Interview with Shiri

 

On watching the personal attacks play back on TV:
“I forgot about a lot of the horrible stuff that happened to me because everything was eclipsed by the big Will event. So the episode where Dan is in the pond talking down to me…I forgot about that entirely until I saw that on TV. And it was kind of a slap to the face.”
On Dan’s harsh comments about her during confessional interviews:
“I had no idea how malicious Dan is. I genuinely thought he was just dumb. He spoke to people like he was just ignorant and said these dumb things out loud, like comparing adoption to domestic violence. And now seeing these horrific confessionals and seeing his reaction on social media standing by this stuff, and victim-blaming, and not picking up the phone and apologizing because he’s ‘better than that.’ I’m so disappointed because I now see him in a completely different light. I think he’s misguided and is cruel and pathetic.”
On Survivor showing Dan and Will’s attacks on her:
“I think it’s so important that when people have these really backwards views that they are shown and not swept under the rug so people see—we’re not crying wolf here. These are real issues. I am proud that they are putting it all on display this season for people to see. And it’s not about me. It’s not what I had to deal with. This is America.”
On Will’s brutal comments to her about having no family and no one that cared for her back home:
“That blow-up was a lot worse than what you saw. There were lines in it like, “I don’t talk that way to women but she’s not a woman.” When he was really screaming at me, that lasted for, I don’t know, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. It was for a very long time. …That was not the first time that he ever blew up at me. That was just the worst time that he blew up at me. There were many blow-ups along the way.… Once the merge happened, he was always trying to pawn his vote off on me. So at the Hali vote-off, he was like, ‘Oh, that was Shirin. We can’t trust her because she doesn’t have a soul.’ And that’s when he started on the personal attacks.… It’s also scary to think, that’s how he behaved with people around and with cameras. That’s him holding back. I was genuinely scared.… He spoke to me exactly the way my dad used to speak to me before my dad would then beat me up.”
On production’s reaction to Will’s attack:
“I don’t want to talk to much about the production side and get in trouble, but I was pulled aside by the producers after it happened—that’s how bad it was. The producers puled me aside and said, ‘Whoa! That  was wrong!’ And they don’t comment ever on people’s actions and what people do. Yes, I was pulled aside by production who said, ‘That was wrong. We’re sorry you had to go through that.’ And that’s all I’ll say about it.
On how denying Will his letter from home wasn’t just being personal:
“It was also strategic. It was both. If he had treated me like a decent human being, the compassionate side of me would have said, everybody else got their letters…Yes, part of it was he never treated me compassionately so I wasn’t going to do him the same courtesy. But a big part of it actually comes back to the whole psychology. There were people out there where if I didn’t raise my hand—people like Will, people like Dan—they were going to walk away from that saying ‘Yeah, that bitch can’t even stand up for herself because she’s nothing, and we will continue to trot all over her.’ Whereas people like Sierra and Mike were actually inspired and proud by the fact I raised my hand.”
On actually having a good chance of winning had she stayed:
“I was in a phenomenal spot. I was never going to win 100 percent of the jury votes, but I think I could have had the three No Collar jury votes. If Mike were on the jury, he always said he was going to vote for me to win, and I firmly believe that Sierra would have voted for me to win—and that’s five.”
On knowing Mike had an idol:
“Mike told Jenn and me he had the idol after the Will blow-up…I just needed one of the three of us to win to beat out evil. I would do whatever it took for Mike—who at that point had the best chance in the game to win—I would do whatever it took for him to win. I knew that he had the idol and I knew he was going to pull some sort of stunt with it. I had to give a super convincing performance that I was surprised and I was excited that he was going to play it for me. And it worked. So even though I got voted out, it was a win for Team Shirin because it was a win for Team Mike that they threw two votes Dan’s way. It couldn’t have gone any better.”
On why she did not save her money for the auction advantage:
“Before we go into the auction—you may remember from the episode before I struck a deal with Mike and Sierra to go with them—Mike and Sierra before the auction said, if you go for the advantage, then we will no longer trust you. It will just paint a target on your back.”
On whether she had a positive or negative experience:
“Honestly the only incredibly difficult part for me to rewatch and contend with is the Will attack. That’s something that’s been haunting me since we got back. Its something I’ve been dreading and something I’ve been anxious about. And it was hard to relive.… That was hard. The rest of it…I had such an amazing experience. I got to go on cool rewards… And I made it pretty far considering everybody hated me form day 1. I have so much to be proud of.”

Shirin meets the Ponderosa

Interview with Jeff

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There has been a lot of unfortunate behavior and comments by men (Will, Dan, Rodney) towards and about women this season. I’ve heard from a lot of fans that are very upset about that, and I’ve also heard from some others who appreciate that we’re seeing a forum in which these people are called out for their attitudes. Talk a little bit about the show’s responsibility in terms of casting so many people that have been acting and speaking in such a disrespectful fashion, and then also your decision making in terms of how much to show of this type of behavior.
JEFF PROBST: One of the key elements in the premise of Survivor is that the game is to be played with people from various walks of life.  In a perfect world, it’s a tapestry of people from different parts of the country, raised with different religious and political beliefs, with a range of IQ’s and physical abilities. You then put them in extreme conflict, in this case, being abandoned on an island, deprive them of everything else and force them to work together while voting each other out.  It’s a tremendously stressful situation and typically, the tougher it gets, the more a person’s façade is stripped away and the more truth is revealed. 
And because Survivor is ultimately a game about social politics and the relationships you form with others, it’s only a matter of time before personal opinions and points of view begin to clash. Those battles can be funny, annoying, cathartic, deeply personal and at times incredibly hurtful. They often evoke strong reactions from the other players and from the audience.
While I certainly don’t think of Survivor as a social or moral compass, I do believe strongly in doing our best to tell the contestants stories accurately— flattering or not.  There is obviously a touch of bias in every editing decision you have to make about what to put in the show and what to leave out, but our primary goal is to always to reflect the essence of their adventure.  That includes moments that show them at their most heroic as well as moments that expose a less than attractive side of someone’s personality.
I really can’t imagine a scenario in which we would not show a scene like the one between Will and Shirin simply because we were afraid that viewers would be upset. That’s just not the way we approach the show. There is no denying that was a very difficult exchange to witness and no matter how many times you watch it, it does not get any easier or any less emotional. But, that level of honesty and vulnerability from people who have been stripped to their very core is a large part of the reason I am still excited to be a part of the show.
For me it often comes down to one question: Does an action that we take under duress define us? Does it speak to the truest part of our character?  If so, does that mean we live most of our life behind a mask of social politeness that belies our natural tendencies? Because, to be fair, I have to share that Will was nothing but delightful throughout the entire casting process and most of the show and I imagine in the bar where he works he has a lot of regulars who love him.  Rodney would argue that his comments about women were never meant to offend—in fact he feels the same way about his own mother who is the light of his life. And Dan would tell you that he is adored by many people, is one of the most loyal friends you could ever have and loves his wife, as he said, “like you read about.”
Nobody is ever happy when they see themselves in an unflattering light. We don’t want to see ourselves that way. But sometimes we say and do things that we wish we could take back. In Will’s case, I am curious if, upon reflection he will choose to publicly apologize to Shirin at the live Reunion show. With Rodney, I hope to talk to his mom to hear her take on her son. I expect that she will help us better understand where he is coming from and then his story will probably make more sense. With Dan, I am not sure what to expect.  Dan is one of the most colorful individuals to ever be on the show. As he said to us in casting many times, one of his main goals was “to be remembered.” Mission accomplished. The question is, did Dan’s desire to be remembered compel him to go a bit over the top with some of his comments? Are they authentic to who he is?  And if so, do those comments define him?
As for the audience, I believe they are on this ride with us.  Survivor is a devilishly fun game and a big part of the appeal is watching human behavior play out in front of you every Wednesday night.
You awarded both a male immunity and a female immunity this week, which I actually do like. However, you also know all too well that I spend my off-hours moonlighting as an unpaid volunteer for the Fairness Police, and in this case it meant the women had a 1 in 3 chance of getting immunity while the men only had 1 in 5. Any worry about that discrepancy and not having an even chance for everybody?
Given how you have posed the question, the simple answer is no, I don’t see an issue with this situation. In fact, couldn’t you make the argument that everybody’s odds actually increased as a result of the two idols?  Similar to the theme of my earlier answer, we really do strive to keep the game as absolutely fair as possible at all times and so far every time we have done dual immunity idols it has felt right. 
Mike tells everyone at Tribal that he is going to give Shirin his immunity idol thereby forcing the alliance of six to vote for each other. He was bluffing, of course, and did not use it, but I thought it was a pretty savvy move to start to turn folks against each other. What do you make that move and what would you have done in Mike’s position? Do what he did? Actually give Shirin the idol? Never take the idol out and keep it a secret? What say you?
I’m with you: I was pretty impressed and really surprised by Mike’s move!  Not sure I would have thought to do that. It was psychological warfare. He dropped the fear bomb right in the lap of the alliance of six. It’s a great example of how one small action can change the game. Now there are some obvious cracks in the alliance that he might be able to exploit. Brilliant! As for actually playing the idol or not—that’s a really tough call to make from the armchair. I guess it’s really about odds. If you give your idol up for someone else it better result in you being in charge of the numbers because otherwise your odds of going home increase, because now you are vulnerable. If you keep it, you know you have at least one more week of security and that is huge.
What I really enjoyed about Mike’s move was he gave the alliance of six so many dilemmas to deal with at once: 1) Am I going to play the idol for Shirin?  2) If I do play it, and you all vote for her, then she is safe and one of you will be going home. 3) My one vote could decide who is voted out and if you think it’s you, you better think about changing your vote to someone else. Fantastic! Though Shirin was voted out, Mike accomplished a major goal.  He showed dissention in the ranks. He opened a crack. Now he has to pry it open and wedge his way in.
Okay, sir, what can you tease up for next week?
It’s Rodney’s birthday.  Did you hear me?  It’s RODNEY’S BIRTHDAY!

League Results

Young Collar wins her first week.