One of the castaways recently eliminated from the Fiji island at tribal council during “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” has revealed exactly why they think they were voted off the reality television series. Speaking in an interview, Dee Valladares has admitted that she made mistakes during her time on the show and believes she was seen as a threat by the other players.
Dee Valladares Explains Her Gameplay Choices in ‘Survivor’ 50
Valladares became one of the favorites to win the latest season of “Survivor” when she was first announced as one of the cast of the series. After all, she had a proven pedigree on the series and was one of just three players in “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” that had previously won a previous season.
In fact, she is widely regarded as one of the most dominant castaways from the new era of the show, having been voted the Sole Survivor of season 45 after a hugely impressive display. So it is understandable that she would be seen as a threat by her fellow players on the 50th season and an early target for elimination.
Speaking in an interview with Parade, Valladares explained that she knew from the start of the show that she would be a target for elimination at tribal councils due to her experience on the show.
“My name had been out since Episode 1,” she said. “People wanted me out. And it’s a smart move. They wanted me out because of the threat, but I tried to sway it to Coach. I knew people were getting so super annoyed with him, so I tried to do that. I wasn’t gonna go down without a fight. And I’m very happy that at least I tried something and provided some entertainment, because I already knew I was going home.”
Valladares also revealed that she knows that being perceived to be playing “too hard” by the other castaways was a mistake but felt it was her only option given the circumstances of her alliances and the tribe she was part of.
“I was, because I was extremely paranoid. Because it was Coach, Jonathan and Chrissy on one end, and then me, Tiff and Kamilla. And then that left Mike and Charlie in the middle. So I know Charlie mentioned that that is the reason why I turned on him,” Valladares said.
She continued, “It was absolutely not the reason. As far as playing hard, yeah, absolutely, I’m gonna play hard! Because we go to Tribal, it’s either me or Chrissy, and I don’t want to go home. But I do think, had we gone to Tribal, it would have been Chrissy.”
Dee Valladares Confirms She and Charlie Davis Are Not on Good Terms
In a separate interview, Valladares also confirmed that she has not been able to fully patch up her relationship with season 50 player Charlie Davis. During an early episode of the current season, Davis was on the receiving end of what he felt was a hurtful comment from Valladares following his attempt to force Rizo Velovic to be voted off the show.
This led Valladares to dub Davis a dumb player for his gameplay and strategy. Her full comment was, “I actually thought Charlie was the most dangerous player here, but I actually think he’s the dumbest player here.”
Valladares explained in the interview that she had spoken to Davis since leaving the Fiji island but the pair are still not on good terms.
“With Charlie, I reached out to him, but I reached out to him in December,” she explained. “We finished in July, but when I landed after July, I had just finished filming ‘The Challenge.’ So ‘The Challenge’ was about to air. I’m getting bombarded with promo. Now I’m dealing with 30 other people, even worse drama than what this is.”
She continued, “He never responded back. And at one point, I’m like: Let me just crack jokes. And I’m like, ‘All right, if you hate me, just say that.’ Like, I was just cracking jokes. And it finally got to the point where I’m like, ‘All right, what the heck is happening? What’s going on? Like, just let’s talk about it. ‘ And, you know, he told me he was hurt and blah, blah, blah, and we talked about it and we’ve had a few text exchanges, but it doesn’t seem like anything’s gonna come from it.”
