S42 Tori Meehan

[Whimsy]

CBS bio

Name: Tori Meehan
Age: 25
Hometown: Tulsa, OK
Current Residence: Rogers, Arkansas
Occupation: Therapist

Favorite Hobbies: Crossfit, playing board games or card games, spending time with family (I’m the middle child of five kids.)

3 Words to Describe You: Quirky, warm, self-aware

Pet Peeve: When people lack self-awareness, are emotionally reactive, immature, or petty

What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? I graduated 100% debt-free from my undergraduate degree and paid for 50% of my master’s degree by competing in pageants and by earning academic scholarships.

What is something we would never know from looking at you? I get this all the time: “When I first met you, I thought you were going to be a mean girl, but now that I know you, that’s not the case.” People tend to stereotype me, so they’re surprised when they realize I have depth, am intelligent and that I do a lot of super nerdy things.

Who is your hero and why? It would be so cheesy to say “Jesus,” but I did want to use this question to explain the importance of my faith. I am a fully devoted follower of Christ, and my life motto is to “love God and love people.” I recognize that there is a higher calling on my life than simply living for myself.

Which past Survivor will you play the game most like? 100% Kim Spradlin. Not only was she a beast in challenges, but her social game was so strong. She developed genuine relationships with the other players, and almost everyone considered her a trustworthy ally, even if she didn’t feel the same way about them. Her tribemates viewed her as a leader, and her alliance members followed her lead. She didn’t go into the game trying to be super manipulative and deceptive. I felt like she tried to be as authentic as she could in a game like SURVIVOR.

Why do you believe you can be the Sole Survivor? I am the total package. I am a strong social player because of my background in counseling and psychology, so I understand human behavior. I genuinely care about people and know how to connect on a deeper, personal level. I am an animal when it comes to anything physical because of my strength, grit, and unrelenting determination. I have studied the game of SURVIVOR, so I know what strategy will work in the game. I come off as a very sweet, trustworthy person, but people have no idea what I’m capable of. I know how to balance being a huge threat, while also drawing people in and making them want to work with me. My faith gives me an advantage because I can rely on God when I am weak and ask Him for guidance.
 

[LadyChatts]

Quote

3 Words to Describe You: Quirky, warm, self-aware

Pet Peeve: When people lack self-awareness, are emotionally reactive, immature, or petty

After watching the premiere, I feel like whoever was in charge of writing these bios up for the website somehow mixed these up.

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by LadyChatts

[EllenB]

People who describe themselves as quirky usually aren't; they're just self-absorbed. It's okay if other people bestow it on you, though. I don't think it's the first word that would come to mind to describe a super-religious pageant chick. That's about as un-quirky as it gets.

[violet and green]

On 2/23/2022 at 11:43 AM, Whimsy said:

3 Words to Describe You: Quirky, warm, self-aware

Pet Peeve: When people lack self-awareness, are emotionally reactive, immature, or petty

This really is bizarre. Hello, projection!

Edited April 15, 2022 by violet and green
typo

[Peper81]

8 hours ago, violet and green said:

This really is bizarre. Hello, projection!

I remember being told once that what we dislike about others is really what we dislike about ourselves.  She kind of embodies that whole concept.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Bringing in a discussion from one of the episode threads as to whether Tori is un-self-aware and lacks empathy:

I see your point, but my negative opinion of Tori is not based on her attempts to gaslight her co-players; it’s based upon her attempts to gaslight US - the audience, that is, in her THs.  From Ep1 we’ve seen Tori makes statements of fact (“so yeah I said I was out collecting taro leaves, but I was really looking for an idol”) which she then later attempts - or appears to attempt, at least - to contradict (“and then when I’m out trying to gather food for the tribe, they actually accuse me of idol-hunting???  HOW DARE THEY!?!?”).

IMHO this more than anything else indicates an extreme lack of self-awareness and/or narcissism: the notions that either (a) others are somehow obligated to blindly accept an absolute vacuum of historical reference in relation to whatever falls out of Tori’s mouth, or (b) Tori thinks she’s sooo wonderful that folks (audience and players alike) will totally suspend any aspect of critical thinking - or memory even - and swallow whole anything she says.

I remember the moment you refer to and remember at the time going WTF. I thought (and still think) that it's possible that she was going for some sort of humor like "How dare they suspect me of idol hunting when I'm idol hunting?" It's also possible that the TH were edited to make it look more like Tori is trying to gaslight the audience when it would have been easier to square what she was saying. 

Trying to gaslight viewers wouldn't make much sense. Obviously we have some level of common sense on our side. Even if this is our first season of Survivor and we had no idea that people are always looking for idols, having blatantly said "I'm looking for an idol" is not going to magically go away by also acting indignant that people accused her of looking for one. And even if she succeeded in Jedi mind-tricking the audience, that buys her pretty much nothing.

But let's say for discussion's sake that these contradictory statements were both meant seriously and were in no way the result of producer manipulation and are accurate reflections of how/who Tori is.

For me, it's evidence that she's unlikeable, somewhat clueless, untrustworthy and probably lots of other things. But I don't see it as showing she is not self-aware or that she lacks empathy (at least, substantially more than the typical Survivor contestant). 

[Guest]

Quote

I think I read somewhere that Tori? Hasnt really practiced (as a therapist) much yet.   Internet says she is working on her PhD has launched online courses and online counseling specializing in eating disorders and body positivity.   Hm.  She is a pageant girl and into crossfit.  The exact opposite of who I would want counseling from if I had an eating disorder or body image issue.  

She has been on some kind of reality show and tried out for American Idol.  School and being a therapist sound like a plan B hobby.

For what it's worth, on her Instagram account, Tori posted one of her early Survivor audition videos when she was 19 and gives a warning that in the video, she talks about only eating a handful of almonds for days at a time. Present-day Tori says that this is clearly eating disorder behavior and acknowledges that she struggled with eating disorders at the time of the video.

So I guess I would say that maybe going through something like that would assist her in helping others struggling with the same thing? Like victims of abuse counseling other victims, veterans helping other veterans, and so on. Just a thought.

As for being a "pageant girl", that apparently paid for her undergrad degree and half of her master's degree, so there was a method to her madness there. Not all that unusual, I don't think.

The American Idol auditions happened when she was in high school, so that seems kind of irrelevant. 

She's still young, so there's plenty of ways her life could go and maybe she won't stick with being a therapist, but I'm not ready to write off her therapist career as a plan B hobby because she auditioned for some reality shows and did pageants. Doing more than one thing doesn't mean that one of those things is less important to a person.

[Guest]

It was mentioned in Chanelle's thread that both she and Lydia described Tori as sweet and kind in their exit interviews with Gordon Holmes, and that this is at odds with the Tori we've seen on the show. True!

But!

There was a glimpse of this kind nature in this week's episode, when Omar volunteered to be the 4th person to give up the chance at immunity to get the tribe rice. Tori very sincerely put her hand on his shoulder and asked "are you sure?" A tiny gesture and over quickly, but I'm willing to bet there's a lot more of this going on. I've thought for a while now that Tori was getting the Angelina edit (weirdo outcast in the episodes, almost universally-beloved sweetheart in actuality), and this is more ammo for my wishful thinking theory.

Worth noting that in Swati's Holmes interview, she gave a more qualified answer about Tori (emotional, in a good and bad way). And Zach called her Bellatrix 😆

She's a puzzlement for sure!

[peachmangosteen]

1 minute ago, tracyscott76 said:

There was a glimpse of this kind nature in this week's episode, when Omar volunteered to be the 4th person to give up the chance at immunity to get the tribe rice. Tori very sincerely put her hand on his shoulder and asked "are you sure?" A tiny gesture and over quickly, but I'm willing to bet there's a lot more of this going on. 

I did notice that, but because of her edit, it came off phony to me lol.

Who/what is Bellatrix lol?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, peachmangosteen said:

Who/what is Bellatrix lol?

A Harry Potter character. Not exactly a positive comparison.

[peachmangosteen]

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Won't bog down the thread with nerdy off topic stuff, but she's one of the unqualifiedly negative characters in the whole series.

Suffice it to say, Zach was not thinking positive thoughts about Tori when he gave that answer. (Though it may have been tongue-in-cheek; I didn't watch the whole thing, just skipped to the word association part)

I do want to add that in Swati's answer, she elaborated that Tori was good at perceiving emotions...so maybe her therapist abilities are stronger than believed!

Edited April 22, 2022 by tracyscott76

[ProfCrash]

14 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

It was mentioned in Chanelle's thread that both she and Lydia described Tori as sweet and kind in their exit interviews with Gordon Holmes, and that this is at odds with the Tori we've seen on the show. True!

But!

There was a glimpse of this kind nature in this week's episode, when Omar volunteered to be the 4th person to give up the chance at immunity to get the tribe rice. Tori very sincerely put her hand on his shoulder and asked "are you sure?" A tiny gesture and over quickly, but I'm willing to bet there's a lot more of this going on. I've thought for a while now that Tori was getting the Angelina edit (weirdo outcast in the episodes, almost universally-beloved sweetheart in actuality), and this is more ammo for my wishful thinking theory.

Worth noting that in Swati's Holmes interview, she gave a more qualified answer about Tori (emotional, in a good and bad way). And Zach called her Bellatrix 😆

She's a puzzlement for sure!

Angelina did not do well at Final Tribal for a reason. While it is clear that the cast was fine with Angelina, they clearly did not respect her game or how she was playing. I never got the feeling that she was a villain in her season, just inept. Her social game was a disaster and she didn't seem to understand her actual position in the game. 

Tori seems to know that she is not in a good place in the game and is moving to adjust her position. I don't think she is focused on being liked, per se, but that she is trying to stir things up enough to take the target off of her. I don't see her edit as one of a villain but someone who doesn't tolerate players she doesn't like, Rocksroy, and a shit stirrer. Her eye rolls and body language is hilarious. I don't think she has a chance in hell of winning but she does make things more interesting. 

I can see her having far less TV worthy conversations with people and getting along fine with people that she likes. But she has that mean girl vibe that doesn't tolerate people she doesn't like and can be down right bitchy to them. See all of her interaction with Rocksroy. 

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

I do want to add that in Swati's answer, she elaborated that Tori was good at perceiving emotions...so maybe her therapist abilities are stronger than believed!

This reminded me of Drea saying Tori was good at hiding her true thoughts or something and I just started cackling. There is no way in hell that’s true lol. Although, I suppose the other players don’t get the closeups of her face reactions like we do.

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

This reminded me of Drea saying Tori was good at hiding her true thoughts or something and I just started cackling. There is no way in hell that’s true lol. Although, I suppose the other players don’t get the closeups of her face reactions like we do.

Though I guess they're seeing them now 😆

None of it makes any sense, because you also have scenes like where Tori is persistently (but calmly!) trying to get Rocksroy to cough up the non-existent secret he is so totally hiding about his journey up the mountain, and the others reacting to it. And yet "she's good at hiding her true thoughts."

We need a Tori Director's Cut of this season.

[peachmangosteen]

You know what, maybe Drea just isn't very observant lol.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

You know what, maybe Drea just isn't very observant lol.

To be fair, one can track Tori's movements, or one can count their outrageous clutch of advantages, but one can't be expected to do both.

[violet and green]

10 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

It was mentioned in Chanelle's thread that both she and Lydia described Tori as sweet and kind in their exit interviews with Gordon Holmes, and that this is at odds with the Tori we've seen on the show. True!

Well, they've only been living on a tribe with her for a couple of minutes, and she would be cosying the hell up to them as she knows she is toast without a miracle or an immunity run. I am sure she is a multifaceted person, like anyone else though. Also, manipulative. It's something she bragged about in the opening episode, about how her training gave her the tools to do this.

[peachmangosteen]

Chanelle also potentially spent time with her at Ponderosa, in which case she might be much more kind and sweet than she was when playing.

[eskimo]

I think some of the issue with Tori, or any player really, could be how much they might remind us of someone we've encountered.  Tori grates on me a lot (although not this last episode), but I couldn't put my finger on exaclty why.  Then it occurred to me that some of it is those little under-your-breath, snide comments.  I have a family member who does that and damn, if it doesn't drive me nuts.  So maybe I'm less tolerant of that because that sort of thing already annoys me, where it didn't already annoy someone else.  That, plus a mix of other subconscious cues.  Because I loved Michaela, who many others couldn't stand, but don't care for Tori, and it could be argued that Michaela was worse.  I found her totally entertaining and someone I could hang around, like many here see Tori.  My niece and I disagreed on Michaela and I didn't understand what she couldn't see in her.  😄

Edited April 23, 2022 by eskimo
typo

[ByaNose]

I don’t care what anyone says but Tori reminds me of Angelina. Angelina was asked about it on RHAP but she didn’t really see it. There’s something about the way they speak and describe events. I know Angelina annoyed people and made it to the Final 3 but didn’t receive any votes. I guess some members of the tribe could think the same way and still want Tori around for that reason. I’m sure she wouldn’t have any problem pleading her case for a win but so far people don’t even trust so that’s got to be some barometer if they would vote for her or not to win. Time will tell.

[TVFan1]

On 4/22/2022 at 11:00 AM, tracyscott76 said:

It was mentioned in Chanelle's thread that both she and Lydia described Tori as sweet and kind in their exit interviews with Gordon Holmes, and that this is at odds with the Tori we've seen on the show.

 

I noticed that too listening to their interviews. I don't care what anyone says, I love Tori. I do believe that she is kind, but the show doesn't really show that.

[Guest]

Time for the Tori "eulogy" which no one was waiting for 😆

I know she wasn't everyone's favorite, but she was my favorite this season by far. I found her to be quite entertaining, always a source of a great reaction, no where near the kind of mean girl she was being written off as, and always trying. All season she was being portrayed as a great "fly in the ointment" type of character. Always stirring things up and making plans shift, either intentionally or unintentionally. Whatever someone's strategy was, they always had to consider the Tori factor. So many planning sessions seemed to end with "...and don't tell Tori." 😆 She was surely doomed, but the show was kind of promising a chaotic final stand from her, where she scrambled to stay, ineffectually and possibly hilariously.

And that's why I'm very bummed that this character arc the show built for her ended so anti-climactically, as a "well we've had this serious discussion but still kinda need to vote someone out, let's just do it as quickly as possible" afterthought. She had to pivot awkwardly from listening to a very emotional conversation about larger issues, to trying half-heartedly to plead her case, when no one (herself included) was really in the game frame of mind anymore. It was disappointing as hell.

That's how it played out and I'm not blaming anyone. I'm not done with the season. There are still people in the game that I like. But the wind has gone out of my sails a bit.

At least she gave one last twitchy eyeroll (seizure?) as the end neared and seemed at peace with it all.

[ProfCrash]

Her exit interviews should be interesting.

Yeah, it was kind of a crappy situation to be in. She entered tribal thinking she would be in an ok place and then all hell breaks loose because of issues that were totally out of her control. I liked that she asked why people were voting for her and I thought that she handled the answers respectfully. I think it was a good call to play the shot in the dark. But the entire end of that tribal council was just weird and uncomfortable and I cannot imagine being her knowing that there was little that she could do to change what was happening. 

[peachmangosteen]

Yea, very weird situation. She took it very well. Probably her therapy skills and amazing empathy at work.

[Guest]

Just now, peachmangosteen said:

Yea, very weird situation. She took it very well. Probably her therapy skills and amazing empathy at work.

Sensing some sarcasm here, but I'm liking it anyway! Torriors 4ever!

[violet and green]

In any case, it's good to know that God is into Survivor.

[SoMuchTV]

5 minutes ago, violet and green said:

In any case, it's good to know that God is into Survivor.

Just not into Tori?

[ProfCrash]

6 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Yea, very weird situation. She took it very well. Probably her therapy skills and amazing empathy at work.

I'll give the therapy skills, she knew to listen and that there was not much that she could say. Lyndsey said all the right things before Tori could but Tori did say she understood where they were coming from. It did not feel as heartfelt as Lyndsey's but Tori probably was more in therapist mode at the moment. And Tori knew that she would be the one going home, unless she got lucky with her die roll. It was a hard situation for her and kind of a crappy position to be in. She couldn't really fight for her position in the game. Lyndsey had two allies at that tribal, Jonathon and Maryann. Maryann didn't want to vote for Tori but she wasn't going to vote for Lyndsey, that would sink her game. 

And Tori can say that she wasn't gunning for Drea but Tori was cool with Swati's plan to vote out Drea and was planning on voting for Drea at that Tribal. I don't think it was personal, I think it was game play, but Drea knew that Tori had been happy to vote for Drea. 

It is a sucky tribal though because there was nothing Tori could do or say and it really was outside the game issues that dictated what happened. I wouldn't be surprised if she was back for a later season.

[TVFan1]

Tori for a second chance season. I hope it happens.

[LadyChatts]

Here's one of her interviews.  Pretty good read.

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-42-tori-meehan-interview/

She fully believes Drea would have gone home had they not seen Rocksroy sitting on the jury.  She said that Lindsey confirmed to Drea it would have been her.

Quote

 

Do you think she would've played her idol? Because we did see her in a confessional before Tribal talking about a red flag going up once Jonathan told her they wanted to get rid of idols.

Okay, here's a moment that they didn't show, which was for me, the worst moment. So it's when Drea started getting more aware of, "Oh, it might have actually been me." And she turns to Lindsay and Lindsay nods. It was kinda like, "Yep, it was gonna be you."

And in that moment, from my perspective, that's when things started to unravel more and become a lot more serious. And so that's why, when Drea was talking about playing her idol at the beginning, I was trying to be like, "Oh, you don't need to do that. Don't worry. Stick with the plan." Which, you know, I was lying. I was definitely lying. But I do believe that it would've been Drea.

 

She said it was uncomfortable to have this real world conversation in the game and then go back to scheming, but she knew she was leaving and wanted there to be a vote.

Her and Rocksroy actually got along.  She said they misunderstood each other at first, but she realized he was the way he was because he's a father in real life.  So she realized he was just in dad mode.  He was actually giving her information of what was going on in the game, and she was trying to play up their rivalry so people would think Ika was completely fractured.

[LadyChatts]

And here's her Gordon Holmes interview.  Tori's word associations:

https://youtu.be/GknJJiXm944

Jonathan: Gentle Giant

Lydia: Born to be a Star

Zach: Comedian

Chanelle: Gracious and Fierce

Mike: Genuine

Swati: World Changer

Lindsey: Solid Woman

Romeo: Entertainment on the island

Hai: Smooth Talker

MaryAnne: Soul Sister, Island Bestie

Drea: Intimidated (not to be confused with intimidating)

Omar: Under the radar (in the game)

Rocks: Misunderstood

I feel like we got robbed of some of these relationships out there.

Edited April 28, 2022 by LadyChatts

[Guest]

Thanks for linking to these. Tori comes off really well, I think, in terms of her attitude about how she went out and her awareness of how she came off in the game (both to the audience and to her fellow players). I really liked her comments in the Gordon Holmes interview about how she achieved her goal to appreciate her body in terms of what it can do, beyond just how it looks, and that she hopes to help others have that outlook as well. Definitely more to her than meets the eye, but that's probably the case with just about everyone who's ever appeared on this show.

In his EW interview, Rocksroy seems to confirm that they misunderstood each other initially but came to understand each other better over time. In his word association, he jokes about wanting to say a word he can't, but ultimately says "friend" and adds "nothing but love for Tori."

Edited April 28, 2022 by tracyscott76

[peachmangosteen]

The fact that we were deprived of the Maryanne/Tori and Rocksroy/Tori relationships enrages me. And we won't get to see Tori/Rocksroy at Ponderosa. I AM APPALLED!

[Nashville]

On 4/28/2022 at 9:22 AM, ProfCrash said:

[Tori] entered tribal thinking she would be in an ok place and then all hell breaks loose because of issues that were totally out of her control. I liked that she asked why people were voting for her and I thought that she handled the answers respectfully. I think it was a good call to play the shot in the dark. But the entire end of that tribal council was just weird and uncomfortable and I cannot imagine being her knowing that there was little that she could do to change what was happening. 

So, Tori was this season’s Cirie…?  😆

(At TC, at least)

[ByaNose]

Although, Tori wasn’t very self aware (at least to me) she was a fun character. I would like to have seen if she could have won another immunity challenge. That said, no one trusted her from jump. For a bunch of people who had never met or talked before she had a horrible beginning, middle and end. LOL!!!!