Survivor: David vs. Goliath interview: Jeremy Crawford on Natalie conflict, apparent reason for his exit
Yet, there may have been even more to Jeremy’s exit than we saw on the show. Below, take a look at some of his thoughts about his departure, why it apparently happened the way that it did, and also what the vibe was like on the David Tribe overall. Remember that for more thoughts, you can take a look at our video below and remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more. We also have a full Survivor playlist so you don’t miss any other updates.
CarterMatt – How are you feeling watching yourself be voted out?
Jeremy Crawford – It’s sad, because I love the show and feel like I could’ve gone longer. I feel like I could have won a million dollars.
Did being a big fan of the show hurt you, since it put more pressure on you in some form to think about the game non-stop?
I only was thinking about the game non-stop around Mike, because Mike didn’t really have an alliance and he’s someone I could really talk about it with all the time. In the clips it seemed like I was talking about the game often, but really I wasn’t. I was just talking about it to Mike.
Mike seemed to value his friendship with you in the game. What was your relationship with him like?
We became quick friends and Mike is hilarious. The game portion of it was just because Survivor fans love to talk about Survivor over and over again. Since we had been winning and since we thought that we had an easy road, most of [the conversations] were speculative about what we could be doing three or four steps down the road.
You know this from watching the game, that sometimes a tribe doesn’t go to Tribal Council for a while and that makes everyone paranoid. In a lot of ways, it’s good to go to Tribal early since it’s good to get those jitters out of the way. Do you think if that had happened to the Goliath tribe that you would have been voted out?
If I could go back now, I would have ensured that we went to Tribal because you need those battle lines drawn.
So on day 3, would Natalie have gone home over you?
It would have been between Natalie and Mike, because Mike was looking for the idol, but Natalie was going to go home. Mike also had notoriety.
How much was that an issue for Mike? Was that something people talked about a lot?
I didn’t know anything about [who Mike was before going in], but other people knew that he was a two-time Amazing Race [contestant] and that he had done [School of Rock]. They also knew that he threw parties during The Amazing Race. It’s something that they thought about.
Do you consider what happened to you a blindside in any form?
No. I kind of knew from the beginning that it would be me or Natalie.
So did you think it would be 9-1, because nobody wants to create division that early in the game?
I didn’t think it would be 9-1. I didn’t think about the number [of votes against me], I thought more about the reason why I would be voted out. If it was an all-girls alliance, I was thinking that it would be all the girls plus Dan. I didn’t think the boys had the strategic ability to save themselves, so it could have been 9-1 or 8-2 with [me and Mike] and the rest voting with the girls. The girls were the leaders. The boys didn’t have the gameplay to go against them.
Okay, let’s talk about the reason then. Do you think you’re sitting here because of a women’s alliance?
No.
Then what do you think the reason was then?
I made a flippant comment about Angelina being in a showmance and she didn’t want that on television because she’s a newlywed. She galvanized the troops.
Were you just playing around with her in moment, and it came across differently than maybe how it was intended?
I didn’t say it to her; I said it to another group and eventually it got back around to her.
So this was Survivor telephone, and as you probably know, Survivor telephone doesn’t work too well.
(Laughs) It didn’t work too well for me. I didn’t really think it was a big issue at the time.
In thinking back to last night’s episode, it did seem like Angelina was the person pushing the hardest to get you out. Was that your experience out there?
No, because all of that happened in two hours. If you remember the last episode, nobody really mentioned my name. Nobody mentioned my name until maybe that afternoon, that three-hour period before you go to Tribal. But, I think she heard about the comment that morning. I didn’t have any feeling that she was pushing it. We got along; everybody got along. I didn’t have a feeling that anyone was pushing anyone else. We were all thinking Natalie. Even last night — for half of the show, people were pushing Natalie.
So what was the real source of the conflict with Natalie?
The point of origin with me and her was me trying to calm her down when she would have a fight with somebody else. The point of origin with me and other people is that she would give suggestions with no assistance. Then, if you didn’t follow the suggestion, she wouldn’t feel like she was being heard.
How different would things have been for you if you had been on the David tribe instead of the Goliath?
Going to Tribal is always a change in your game strategy, so if I was on the David Tribe, there would have been a big difference. The Goliaths had three cute guys and three cute girls who could team up together. The Davids had a lot more variety, so I wouldn’t have had that block to work around. I think it would have been totally different — I like Christian, and I think we would have hit it off. Same with Bi, Carl, Davie. I like those people! The Goliaths also have seven people from Southern California, and the Davids have a lot of people from the south. I’m originally from South Carolina. I would have had that connection.
Do you have any interest in going back and playing again?
I love this game and I don’t feel like I had a chance to really play it. I’d be happy to go back and see how I fare.
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