Joe Hunter may have made it to the Final 3 of “Survivor” for a second time, but he says he knew almost immediately that the jury wasn’t going to reward his game. In a candid post-finale interview, the “Survivor 50” finalist claimed several jurors appeared to have already made up their minds before Final Tribal Council even began, leaving him feeling like he had “zero chance” to win despite his strong strategic resume.
Already Had Their Minds Made Up
Joe Hunter has played “Survivor” twice now. Both times, the fire captain has gotten to the end. However, Joe just can’t get any kind of love from the jury.
Hunter made it all the way to the Final 3 on “Survivor 50.” However, he lost to Aubry Bracco and Jonathan Young in an 8-3- 0 vote.
In a post-finale interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joe states he believes the jury already had their minds made up before they walked onto that Tribal Council set.
When asked what he thought his chances were of winning the game, Joe said, “This is no joke. I always try to keep it as real as I can with everyone. I sit down in that chair for final Tribal, right? And I’m thinking: ‘All right, here we go.’ And right away, I mean, the second before any word was said, I went: ‘Oh, that one hates me, this one hates me, hate me, hate me, hate me, hate me.’ I thought: ‘Man, there’s zero chance.’”
He did give credit to Emily, Devens, Christian, and Dee, stating they were truly trying to listen to what the Final 3 had to say. Joe added, “So to answer your question directly, I just felt it was very transparent based on the questions and responses that, before this thing started, I think it was a wrap.
Votes That Surprised Joe Hunter
When asked if any of the votes surprised him, he did say there was one, but never mentioned who that castaway was.
Joe goes on to say, “I did think some things that had been done in the game, and did I think I’d get a vote? Yeah. I thought I’d get a vote. But to sit there confidently and say win? No, I didn’t think that either. So that’s where I stood with it.”
Not Buying What He Was Selling on ‘Survivor’
Joe has been a solid player during his time on “Survivor.” He has made it all the way to the end twice now. This is all while having only one vote ever cast against him.
Even with those stats, the jury wasn’t buying it. Why? Hunter said, “Here’s what I’ll say. I have very strong feelings about that, but, you know, the athlete in me, the person that I am, says it’s my fault. So at the end of the day, it must have been something that I didn’t do or something that I didn’t say or didn’t do in the game that didn’t spark their results.”
In the end, Joe received no votes, but there was no ill will toward anyone. Reflecting on his time on the show and the finale, he posted on Instagram and said he was proud of Aubry and thanked Jonathan for being a great friend. He also said Jeff Probst and the show saved his life.
