Erika Casupanan was revealed as the winner of “Survivor 41” last month in a landslide 7-1-0 jury vote, beating out runner-up Deshawn Radden and fan favorite 20-year-old Xander Hastings. Although the jury ended up unanimously praising Erika for her gameplay and character, it turns out that their positive feelings toward her were not always there.
Recently, fifth-place finisher Ricard Foyé revealed something which might surprise some fans: Erika was the #1 target of many players during the game; namely, the members of this season’s “All-Black Alliance.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Ricard: Shan ‘Did Not Like Erika at All’
YouTubeShan Smith, Ricard Foyé, and Erika Casupanan at a challenge in “Survivor 41.”
In a January “Deep Dive” interview with Rob Cesternino, Ricard talked about his decision of who to take with him after winning the final 8 reward challenge. He ended up selecting his longtime friend and ally Shan Smith, as well as Heather Aldret and Xander. In the interview, he explained he chose on Heather over her tight ally Erika because it would have been too suspicious to choose Erika, her number one ally, who he also described as “the person that everybody hated.” Ricard explained:
I felt like if I picked Erika, the person that everybody hated, it would be too suspicious when I could use the fact that Heather had not been on any rewards as an easy, “this is my excuse, she hasn’t done anything.” “Like, come on, give her a sandwich. Give her a piece of pizza.”
When pressed about why Erika was hated so much, Ricard responded that he didn’t know why, but implied that it was likely game-related, rather than personal. “They,” Ricard said, referring to Shan’s allies Deshawn and Danny McCray, “always wanted her out. So there was always this piece of, they didn’t trust her.”
Ricard added that Shan in particular “did not like Erika, at all,” saying that that was partly why he didn’t bring Erika on the reward. “And so that was also a little piece of it,” Ricard said. “If I had brought Erika along it would’ve pissed off Shan. Although Shan also hated Heather, she didn’t see her as a threat in any capacity, so it’s like, ‘well I brought the lesser of the two’.”
Shan Still Ended up Voting for Erika in the End
YouTubeShan Smith at the “Survivor 41” Final Tribal Council.
Although Shan may not have liked Erika during the game, she ended up not only voting for her to win, but also became one of her most vociferous advocates, along with Ricard and Heather.
In some recent interviews, Shan has said that she felt like Deshawn and Xander not only gave very poor Final Tribal Council performances, but also had poor or sporadic gameplays. As a result, Shan said in a recent interview with Lauren Beck, “Erika was a sure winner…she knew we gave everybody else no choice. We would have to vote for her. That was her move.”
This is not the first time rivals during the game ended up making amends before season’s end. Famously, Christy Smith voted for Jenna Morasca to win season 6, “The Amazon,” despite her apparent hatred for her during their time on the island together. Similarly, Terry Deitz had many vocal conflicts with “Survivor: Panama” winner Aras Baskauskas, but ended up voting for him to win, saying in his voting confessional, “I am just so used to writing his name down. Of the two of you, you are head and shoulders, the winner. Congratulations.”
It is worth noting that the other people who Ricard noted as being Erika’s top advocates in the game – Danny and Deshawn – didn’t vote for Erika. Deshawn was in the finals with her, and Danny voted for Deshawn. However, Danny did praise Erika during Final Tribal Council as “absolutely amazing,” saying that she “played the game that I really wanted to play, and tried to.”
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Be sure to catch season 42 when it premieres March 9, 2022.
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