RC Saint-Amour (CBS)
XFinityTV is blowing up their coverage of “Survivor: Philippines.” Every Monday Jeff Probst and I will tackle a wide variety of topics with the “Survivor” Question of the Week. Every Tuesday I’ll be squaring off against “Survivor: One World” favorite Kat Edorsson in this season’s Power Rankings challenge. Every Wednesday briefly after the show we’ll have a full episode recap and every Thursday we’ll have an interview with the latest eliminated player. Follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for all the updates!
Set Your DVR to Record “Survivor: Philippines”
Quick Note: This week’s exit interview was delayed due to some serious hurricane-related difficulties that RC is experiencing. We wish her and her family (and everyone who has been affected by Hurricane Sandy) the best during these rough times.
The game moves so fast these days. Alliances are made the second players hit the island, usually before the players even get a chance to learn each other’s names. In Salani’s case, you had a solid group that lasted through to the end.
In RC Saint-Amour’s case…not so much.
I spoke with the hoop-rolling, leopard-print-rocking, dolphin-esque former Tandanger and had a chance to get her thoughts on Lisa’s secret identity, the disintegration of her alliance with Abi-Maria, and what really happened between her and Michael Skupin…
Gordon Holmes: I’m going to blow your mind. Are you ready?
RC Saint-Amour: Please.
Holmes: Have you ever seen the show “The Facts of Life”?
Saint-Amour: (Laughs) Um…no! I don’t think I was born yet when that was airing.
Holmes: You make me feel so old.
Saint-Amour: No, I had no clue. I thought she was this beautiful older woman. And, I knew she was hiding something. She just seemed very uneasy in the game. That’s why I didn’t want to team up with her because I thought she was hiding something from me. Now that I know what it was, I think it’s the silliest thing in the world. If I knew that all it was is that she was on a television show, there’s no doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t have targeted her as someone who was being untruthful.
Holmes: But if she’d been on “Saved by the Bell” you would’ve known.
Saint-Amour: Oh yeah, without a doubt. But I just spent 20 days starving with her and I know her as a wonderful person. I don’t know her like you do from the show. But, there’s something very beautiful about our relationship that I will cherish. I know the real Lisa.
Holmes: We never really got to see you two interact. It seemed like you were always on opposite ends of the pecking order.
Saint-Amour: I had a really tough time with my tribe, but Lisa was like a silver lining. We talked about how she couldn’t be aligned with me. She told me she couldn’t do it because she wanted to be in the major alliance. And I understood it and respected her for it because she was always honest with me. She never gave me false hope. I can respect her for that.
Holmes: The other blonde on your team, the one with the accent…what happened there?
Saint-Amour: She’s very angry.
Holmes: Cause watching from home; one minute you’re BFFs and the next she wants you dead. It didn’t click for me. What didn’t we see?
Saint-Amour: I think it just goes back to the fact that we were polar opposite people and I think people can see that. I’m happy and I’m good in challenges. I think she has every reason to hate me, Gordon. I represent everything in life and in the game that she’s not. She’s this 34-year-old woman who has yet to graduate community college. It’s really hard to connect to someone like that and keep a relationship with an irrational person.
Holmes: You used the term “irrational” and like I said, I didn’t get why she turned on you. Is there nothing to grasp, it just happened?
Saint-Amour: No, I think the grasp is that she was always asked to sit out challenges and I was always winning challenges. Unfortunately, Lisa put a little bit of a target on my back when she called me the beautiful girl on our tribe and Abi was sitting right there.
Holmes: Snap.
Saint-Amour: There was a lot of little stuff that happened. It’s hard to explain. I understand why she’d hate me if I was getting the spotlight.
Holmes: So, it’s because you’re almost as good at swimming as I am.
Saint-Amour: (Laughs) You’re better than me, no?
Holmes: Not even close. It’s a miracle I didn’t drown out there.
Saint-Amour: Really, I can’t hate her or blame her for how she feels. I think she’s completely justified in going off the deep end a little bit.
Holmes: The immunity clue…Pete pulled a bit of a Russell Hantz move by setting you up with that. Did you have any idea that he was behind it?
Saint-Amour: The problem was, when that happened the entire tribe stopped talking to me and Michael. All communications ceased. And that’s like “Survivor” 101 to not ostracize people or show people where they are in the tribe. So, we knew right away. The problem is I didn’t have any rational thinkers on my tribe that wanted to do anything or think through the situation, so I didn’t have an out. I didn’t have anyone I could say, “Hey Abi, do you think you showed it to someone else and they’re fooling us and trying to cause bickering?” And I don’t know what she was thinking either because she had the idol. And, she was in the major alliance so there wasn’t a need to target me that strongly at the point because she had the upper hand. So, the move that Pete made makes no sense.
Holmes: When I met Artis in the Philippines, I thought here’s a nice guy who’s been through a lot and came out the other side of it with a good attitude. I’m not seeing this guy at all on the show. Everything he says is negative. Is he being portrayed accurately?
Saint-Amour: It’s kind of what you see. And, it’s funny because I was nervous about editing, but who you see on TV is who everyone really was. He really was like that constantly and you couldn’t talk to him. You couldn’t do anything with him without him being angry. And you’re right, that isn’t who he is. The person I know is the most gentle, loving, sweet guy. And that didn’t come across on the island. That’s unfortunate for him. How he acted on the island is what’s being portrayed.
Holmes: Alright, let’s get into some word association. We’ll start with Mr. Skupin.
Saint-Amour: He’s my heart. I love him. Even after everything that happened at the last Tribal Council, he’s still an amazing person. We’ve obviously moved past him backstabbing me.
Holmes: If he makes it out of this show in one piece, I’ll be thrilled.
Saint-Amour: (Laughs)
Holmes: Malcolm?
Saint-Amour: There.
Holmes: Artis?
Saint-Amour: I don’t like this word association! (Laughs)
Holmes: There are no wrong answers.
Saint-Amour: I know, but Artis now I love. Artis on the island I disliked.
Holmes: Pete?
Saint-Amour: A 24-year-old that still lives at home with his parents.
Holmes: Lisa?
Saint-Amour: Sweet. She is like the sweetest, nicest person in the entire world.
Holmes: Let’s finish this with Abi-Maria…
Saint-Amour: (Laughs) I can’t stop laughing. I mean…the girl’s like bat (expletive deleted) crazy. I hope she wins so that she can seek medical help.
Holmes: Skup voted for Penner, which I’m assuming you did not know about.
Saint-Amour: No.
Holmes: What did you think his line of thinking was there?
Saint-Amour: I have no idea. I really don’t. I hope you get to ask him one day. But, I know that it’s a game and there can only be one winner, but me and Michael went through a lot together. We suffered through blood, sweat, and tears together and I thought we had each other’s back. If I was in that situation I can pretty much say with 100% certainty that I would have never done what he did. I would have never lied to his face and said I was going to vote for Pete and then didn’t. I think he should have been a man and said, “Hey RC, you’re getting some votes tonight. Maybe you should fight.” Or maybe, “I love you, but I can’t keep you around longer.” I think I’d respect him more for that decision. But, I’m happy that the viewers have picked up on his betrayal as much as it hurt me.
Holmes: Losing you and Katie in back-to-back weeks has sucked.
Saint-Amour: (Laughs) Did you like the bikini?
Holmes: Ah…I don’t just watch this show for the strategy.
Saint-Amour: (Laughs) I think they should ban any future player from being able to wear leopard print.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: jeff kent, jeff probst, jonathan penner, Lisa Whelchel, michael skupin, rc saint-amour, survivor, survivor philippines
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