"Survivor: Worlds Apart" (CBS)
Quick Note: Just because the season is over, doesn’t mean the fun is over. Check back for exit interviews with the “Survivor: Worlds Apart” final five. And, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
Watch Every Episode of “Survivor: Worlds Apart”
Gordon Holmes: I’ve heard a rumor that you and your Dirty 30 buddies might be a bit hungover.
Will Sims: Nah…I’m fine.
Carolyn Rivera: (Laughs) I’ll admit I’m a little hungover.
Holmes: I appreciate the honesty, I’ll try to ask these questions in a low, calm voice.
Holmes: Carolyn, it was somewhat surprising when Mike chose you over Rodney. We’d been hearing that most people wanted to go to the end with Rodney and Will. Do you think he was trying to impress the jury by taking someone who is strong, or do you think he was secretly worried about Rodney?
Rivera: I think he took the people that he felt deserved it the most, honestly. I think what he did is he put it in our hands. He didn’t vote for me because he knew that Will and Rodney were voting for me. He wanted to go to a fire challenge and whoever wins deserves to be there.
Holmes: Will, I’m sure you’re going to get this question a lot today, and I’m sorry if this is uncomfortable…
Sims: No, let’s do it!
Holmes: Alright, whatever happened to those sandwiches you promised on day one?
Sims: (Laughs) We got wraps. I didn’t have enough ingredients to make bread, so I made wraps.
Holmes: Now, of course what I was getting at was your confrontation with Shirin. Take me back to when you were told people thought you might be lying about the snacks. How did it get so heated?
Sims: Multiple people came up to me, it wasn’t just Tyler, it was Dan as well. And, they were saying, “Shirin is saying awful things about you.” She was saying awful things about me and Dan the whole game, you guys never saw that. They said I was hiding food, and that set me off. Here I am making this kind gesture…we’re all out there starving. And I shared my food which was gone in one day and you’re going to question me about it? I just went off.
Holmes: We were given the impression that it was Mike, Shirin, and Jenn who were questioning the snacks. How did you react toward Mike and Jenn?
Sims: I was going off on Mike and Shirin at the same time. You guys didn’t see that. I’m yelling at Mike and I’m yelling at her. It looks like Mike just came in and saved the day. That’s not how it happened.
Holmes: And Jenn?
Sims: Jenn wasn’t anywhere around at all.
Holmes: Why did it go to, “You’re not a woman, you don’t have a soul, your family doesn’t love you.” Instead of “You’re calling me a liar, and that’s (expletive deleted).”
Sims: It got to that level on the way she was treating certain people. Shirin was not the nicest person out there. I know some of you drink the Shirin Kool-Aid and that’s fine, you’re going by what you see. We were living in that moment.
Holmes: Well yeah, I know Carolyn was the nicest person out there.
Sims: Yeah, that’s why we call her “Mama.”
Holmes: I was just checking to make sure you’re still there.
Rivera: (Laughs) Yeah, I’m still here.
Holmes: At the end of the day, it’s still a game. Was there ever concern about losing Shirin’s potential jury vote or had that ship long since passed?
Sims: Oh, that vote was gone at the split. I knew when she came to Nagarote.
Holmes: What has the reaction been like from fans?
Sims: I’ve gotten a lot more positive than negative. Everybody that’s come up to me on the street, the first thing they say is, “Can I get a picture?” And then, “I didn’t like Shirin either.”
Holmes: Carolyn, this was a big one for me; would you have played your idol if Dan hadn’t played his double vote? I was wondering if that tipped you off.
Rivera: I knew that my name was on the chopping block that day. The funny thing about the whole idol thing is that I only brought it to Tribal on two occasions. I was planning on using my idol that day. What I didn’t realize was that every single person except for Mike was going to be voting for me. I knew I was going to get votes, I was shocked by the number of votes. I wasn’t going to be the one that went home with an idol in her pocket. But when Dan played his advantage, I was pretending to be really scared because I didn’t want them to know I had the idol. Then I did the drama and waited a few seconds before playing it. I really enjoyed that moment.
Holmes: As did I.
Rivera: (Laughs)
Holmes: It seems like you both bonded with Rodney really quickly after the merge. How did that come about?
Sims: I clicked with Rodney from day one. Something about us, we vibed. At the the merge he was the first person to talk to me. He went and talked to Mike and I had talked to Kelly before the merge. Mike took me down to the river and that’s how that happened.
Rivera: It was kind of the same thing. I saw that he was from Boston, I was from New York. It’s a bit of a rivalry, but I knew it was that northeast thing. We clicked from the beginning. We stuck together. Will and I clicked when I went to Nagarote beach. We knew we were going to stick together. That’s how we became the Axis of Evil. (Laughs)
Sims: (Laughs) I’d forgotten about that. We were the Axis of Evil!
Holmes: That is a hell of a nickname.
Rivera: I love it.
Holmes: When you made the call to target Tyler, was it ever discussed that it might be worth it to keep him around in hopes that he could beat Mike in a challenge?
Rivera: Tyler was not as much of an immunity threat as Mike. Mike was clearly going to win those. But, Tyler was more of a threat from a likability factor. Sitting next to him in the end would be a problem.
Holmes: It’s ironic that you two are paired together today, cause you’re our karaoke singers.
Sims: We sang a lot! They would always say, “Quit singing, we don’t have the rights.”
Rivera: (Laughs)
Sims: But we’d sing all the time. We had a great time.
Holmes: Carolyn, I feel like you might have been hosed on this Second Chance thing.
Sims: She did get hosed, don’t say she might have been.
Holmes: Carolyn was hosed.
Rivera: Thank you.
Holmes: You weren’t allowed to campaign, your big moment with the idol didn’t happen until midway through the vote.
Rivera: It wasn’t meant to be. They’d better bring me back soon. I’m ready. Everybody knows I should be there.
Sims: We’re coming back for “Heroes vs. Villains.” I’m a villain and she’s the hero.
Holmes and Rivera: (Laughs)
Holmes: Alright, word association time. Let’s start with So.
Rivera: Great person.
Sims: Beautiful.
Holmes: Vince?
Sims: Unconventional.
Rivera: His own person.
Holmes: Nina?
Sims: Sweet.
Rivera: So genuine.
Holmes: Lindsey?
Rivera: Strong.
Sims: Feisty.
Holmes: Max?
Sims: A good guy.
Rivera: Gamer.
Holmes: Joaquin?
Rivera: New York connection.
Sims: Charismatic.
Holmes: Kelly?
Rivera: Kelly is real.
Sims: Strong.
Holmes: Hali?
Sims: Bubbly.
Rivera: She was always smiling. I’m not good at this when I’m drunk in the morning.
Holmes: No wrong answers here. Joe.
Sims: Amazing!
Holmes: I’ve heard that.
Rivera: Joey Amazing! I would say he’s Macgyver.
Holmes: Jenn?
Rivera: Fiery.
Sims: The real deal.
Holmes: Shirin?
Rivera: I will say that she is her own person.
Sims: Liar.
Holmes: Tyler?
Sims: Schemer.
Rivera: Friendly.
Holmes: Dan?
Sims: Misunderstood.
Rivera: Straight forward.
Holmes: Sierra?
Rivera: Darling.
Sims: Delightful.
Holmes: Rodney?
Rivera: Feisty.
Sims: The truth.
Holmes: And we’ll finish off with Millionaire Mike.
Sims: The champ!
Rivera: He’s the winner.
Holmes: Dan had a really rough reunion. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I don’t think Dan’s a bad guy at all...
Sims: He’s not.
Holmes: Yeah, I truly don’t. I just think he got a hard lesson in reality TV. What state of mind was he in last night after the reunion?
Sims: He’s pissed. He’s upset. It seems like he got ambushed a little bit. I think they did him wrong. It was very uncomfortable for us to watch. It seemed like they had an agenda to make Dan look bad and eat his words. Cause Dan’s not that guy. Most of Dan’s comments were taken out of context. Dan’s not a woman hater, Dan’s not a misogynist. He’s not degrading women. Dan was one of the nicest guys out there, he’s just brutally honest. He’ll give you the shirt off his back, but if you push him he’s going to push back.
Rivera: I think that Dan…I don’t think it’s malicious intent. He has a very strong personality. He’s been trying to get on the show for ten years.
Sims: Fifteen.
Rivera: Right. He wanted to be remembered and some of those things may have played into how he played the game.
Holmes: Moments like Will and Shirin’s confrontation and Dan and Mike’s letter fiasco have kind of overshadowed a lot of the excitement this season.
Rivera: I really don’t want this season to be remembered as the season of fighting. It’s so annoying to me that that’s what people see it as. I think we have a close-knit cast. I think most of us will be friends for a long time. And there were so many funny, positive stories. That’s the way I want people to remember it.
Sims: I had a ball. I went to the end with the best in the game. I was happy to be there. Mike is LeBron James, Mama C. is Kobe Bryant, and then me…being me. (Laughs)
Rivera: (Laughs)
Sims: I can take a shot too.
Rivera: That’s true, you didn’t get there for nothing.
Rivera: Gordon, I have a bone to pick with you.
Holmes: Uh oh, what did I do?
Rivera: Every single picture you took those first three days, I was either mean-faced…you get all the young girls smiling and looking like a million bucks. I’ve got my rolls in my stomach, and my mean face on.
Holmes: In my defense, I was at White Collar beach for a little over an hour and you spent most of the time in the shelter.
Rivera: Oh, really?
Sims: I have a bone to pick too. You didn’t show my pictures until my wife sent you something on Twitter.
Holmes: I didn’t have much of you, because when I was at No Collar, you were off on the beach looking for the idol.
Sims: Well, you should of followed me. (Laughs)
Holmes: Alright, when I come out for “Heroes vs. Villains 2,” when you see me I want big smiles and dramatic poses.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
Tags: carolyn rivera, survivor, survivor worlds apart, will sims
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