S40: Michele Fitzgerald

[Whimsy]

Winner of Survivor: Kaoh Rong

[LadyChatts]

I'm no fan of Michele, and I'd be perfectly fine if she were a first boot.

However, if her sticking around irritates Probst, then I'm all for it.

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I'm no fan of Michele, and I'd be perfectly fine if she were a first boot.

However, if her sticking around irritates Probst, then I'm all for it.

Why would it irritate Probst?

[LadyChatts]

11 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Why would it irritate Probst?

He’s made it clear through the years that he didn’t agree with her win, thought she won only by Scot and Jason influencing the jury (so popularity, as 99% of winners do), and specifically said her win was the reason why they were changing the jury format.  

[fishcakes]

28 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

He’s made it clear through the years that he didn’t agree with her win, thought she won only by Scot and Jason influencing the jury (so popularity, as 99% of winners do), and specifically said her win was the reason why they were changing the jury format.  

Do you remember where you read that? I've heard it said before on the boards that he's disparaged her repeatedly, but I've never seen anywhere Jeff has said anything about her, and I'd be curious to see how he explains how the new jury format helps.

Edited January 13, 2020 by fishcakes

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Do you remember where you read that? I've heard it said before on the boards that he's disparaged her repeatedly, but I've never seen anywhere Jeff has said anything about her, and I'd be curious to see how he explains how the new jury format helps.

This is one article I remember-it was Jeff giving an interview pre-MvsGX, where he first mentioned the new jury format.  I should say that while he's never out right said 'I hate Michele, worst winner ever', he's strongly alluded to not liking her win.  I will see if I can find more that were directly after the KR finale.

https://torontosun.com/2016/09/27/jeff-probst-tackles-survivor-hot-topics--and-teases-next-season/wcm/6fba139e-9ffb-497a-bc0f-9b43bc97ba3e

Here's what he said about the jury change that was coming, naming Scot and Jason specifically as getting to the KR jury:

Quote

 

Bitter juries – are they on the comeback? And is there anything you can do to combat them or are they just an occasional reality?

I’m going to go out on a limb: last season’s jury was an aberration. I think Scot and Jason were really tough [last season]. And they got to that jury. Nothing against those guys, it’s their prerogative to play how they want, but I felt their impact was pretty hard. I have an idea – not for this season but for next – to change the final tribal up to help the jury be less bitter. I’ll be curious to see if it works.

 

And here's what he said about Michele in that article as well:

Quote

 

Do you want to go on the record: some pundits felt you weren’t high on last season’s Brains, Brawns and Beauty. But when we last spoke before the premiere, you said it was as good as Second Chances — just different.

I don’t know what they’re talking about. I never said I didn’t like Brains vs. Brawns vs. Beauty. I loved that season. I loved both [last] seasons. The only drag of Brains, Brawn and Beauty was that it had to follow Second Chances. That’s a hard season to follow. I thought it was a great season with great gameplay. It introduced us to some really good players, had amazing drama and crowned a really sly winner. The one criticism of the season will be: how did Michele Fitzgerald win? I don’t know but it’s really amazing. She was so delicate that it appeared she did nothing but she did and got people to give her a million dollars. That’s winning Survivor.

 

 

[fishcakes]

Thanks for the link. I don't usually read much beyond the EW or Gordon Holmes stuff once a season is over, unless something heinous occurred that people are still talking about.

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

And here's what he said about Michele in that article as well:

Quote

The one criticism of the season will be: how did Michele Fitzgerald win? I don’t know but it’s really amazing. She was so delicate that it appeared she did nothing but she did and got people to give her a million dollars. That’s winning Survivor.

 

I read that differently than you do. To me that sounds like he's praising her. He's not necessarily being sincere, but he's not saying anything negative. He's saying viewers will wonder how she won, and he's right. People on these very boards were upset that she beat Aubry and said that Michele didn't deserve it, and that was what I saw on other sites as well. (Personally, I've always thought that Aubry was overrated and that Tai was more deserving since he was the one who said Michele had to go or she would win, but I was okay with Michele winning. I was "anyone but Aubry" at that point, though I've grown to like her more with her subsequent appearances.) But Jeff says Michele got people to give her a million with a delicate game that didn't look like anything, so that translates to me as him giving her props for playing an under-the-radar social game. I do agree though that it's not his favorite way to play, at least not now; he was bigger on the social aspect of it in earlier seasons. He likes the schemers and the physical players because it's easier to showcase that kind of game, and since he's an EP I can't really blame him for that. Michele was a fine winner, but not a particularly riveting one.

The bit about Scot and Jason is pure nonsense though. Why he's giving those two meatheads credit for anything is beyond me.

[LadyChatts]

Here's another article.  As I said, the dislike Jeff has for the outcome probably sounds worse coming from people (like me lol) writing about it, but he pretty much alludes to it that he preferred Aubry over time.  

https://ew.com/article/2016/06/14/survivor-jeff-probst-kaoh-rong-michele-aubry-tai/

Quote

 

So how does the host himself feel about the fan reaction and the result itself? We asked him while on location in Fiji for the filming of season 34 (which will air in early 2017).

“I love that they have opinions, and I actually agree with them,” says Probst of the fan uproar over Aubry’s loss. “I think had the audience voted, Aubry wins. I also think had the show been structured differently and the jury could see all the moves that Aubry was making, she wins. I bet if we polled the jury right now — and had Sia not jumped on the stage I would have had more time to get to stuff and I would have asked the jury that question — I think they would have said, ‘Yeah, Aubry would win.’ So that’s that.”

 

Side note, but as I was digging into the past, I ran across this tweet from Michele from 2018.  Reading the comments, people totally knew she was throwing shade at Probst because he's been vocal about her win, probably more than any recent winner I can remember.

https://twitter.com/meeshfitz/status/1059093722959433734?lang=en

 

[simplyme]

7 hours ago, fishcakes said:

The bit about Scot and Jason is pure nonsense though. Why he's giving those two meatheads credit for anything is beyond me.

Maybe I read it differently than you, but he pretty much insinuated Scot and Jason were bitter as hell (and tbh, I'd agree with him. It's not like they were horribly complimentary to Michele, either.) Apparently after watching them on the jury, he came up with the new format idea; he hoped changing from jurors each getting their own chance to ask a question or comment to a format where the jury as a whole discusses the finalists' performance in the three broad areas (outwit outplay outlast) would help moderate or disperse some of the bitterness.

So he's not really giving them credit for anything but being jagoffs.

I don't know that it worked, but I can see the logic. In the original format, if a juror is bitter, they just sit there and stew until they get up and spew their venom. They don't necessarily listen to much that's said, being focused on what they're going to say.

In the new format, theoretically a juror has to listen and comprehend other arguments to find a place to insert their own point of view, and other jurors can push back a bit if they disagree. While I don't know that this did anything for the truly bitter, I could see it having an effect on those only slightly bitter.

[OutOfTheQuestion]

Probst is an idiot.  First of all, this new jury format stinks.  Secondly, Michele won 5-2 -- even if you removed Jason and Scot from the equation, she still wins.  Thirdly, this was the season that had the stupid challenge where the winner could remove a juror, so Jeff handicapped Aubry's chances even more when Michele won and evicted Neal.

If the show's editors can't find a way to make "the social game" more interesting to the viewers, that's the fault of the show, not Michele.  I hope she goes on a tear in Winners At War.

Edited January 14, 2020 by OutOfTheQuestion

[fishcakes]

6 hours ago, simplyme said:

In the new format, theoretically a juror has to listen and comprehend other arguments to find a place to insert their own point of view, and other jurors can push back a bit if they disagree. While I don't know that this did anything for the truly bitter, I could see it having an effect on those only slightly bitter.

Oh, I see what you mean. I was reading him as if he was saying that Jason and Scot were bitter and influenced the others to vote against Tai and Aubry, which struck me as absurd because, despite Jason being so certain Michelle would eliminate him as a juror because of his persuasive rhetorical skills lol, who listens to Jason and Scot? So I kind of see the logic in the new jury format, but, yeah, it wouldn't work on the extremely bitter (Lex and his fluffy blue mohawk come to mind here).

[ByaNose]

I didn't have a problem with Michelle although I was totally shocked that she won. It didn't even occur to me that she could win with the Aubry edit. They (the editors) appeared to be more in to Aubry ( and, Tai's) game because it could be shown. Michelle game was more social and I guess they couldn't or didn't want to show that. Of course, by not showing Michelle's game made her less a winner than she was. Once again, I'm curious to see how she is portrayed this season. She's so new that I'm not even sure the others will be worried about her. Which might actually help her. It should be fun. I'm glad the new season is right around the corner. It's only 29 Days away. Yippie!

[laurakaye]

9 hours ago, OutOfTheQuestion said:

If the show's editors can't find a way to make "the social game" more interesting to the viewers, that's the fault of the show, not Michele.  I hope she goes on a tear in Winners At War.

+++1.  I had no issues with Michele's win.  I thought she was very calm under pressure, she won immunities (I will never forget the memory game she won - Probst asked her how many items she memorized, and she replied, "I memorized all of them."), and she didn't wither at the FTC when Nick asked Michele to speak intelligently, as if she was some dim-bulb girl who didn't belong exactly where she was.  I also hope she goes as far as possible.  

[TVFan1]

I also never had an issue with Michele's win. I think she played a brilliant social and strong game. She deserved that win no matter what Jeff thinks. Seeing her win in Season 40 would make me so happy. I'm rooting for her again just like I was in Season 32.

[LadyChatts]

13 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I didn't have a problem with Michelle although I was totally shocked that she won. It didn't even occur to me that she could win with the Aubry edit. They (the editors) appeared to be more in to Aubry ( and, Tai's) game because it could be shown. Michelle game was more social and I guess they couldn't or didn't want to show that. Of course, by not showing Michelle's game made her less a winner than she was. Once again, I'm curious to see how she is portrayed this season. She's so new that I'm not even sure the others will be worried about her. Which might actually help her. It should be fun. I'm glad the new season is right around the corner. It's only 29 Days away. Yippie!

I think this was the case for me and a lot of people.  Watching the way the edit was playing out at the FTC, I thought there was no way in hell Aubry was losing.  She had more of the overall story arc that winners tend to get.  Michele I honestly can't remember much of in terms of her edit.  I don't know if being new is going to help Michele, but I think she'll have less of a target on her back just based on game play and reputation than most of the female winners that are back.

In all honesty, I'll always believe that Adam's win during MvsGX had at least something to do with them changing the jury format.  Not saying you still can't win with a good old sob story, but it's a little harder to work that in now, instead of one person asking you a question and being able to direct the narrative to what you want.  

[marys1000]

I didn't like her win and can't stand her personally.  Having her on this season is going to make it hard to watch.  

[LanceM]

Michele's cast bio

https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/216308/

 

"I don't think I will play much differently. In my first season, I learned that I am able to calmly adapt to changing circumstances and this is valuable in a game where paranoia runs rampant. Since I am a social player, I will lean into that and make as many personal connections as possible. I would like to make some fun, big moves this time but they have to be smart and not just for shock factor"

[marys1000]

I hate people who do this sort of thing.   She can fuck off and die. 

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2020 by marys1000

[LadyChatts]

13 hours ago, marys1000 said:

I didn't like her win and can't stand her personally.  Having her on this season is going to make it hard to watch.  

And I thought I didn’t like Michele lol I think she’s lucky that the only other female winners that aren’t back this season are either people who’ve fallen off the Survivor grid (Natalie White), people who’ve made headlines for their substance abuse issues (Jenna Morasca), someone Probst probably likes less than Michele (Vecepia Towery), and then there’s Tina, whose exclusion surprises me probably more than anyone.
 

Although to be fair, I could probably make the same argument for some of the men that got asked back.  
 

Edited January 16, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Jessa]

I like her slightly more than I like Ben. 

[ByaNose]

I never hated her but just wanted Aubrey to win. I don’t think I’ve seen or heard much from her since she won so still don’t hate her. LOL!!! I’m curious to see if she sticks with the newer winners or goes old school.

[violet and green]

For me, it went: blah blah blah, boring boring boring, nothing burger, yet another boring confessional I tuned out from, boring pretty goat, blah blah blah, boo hoo hooo! You win.

Hope she proves me wrong - well no, I hope she proves me right and is much the same and I am vindictated!

 

[LadyChatts]

On 1/20/2020 at 9:11 PM, Jessa said:

I like her slightly more than I like Ben. 

Well, I can't argue with that too much.  I'd put her above Ben, Adam, and probably Tyson at least.  

[Jessa]

On 1/20/2020 at 9:11 PM, Jessa said:

I like her slightly more than I like Ben. 

 

On 1/20/2020 at 10:51 PM, ByaNose said:

I never hated her but just wanted Aubrey to win. I don’t think I’ve seen or heard much from her since she won so still don’t hate her. LOL!!! I’m curious to see if she sticks with the newer winners or goes old school.

After thinking on it, I think I’m probably more in your camp byanose. I’m pretty unsure I have an enduring case of something akin to bitter jury syndrome. Bitter fan syndrome? Anyway, I really thought Aubry had it, and I hated that she lost. But then she really didn’t do well on her next outing (it felt like watching a different person), so I’m just confused. I still think Aubry should have won, but maybe I should cut Michele some slack.

 

[laurakaye]

On 1/15/2020 at 10:14 PM, LadyChatts said:

And I thought I didn’t like Michele lol I think she’s lucky that the only other female winners that aren’t back this season are either people who’ve fallen off the Survivor grid (Natalie White), people who’ve made headlines for their substance abuse issues (Jenna Morasca), someone Probst probably likes less than Michele (Vecepia Towery), and then there’s Tina, whose exclusion surprises me probably more than anyone.
 

Although to be fair, I could probably make the same argument for some of the men that got asked back.  
 

Slightly off-topic, but RHAP just had an interview with Vecepia and she says that she was never contacted by CBS for season 40 (and she would've loved to have played, had she been asked).  Having just re-watched Marquesas and Kaoh Rong, I find that more than a little bit frustrating.  Probst may have his faves, but so do the fans.  Michele and Vecepia played similar games and as a forever fan of this show, I love to see a variety of strategies win the million.  Both women won a couple of immunities, played under the radar, and had strong social games.  They might not have been flashy Probst-crushes, but they won just the same.  To each their own, of course - but I would absolutely love to see a Probst non-favorite take this thing.  

[ByaNose]

Probst has gone on record saying everyone was asked. I’m guessing he’s lying. It’s too bad because I would have preferred to see her over Amber or Michelle (just because she is newer winner). 

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

Probst has gone on record saying everyone was asked. I’m guessing he’s lying. It’s too bad because I would have preferred to see her over Amber or Michelle (just because she is newer winner). 

I don't believe everyone was asked, because we know there's at least two people who would have been a definitive 'no' on the end of the producers (Hatch and Brian Heidek).  So why bother asking them?  And I believe Vecepia over Probst.  She said before filming even started, and there were rumors about the theme of the season and winners being contacted, that no one had reached out to her.  I would have much rather her and Tina over Michele, Sarah, or Sophie.

I'm probably most surprised about no Tina, and kind of surprised they didn't bring JT back.  If only to see how he royally screws up and gets himself voted out of the game again.

[LanceM]

Interview with Michele.

https://my.xfinity.com/ed/tv/2020/02/04/survivor-champion-michele-fitzgerald-theres-no-blueprint-on-how-to-win/

Fitzgerald: I think my ride or die…is Kim. I love Kim’s gameplay. She was incredible her first time. She took Chelsea (Meissner) to the end with her. If I could be her Chelsea, that would be great. But, I’d get her out before that. I don’t necessarily want a ride or die in this game, but she’s the closest.

hmmmm... where i have seen this before

Spradlin-Wolfe: (Laughs) Which is exactly where we are right now. I’m going with Michele. How do I put this nicely…I love Michele, she seems really sweet. I think we’ll get along. I think she could be my new Chelsea (Meissner).

lol

[Lamima]

The Mihele win was THE most anti-climactic let down on Survivor for me. This is one area in which I agree with Propst. And, sadly, I think she will make it far again for same reason as last time...she will be a dud that nobody notices. They returnees will all be gunning for the big guns like Sandra, Parvati, Rob, Tony, Sarah....and mousy Michele will go under the radar. Ack!

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, Lamima said:

The Mihele win was THE most anti-climactic let down on Survivor for me. This is one area in which I agree with Propst. And, sadly, I think she will make it far again for same reason as last time...she will be a dud that nobody notices. They returnees will all be gunning for the big guns like Sandra, Parvati, Rob, Tony, Sarah....and mousy Michele will go under the radar. Ack!

So what you’re saying is - Michele has come up with the definitive winning strategy for returning players?  😁

[Josh371982]

On 1/15/2020 at 8:27 AM, marys1000 said:

I didn't like her win and can't stand her personally.  Having her on this season is going to make it hard to watch.  

That's hilarious considering worse people are on this season. What's so bad about her? She was one of the most tolerable people of her season. I remember hating Jason and Scot with a Passion and Julia was up there siding with those assholes. People like Dickwad Tony are blights on this upcoming season. 

[marys1000]

Did you not see the picture of her petting the tigers in their tiny cage?  

 

Another player, a season with a real cloud over it at the end was....the one with Jane Bright?  I don't remember the season.  I hated her for other reasons.  Then there was the suggestion that she tried to get whats his name to agree to split the winnings or something when they were out in the water and the camera's couldn't hear what they were saying.  
Was that winner asked?  

[fishcakes]

In the previews for tonight's episode, Michele says,

Spoiler

"How did I end up on a tribe with my ex-boyfriend?" which made me curious as to who that was (I was guessing Adam). A little Googling and it turns out she dated ... Wendell. Wendell! Wendell and Wendell's abs! This gives me a newfound respect for her.

 

I also found this factoid about her on the Survivor Wiki:

Quote

Michele is the least vulnerable female winner and the second overall behind Tom Westman, having been eligible to be voted out only four times.

Not going to TC very often cuts both ways. On the one hand, it means you're safe from the vote, but on the other, it means you don't have as much experience strategizing. She's almost the opposite of Denise, who went to every TC in her season, though if you look at how each of them is playing this season, you'd never know it. Michele looks like she's playing a pretty smart game by getting in with Jeremy at the top of the dominant alliance on their tribe (though if Natalie comes back, Michele could get aced out), while Denise's only allies have been Adam and Ben. Denise/Adam/Ben is not an inspiring trio.

Edited March 11, 2020 by fishcakes

[LadyChatts]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:22 AM, marys1000 said:

Did you not see the picture of her petting the tigers in their tiny cage?  

 

Another player, a season with a real cloud over it at the end was....the one with Jane Bright?  I don't remember the season.  I hated her for other reasons.  Then there was the suggestion that she tried to get whats his name to agree to split the winnings or something when they were out in the water and the camera's couldn't hear what they were saying.  
Was that winner asked?  

If you believe Probst, all the winners were asked.  However, Vecepia from Marquesas claims she wasn't.  I have a hard time believing a few others were, too.  From what I remember about Jane and Sash, he agreed to pay off her mortgage for her jury vote, and she let everyone know that, and then he tried to backpedal (it's against the rules to agree to split money or buy someones vote).  None of that was aired, but it all came out after.

As for Michele, I still can't say I'm a fan-something about her just bugs.  And no matter how well she may play this season, it still won't change the fact that I thought Aubry should have won KR.  That was then, this is now, and nothing is going to change my mind about her game play then.

Edited March 11, 2020 by LadyChatts

[violet and green]

Still boring as batshit.

[ByaNose]

I have come to a conclusion. I can't understand what Michelle is saying half the time. It's part her New Jersey accent (I guess) and part something else. It's weird. I see her lips move and I hear sound but I never fully understand what she is saying. It's so annoying. Maybe, it's just me. That said, it did seem like she was trying to work with Wendell and meet him halfway but he wasn't having any of it. I guess it was a bad breakup. LOL!!!!

[Eolivet]

I got the feeling Wendell cheated on her. Something she said about "broke my trust." I follow that newschool group pretty closely, but I forgot he's in Philadelphia and she's in New Jersey. Practically kissing cousins, location-wise.

I do know Michele dated Jay from mvgx, and if you believe the spoiler person on Vevmo (which I do most of the time, but not about this), she was almost picked to compete on Challenge 33, which aired in spring 2019. I've always maintained CBS had the all-winners season in their back pocket and rescinded their "permission" for Michele to MTV, which the spoiler person vehemently denies. But if Michele was on Challenge 33, she likely couldn't have appeared on this. Wendell also mentioned wanting to compete on The Challenge prior to the all-winners season.

If this season is good for anything, it's how much it broke Challenge fans' hearts in terms of Survivor representation (and you're never getting Michaela either, suckers!)

[violet and green]

32 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I have come to a conclusion. I can't understand what Michelle is saying half the time. It's part her New Jersey accent (I guess) and part something else. It's weird. I see her lips move and I hear sound but I never fully understand what she is saying. It's so annoying. Maybe, it's just me.

I cannot follow more than a sentence, if that, from her. It's so weird. I rewound her first confessional after tribe swap four times and tried to force myself to pay attention and focus on what the hell she was saying, and every single time realized I had tuned out again, so I just gave up and watched the rest from there. She's like a hypnotist or something.

[fishcakes]

5 hours ago, Eolivet said:

I got the feeling Wendell cheated on her. Something she said about "broke my trust."

From the promos, I figured it was just a "oh we dated, no big," thing, but the way they were with each other was so awkward. I don't know if he cheated on her, but it seemed like maybe she thought it was a serious relationship and he didn't. It felt like she was pushing him to say something (I don't know what, an apology maybe?) and he was like, "God, let this be over." If they lose a challenge, I wouldn't be surprised if they vote her out and keep the more dangerous Parvati, just because having Michele there is so uncomfortable for Wendell. I'm not saying that's right or fair, just that I could see it going that way.

[LanceM]

Secret scene with Michele and her new best friend Parv (yes more bitching about Wendell)

 

https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/0BAB5981-BA7C-602C-D574-C5AACD8D7115/survivor-winners-at-war-my-best-friend-out-here/

[LadyChatts]

I can't decide if the show has something against Wendell, or if they are trying to make Michele look bad.  It's not like she said anything that horrible, but I don't think she came off looking great, either.  This was a tweet from Michele:

And this was something Wendell re-tweeted on his account:

So not sure if they are friendly with each other?  I haven't been keeping up on the Survivor gatherings this season and whose showing up at whose.

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, the Michele/Wendell stuff is tricky. First off, because we don't know the specifics of how they ended things. It doesn't seem very amicable. 

I think both came off not great in the episode, personally. Michele was being catty with how much she was spilling about Wendell that made him look awful, but Wendell also looked bad with how hostile he seemed to be toward Michele. almost nonchalant. 

Of course, the editors were in charge of this storyline and they clearly did a horrible job by showing quite possibly the worst of these two. And who knows what the producers were encouraging from Michele and Wendell about their relationship.

I did look through some of Wendell's likes on Twitter and there's been a couple of pro-Michele tweets that he's liked (in that they're about how Michele has probably spoken positively about Wendell as well). So I do feel like Michele/Wendell's relationship now isn't as hostile as they're making it seem. They may not be on great terms and they may not really talk much in real life now, but it doesn't seem like they hate each other. 

So my best guess is that both Michele and Wendell are correct in blaming the show/edit more than each other. Which would be fair, since the show picked out probably the worst moments from Michele and Wendell during their time on the island and showcased that. For all we know, Wendell ended up talking to the cameras about the positives of their relationship. And maybe Michele ended up spilling some great things about Wendell. 

[AncientNewbie]

I'll admit that I don't always get Michele's intonation, but in my clueless way, it didn't sound all that hostile when they were interacting--just that he's made a career of FUTR and didn't want to engage.

[ProfCrash]

I thought Michelle was being a pain in the ass and kept bringing it up when Wendell wanted nothing to do with the conversation. It might have been better if Wendell has just said "I don't want to discuss it here" instead of grunting and being stoic.

[Nashville]

22 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I'll admit that I don't always get Michele's intonation, but in my clueless way, it didn't sound all that hostile when they were interacting--just that he's made a career of FUTR and didn't want to engage.

I know you meant “Flying Under The Radar“, but given the context my mind immediately jumped to an interpretation of FUTR as “Fucked Up The Relationship” - and in this context, derned if it doesn’t make better sense.  😄

[Eolivet]

From the episode thread:

""I knew that Adam, Nick, Wendell, and Danni were actually on the cusp of voting for me, and they voted for Tony. And I've talked to them about this post-game. They all, as soon as the votes were read, and they came to me and they told me that there was a situation that Natalie could have potentially won. So instead, they sided with Tony, just to make sure that the right person won the season."

After listening to Sarah and Amber talking about feeling inferior to dominant men, even as winners, this is the reason Michele's "I get no respect" tour this season never rang true for me. Because she didn't beat a dominant man, she beat Tai (who got no votes, right?) and a woman the jury didn't like as much. She won immunities and made the right relationships, yes, but I can't imagine Michele suffered the backlash from the male Survivor fandom that Sarah or Amber did. Jeff Probst didn't like her, not in favor of Boston Rob or Culpepper, but ... Aubry! How ... dare he?

I grew tired of Michele the victim, because I think a lot of it was self-imposed. She chose not to be part of the dominant alliance, and then complained nobody was doing anything to get them out. Everybody was against Michele, even Wendell in their failed relationship. She won immunities and was on the wrong side of the vote. Even Natalie knew Michele was the Noura of this season.

So, the above quote has a ring of "oh, my friends would've voted for me, but they had to make sure that other girl didn't win." And maybe it's just that Natalie was an Edge of Extinction returnee. But it has a bit of a mean girl streak to it. That she was fine losing to Tony, but not Natalie. It adds some evidence to the idea that Michele can't stand when another woman is seen as superior to her. Because I bet if Aubry faded into the woodwork, instead of being asked back two more times, Michele's resentment would've faded, too.

I just found it an interesting contrast between Sarah and Amber, who seemingly kept their heads down as winners, playing also-rans to men, and probably dealing with real gender bias crap, and Michele who spent all season pouting, "nobody believed I was the prettiest princess in Kaoh Rong."

[peachmangosteen]

Jeremy is retweeting so many positive tweets about Michele and I love it.