Interview with Jeff

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Jenn said “I’m not a quitter,” yet campaigned to be voted out. Is it just semantics, or is there a genuine difference? 
JEFF PROBST: Not in my book. But I’m fairly hardcore on that one. Others may feel differently. I don’t know that I really fully understand who Jenn is, so I’m just guessing with this answer, but I think Jenn may see herself not so much as a quitter—but more of a “giver upper.” As in, “This is frustrating to me, I give up.” And if that’s the case, then I still put that in the quit category, but that’s only based on how I see the world. I love Jenn on the show. She embodies my version of the “No Collar.” She’s a fighter with principles and she’ll make your life hell to prove her point.  But if she has your back, she’ll kill for you. I dig it.
If Jenn had quit—or if she does in the future—does she still get to vote as a juror for the winner? 
We’ll have to wait and see on that one, but I can tell you that personally I don’t see a spot on the jury for quitters. My feelings have evolved over the years and I now think that you have to earn the right to vote and the people who make it to the end deserve a jury of people who are of like minds when it comes to finishing what you started.
Okay, you saw that fake idol that Joe made up close. On a scale of fake Survivor idols—with Bob from Gabon’s being the best and Ozzy’s “f—ing stick” from Micronesia being the worst—where does this one rank? And what do you make of the way Mike handled that situation? 
I was pretty impressed actually. Mainly because, once again it’s a very “No Collar” thing to do— make your own.  And due to the nature of Survivor, you always have the argument that “this is a twist.” So what if my idol doesn’t look like yours, this is what they look like now! It’s a twist!  I thought Mike played it beautifully. He is playing full on. I love it. I love when people go for broke because, as you know, I’ve said it many times, that is quite often when you pull away from the pack.
You guys were able to make it back in the water for a very fun reward challenge with some really awkward sliding from Dan and Will. I know you guys really wanted to get in the water more for these two seasons in Nicaragua, but the swells gave you some trouble at the start of season 29 when I was out there. How did you all end up dealing with that issue overall?  
It never got any easier. It was one of the only bummers of this season, that we couldn’t put them in the water.  It would be the single biggest reason against us every going back to shoot there again—the inability to shoot in the water. But let’s talk about Dan and Will! That was so fun to watch. I have to give Dan a lot of credit, he really is quite impressive in the water. He said it from early on—”I can swim.” And he can. But that challenge— just by design—was intended to get those kind of falls, slips and oh my Gods!  I was cracking up watching them, knowing I’d look just as ridiculous if I took off my host hat and got out there with them!
Okay, time to tease us up for next week’s episode. 
One of the biggest things to ever happen at an auction. One of the biggest arguments to ever happen at camp. Together, the two events set up one of the biggest finishes to any season. It’s definitely a “don’t miss” episode.