06 We all sucked at the challenge.
05:09 Yeah, let's talk about the challenge
05:10 because that looks like-- that's the most grueling one
05:12 I've seen in quite some time.
05:15 And after it-- well, how long did it go on for, first of all?
05:18 I don't know, too long?
05:19 I don't remember.
05:20 I was just like, please let this be over.
05:22 Everyone's shouting at me anyway.
05:24 They're going to blame me, and then I'll go home.
05:26 Goodbye.
05:26 Like, I just went on for two.
05:29 Yeah, Tiffany says that she's frustrated,
05:30 and you immediately know she's talking about me.
05:34 How did you know that in the moment
05:36 that all the frustration was pointed towards you?
05:38 And do you think that that was fair, watching it all back?
05:42 I felt like--
05:44 I mean, it was something I was experiencing
05:46 in the other challenges, too.
05:47 Like, it wasn't really anything new.
05:49 And it wasn't just-- it wasn't-- it was coming from everybody.
05:52 So I was just like--
05:53 I don't know.
05:57 I was just like, I--
06:00 it didn't even occur to me to, like, yell at anyone back
06:04 because I was just like, whatever.
06:06 It's going to be on TV, and people can watch the tapes
06:08 and decide whether I truly sucked more than everyone else.
06:11 I honestly can't tell if she's for real
06:17 because she can look at you and make you feel like you're
06:19 her best friend.
06:20 So Tenzi is playing a great social game,
06:22 and that's dangerous.
06:24 You and Kenzie and Banu are having this conversation.
06:27 And you said you already were kind of suspicious of Kenzie.
06:31 But it seemed like it really crystallized for you
06:33 in that moment.
06:34 And you turned to Banu, and you're like,
06:35 we should target her.
06:37 What was it about that conversation that made it
06:39 abundantly clear that this isn't someone I want to work with,
06:41 but someone I want to take out?
06:43 It was very clear to me early.
06:44 And I was actually starting-- as soon as Jelinski was voted out,
06:47 I was like, I have to start planting the seed that Kenzie
06:50 is very dangerous.
06:51 She does not want to work with me.
06:53 She's actually the smallest person and the weakest person
06:55 in the tribe.
06:57 I'm strong.
06:57 I played women's rugby, and I was working out so much.
07:00 Well, I'm not strong anymore because I
07:02 don't work out anymore.
07:03 But I look ripped when I--
07:04 I was like, whoa, I look ripped.
07:06 Anyway, I was like, stop saying that I'm weak.
07:09 And so I was trying to plant the seed.
07:14 And so I would go to Q, and I'd be like, I don't trust Kenzie.
07:16 She's so socially fast.
07:18 She's just going to snake by everybody at the merge.
07:21 We need to vote her out now.
07:23 And I was saying this to Tiff as well,
07:25 but it just felt like they were all such a strong trio.
07:28 I knew that I couldn't penetrate it, but I tried.
07:31 And I said it to anyone who would listen, clearly.
07:36 I said it at tribal council.
07:38 And I said it--
07:38 and I was saying it in the cave.
07:40 I was saying it a lot more than what that cave should.
07:43 And that cave conversation was not when I realized it.
07:45 I realized it the moment I tried to work with her,
07:47 and then she just rebuffed it and was
07:49 working with everyone else and preferred
07:51 to keep Jalinski over me, which is bonkers,
07:53 because he was doing-- it seemed to me
07:55 that he was doing everything in his power
07:57 to just destroy the integrity of the tribe.
07:59 And I was like, this early on, we
08:00 need to be working as a team so that we have numbers moving
08:03 forward and so that we have the fire that we
08:05 can eat actual protein, big globs of protein,
08:09 rather than being feasted on these tiny little ants.
08:13 Why are you trying to keep around somebody who is not--
08:17 is a liability in every regard?
08:20 So yeah, I was just like-- and I knew
08:22 that she was the one that was trying to keep him around.
08:24 I was like, I'm not having it.
08:25 Please listen to me, but you're not going to,
08:27 because it's very clear that--
08:29 it was very clear to me that people might not respect me.
08:33 As you're pitching to Q that Kenzie should be looked at,
08:37 he's like, well, I need Tiffany in order to do this.
08:40 Did that read to you as something genuine,
08:44 that he would vote that way if he got Tiffany,
08:47 or did it seem like an excuse?
08:48 It seemed genuine.
08:50 It was very clear to me that he was very, very close
08:52 to Tiffany.
08:52 It was very clear to me that Tiff and Kenzie were close.
08:55 The thing that surprised me about the episode was how iffy
08:58 Q was about Ken's, because I thought
09:00 they were also very close.
09:01 Because I just thought they were very close.
09:03 It was just very clear to me that they were close.
09:05 And so I was--
09:06 it totally logically made sense.
09:10 Especially because Tiff on the first day was like, Jeff,
09:12 I know you're going to be real with me.
09:14 And she was with Q when she said this.
09:15 And so I thought we kind of had this thing going on,
09:18 where Q and Tiff and I were kind of working together.
09:22 Q and I were definitely working together.
09:24 Tiff and Kenzie were 100% working together.
09:27 And Banu was kind of floating around.
09:29 And I loved him a lot, the fellow I remember.
09:31 I want to talk about Banu and everything that went down
09:34 at the tribal council.
09:36 He was revealing that he had talked
09:37 to each of the other three players on the tribe,
09:40 specifically to solidify those alliances,
09:45 and not mentioning your name.
09:46 And then said that you guys hadn't built a relationship
09:49 since the day before.
09:50 What was your relationship like with Banu?
09:52 And did you see those conversations go down?
09:54 Could you tell that maybe he was aligning more with them
09:58 and going in that direction?
10:00 Banu and I were very, very, very close.
10:03 He was my best friend on the tribe.
10:05 He was the person where when I was having trouble sleeping,
10:09 he was like, "Jessie, if you're having trouble sleeping,
10:11 let's go for walks together."
10:12 He was the person that I felt like was trying
10:13 to get to know me as a person,
10:15 which was very important to me,
10:16 because when you're playing a game that's as long
10:18 and grueling as this game,
10:21 even though everyone's like, "It's only 26 days,"
10:23 it moves a lot faster than you would think.
10:25 And with six people in your tribe, you have nowhere to hide.
10:27 So I was like, "I just really need a person
10:29 that I can hold on to that wants to understand my soul,
10:34 and whose soul I also understand."
10:36 And so I was glad,
10:39 actually, when he was saying all that stuff,
10:41 I was glad that he didn't kind of blow up my closeness
10:43 with him, because I thought that would have made things worse.
10:47 I felt like he would do me a favor by not mentioning
10:49 that he and I had talked strategy,
10:52 and that he and I were very close.
10:56 - Why did you write his name down, ultimately?
11:01 - I knew that they were not going to vote for Kenzie.
11:04 And I also, I guess I was like,
11:06 I kind of was like, "Well, I'm 99.9999% sure
11:11 that I'm going home, but if he has to spend..."
11:14 But then I was like,
11:17 maybe I have to get him off the island too,
11:21 because he was having a rough go of things too,
11:25 as you can tell from that tribal council.
11:27 - Let's say that there's a universe where you did stay.
11:30 What do you think you would have done strategically
11:32 to stay in the tribe and make it to the merge, perhaps?
11:36 - What would I have done to stay in the tribe?
11:39 I actually don't know,
11:40 because those three were so close to each other.
11:43 I know that Q would have been the easiest to convince,
11:47 perhaps, but Tiff and Kenzie,
11:49 I knew was just like an impenetrable bond.
11:51 But Q and Tiff, but Q, I was like,
11:54 I knew I had a bit of a chance with him,
11:57 but because the perception was that
12:00 I was such a challenge liability, I don't know.
12:04 Like with strategy,
12:05 like you can come up with all the strategies in the world,
12:07 but when you're working against people that are so strong,
12:09 I couldn't squeeze water from stone.
12:11 There's only so much agency someone can have,
12:15 especially around people
12:17 that have already made up their minds about something,
12:20 or people that are just,
12:21 have a very specific idea of how they want to play,
12:23 and how, and are maybe not as flexible
12:27 as you'd like them to be.
12:29 - I want to quick talk about Tiffany
12:31 leading you on this idol hunt.
12:32 What was your radar on that?
12:34 Did you feel like that was genuine,
12:36 or did you feel like she was leading you somewhere?
12:38 - No, I was kind of like,
12:40 now I have to perform like I want to find an idol.
12:43 Like, I just want to go, like, leave me alone.
12:45 I've had no sleep.
12:46 I'm gassed from the challenge.
12:48 Like, and now I have to act like, I was like performing.
12:51 I was like, I have to act like I'm looking for an idol,
12:53 so that Jeff and the fans don't hate me,
12:55 because people don't like when people give up.
12:57 So I was just kind of like,
12:59 I'm going to pretend, but I don't care.
13:01 Like, just, just get rid of me.
13:03 I don't care.
13:04 You've already like tried to, like, I feel like, yeah.
13:06 So I kind of lurched around,
13:08 and then it was like so shocking to hear,
13:11 oh, she is like, how dumb can someone be
13:13 to not be able to find it?
13:14 And it's like, well, I didn't find the first one.
13:16 Why would I know where you put,
13:18 like, where you found the first one?
13:19 I'm not a mind reader.
13:21 So, I don't know.
13:24 I was just like performing, looking for one,
13:26 but I was so exhausted.
13:28 Like, you have to understand
13:29 that when I have five hours of sleep,
13:31 I'm like, I'm not getting on my bike today.
13:32 I'm going to die if I go out in the street.
13:34 And so I was, I, I might,
13:36 I shouldn't be in the Guinness Book of Records, honestly,
13:38 for how many hours I didn't sleep.
13:40 I actually wonder if they have any footage of me sleeping.
13:42 I don't, like, or snoring or anything like that.
13:44 Like, they probably, I don't know.
13:47 Maybe they do, maybe they don't.
13:48 But, yeah, where was I going with all this?
13:51 What did I think?
13:52 I was just like, I'm going to perform
13:53 like I'm looking for one, but I don't care.
13:54 Like, I don't care.
13:55 It's so funny 'cause everyone thinks
13:56 that everyone else thinks like them,
13:58 but I don't think like them.
13:59 And that's why when he played the idol,
14:01 I was like, I don't care if I look stupid.
14:03 - Before I let you go, Jess,
14:07 what did Survivor mean to you before you played the game
14:11 and what does it mean to you now?
14:12 - Before I played the game, I thought it was like,
14:17 I mean, what is it?
14:18 Is it a game or is it a social experiment?
14:21 Is it entertainment or is it a game?
14:24 Like, if it's a game, how fair is it?
14:27 Like, I think Survivor has shown me
14:29 like what real life has shown me,
14:31 which is luck and timing is everything.
14:33 And sometimes you just don't get put on a tribe
14:36 where you're a good culture fit.
14:38 Like, I think I would have been fine on Zika.
14:39 I would have been fine on Nami.
14:41 Before the show, it was like this really cool way
14:44 for people to show like all the different skills
14:48 that they have and all the different talents
14:49 and the things about their personality,
14:52 to showcase how like any number of things could happen
14:55 for somebody to win the game and do well in the game.
14:58 Like, it just seemed like this total,
15:01 like, it just seemed like people had,
15:03 in my head, I thought people had a lot more agency.
15:05 And then when I played the game, I was like,
15:07 I think there's a limit to people's agency.
15:09 And in my head, I was like, there's some degree of like,
15:13 is this a meritocracy before the game?
15:15 And after it, I was like,
15:17 this is a middle school cafeteria
15:19 and a middle school cafeteria is not a meritocracy.
15:22 I didn't think it'd be so low to the flies.
15:24 - That's fair.
15:25 Is that, before I let you go, last thing,
15:27 is there anything that someone in your life,
15:30 in real life or on Twitter, like an alum,
15:33 has said to you that has meant the most,
15:35 watching like probably a challenging episode?
15:37 - Oh my gosh.
15:40 Okay, the thing, there's two things
15:42 that have meant a lot to me.
15:43 One is I have had these like Gen Z or Gen Alpha,
15:47 I don't know how old they are,
15:48 but I've had some people making these really adorable
15:51 fan cams of me on TikTok and they're so cute
15:54 and they make me look so adorable and sad.
15:57 And I really love them 'cause I feel very seen by them.
16:00 And so, but on the other side of the generation spectrum,
16:04 I've had these like older people that reach out to me
16:07 that are like, you were very strong.
16:09 You're a strong, like upstanding, gracious person.
16:12 And I also really appreciate that too.
16:14 So I don't know, I just, I appreciate the love
16:16 that I've gotten because for a long time,
16:18 I like hated myself 'cause I was like,
16:19 I should have slept more.
16:20 But then I was like, no amount of sleep
16:22 would have like helped me
16:23 because I don't think I could have done anything.
16:25 I don't think that I could have done anything to change
16:28 the way people, like, I don't think there's that much more
16:31 that I could have done aside from just feel better
16:33 while I was out there.
16:36 So it's been nice to see that people kind of see things
16:39 for what they are 'cause I really blamed myself a lot
16:42 for what was happening.
16:43 And then I was like, no, it's not a me problem.
16:46 It's an us problem.
16:48 (upbeat music)
16:50 (upbeat music)
16:53 (upbeat music)
16:56 you