By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

If there is anyone whose gameplay has been intensely criticized this season it is Star Toomey, the sales expert from Georgia. She found the Beware Advantage, allowed Eva to solve it and keep it. She also didn’t use her Shot in the Dark at last night’s Tribal Council. Star certainly has some explaining to do.

John Powell: How are you today, Star?

Star Toomey: I would say if it wasn’t my vote-out episode I’d be doing better but see, unfortunately, it is my vote-out episode so I’m doing as good as I can be losing a million dollars. Uncle JP snuffing your torch,it’s a lot for a girl to take.

John Powell: Well, if he was my uncle I probably disown him at this point. (laughs)

Star Toomey: We’re going to have something to talk about at Thanksgiving dinner! (laughs)

John Powell: What fans really want to know is did you fear for your spot in the game because at Tribal Council you didn’t use your Shot in the Dark?

Star Toomey: I honestly thought that the numbers would have been on my side. I really thought that. The way the numbers were set up, the way the majority was, and the conversations that I had prior to tribal I thought that even if I would have gotten two votes – and the two votes possibly would have just been Mitch and Shauhin…I honestly thought everyone else would have voted for Mary and I would have been able to make it the next day, that next tribal council to play the Shot in the Dark and then see what my luck brings.

In that moment, I also thought they were trying to flush the Shot in the Dark out so then I could be an easy-peasy target the next one.

I’m like, ‘I’m not going to give y’all that satisfaction. No.’

Everyone’s like, ‘Are you going to play a Shot in the Dark?’

[I said,] ‘No, because if I play it, what’s going to happen tomorrow? I’m gone. So I’m—I’m—I’m keeping this here because what I’m not going to do is play me stupid.’”

Unfortunately, I played myself.

John Powell: Do you know why they kept Mary over you?

Star Toomey: No, that’s a tough one. That’s a tough one. They’ve been trying to get me out since Day One — at least in original Lagi. Like, we know it’s not a surprise. I was on the bottom in original Lagi and if we ever did go to Tribal Council back then, I would’ve been the first one out. So honestly, I think I actually lasted longer than I was supposed to — maybe even longer than anyone expected.

If I had a weird advantage or an idol, I probably still would’ve gone home before now. So with the way this game was set up, I think the best way for me to move was exactly how I played. I played under the radar but I was making moves. I was having conversations. I was watching things happen. I was seeing how people operated. I was trying to find my way into an alliance, but unfortunately, there was never any room for me to squeeze in. I was never really welcomed in.

And when they realized, ‘Hey, maybe she could be a threat,’ I think that sealed it. Maybe they saw Mary as not a threat, so it was better to get me out. Because if you give me one more day? You don’t know what I’m going to do and I think they knew that. They knew that between me and Mary, I’m the one who’s going to make something happen. I’ll do something. I’ll make something out of nothing. They knew if they gave me an inch I was going take the whole mile. So they had to get me out. I respect it. They were threatened by me — and they should’ve been.

John Powell: In the last few episodes we really saw your edit come to the forefront. We saw more of your liveliness, the color and humor you added to the show. What happened to everything before then as you’re kind of muted in the background but then we see this big, entertaining character. Any idea what happened there?

Star Toomey: Yeah, so when we first got to the beach – original Lagi — I was struggling. I was trying to find my place. No one really made me feel like I was part of the ‘family’. You had the California Girls and they were doing their thing, totally solidified. Then you had Bianca and Thomas doing their thing, also solidified. Eva, Joe, and Shauhin were in their own group and they were solidified too.

And then there was me — just lingering, trying to find something, trying to figure it all out. You saw me struggling with that Beware Advantage trying to understand how to unlock it. I was going to people like, ‘Hey, can you help me?’ and they were playing with me. They were stringing me along.

You see me constantly fighting, fighting just to get some kind of hope, some kind of support. Eventually, I got really depleted.

I had no one backing me up but then we got to new Lagi with the tribe swap and everything changed. You saw me smiling more. You saw me light up. In that group, I was accepted, even if it wasn’t 100% real, it still felt different. I didn’t feel like I was on the outside the way I did in original Lagi. Over there, it was like the ‘cool kids’ table and they were looking at me like, ‘Why are you here? Ewww.’ But in new Lagi, it felt like I was still at the ‘cool kids’ table — but this time, they were saying, ‘Hey, sit closer. Come on, join the fun.’”

John Powell: I’ve talked to Chrissy and I talked to David and they both said about Joe that he seemed to be like The Godfather out there. Everything revolved around him. I want to get your perspective on what you saw.

Star Toomey: People wanted to talk to him. He made people want to work with him because he was the strong guy. He was winning. He seemed like he had his head on straight. He came off as the logical one. He didn’t say much but he said just enough to make you feel like he was working with you. Just enough to give you the confidence to think, ‘Hey, maybe this is something.’

You watch it. Mitch is loving him. Mitch is like, ‘Yeah, I’m a part of this group.’ They made him think he was part of a strong five but we all know he wasn’t. He was part of the Weak Four. Like, what are you talking about? And I can say that, because I was also part of the Weak Four.

He was supposed to be part of the revolution but Joe made him feel so good, so secure, that he really believed he was in that group. That’s what Joe does. He makes you feel good, like The Godfather. He puts money in your pocket, he has you driving a Cadillac but don’t turn on him because the moment you do he’ll show his hand and you’ll see he was never rocking with you in the first place.

John Powell: Why didn’t you ask for your advantage back from Eva?

Star Toomey: So for me, when we get to the merge – like the merge feast, the merge victory – I’m sitting with Charity and she’s like, ‘You need to get your idol back from Eva, Star.’ And I’m like, yeah, we just said that — because everybody already knows. David knows Eva has an idol. Mary knows Eva has an idol. Charity knows. Eva obviously knows. And of course, I know. So everyone knows I gave it to her.

So when Charity comes to me like, ‘You need to get it back,’ I’m thinking, Charity, why don’t you get it back for me because if I try to get it back I’m going to get in trouble. It’s like if I gave you $100, and then I go, ‘Wait—never mind, I meant to give you $10. Can I get the other $90 back?’ Like, no! You’re not getting that back.

And I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I went to Eva and said, ‘Hey girl, would you play that for me?’ or ‘Hey, can I get it back?’ Because if she said no… what was I going to do then? If I flipped out, then I’d be labelled the chaotic person people already think I am and I know I’m not chaotic — but if you want to see chaotic, that would’ve been it. Me trying to get that idol back? That would’ve been chaotic. That’s cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. That’s a little ‘dulu’.

So with that being said, I couldn’t do it. For me, I was like: I gave it to her. That’s it. And honestly? I just didn’t know what I’d do if she said no. That’s half the reason I never tried to get it back because it would’ve gone bad for me.

John Powell: Is there anything you wish fans, viewers would’ve seen when it comes to your edit?

Star Toomey: Yes. So, a lot of the time when people are watching me talk, it looks like I’m only really trying to make moves with original Lagi. I’m only really talking with original Lagi and the reason for that is even though I was on the bottom once we saw Thomas leave, once we saw Bianca leave, it was kind of like, we’re all we’ve got left, you know? With original Lagi, by the time we hit the merge, Civa went back to Civa, right? They were still trying to stay Civa strong or be the majority.

And I’m sitting there like, ‘Hey, man, there’s only four of us from Lagi and six of them from Civa. Let’s do something here.’ From day one, Joe said he wanted to work with me. That wasn’t shown. I wish it was because then it wouldn’t look like I was just some thirsty player like, ‘Hey Joe, I got you a coconut! Do you want it?’ No. It wasn’t like that. We were sharing coconuts. They just didn’t show that part.

I ended up looking like the little sister trying to follow him around but that’s not how it was. We were actually friends. You just didn’t see that. In the game, he told me he wanted to work with me. He said, ‘If I find an idol, I’ll tell you.’ He literally took my hand and said, ‘I want to work with you.’ And I said, ‘All right, man. I got you. If I hear your name, I’ll let you know.’

So a lot of times when I’m talking to him, he’s saying things like, ‘I appreciate you, girl. Thank you.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ thinking we’re locked in but then I watched tonight…and we are not locked in.”

John Powell: As a jury member you have an important decision to make. When you are contemplating that decision what are some of the things about the game or the experience that you were thinking about when you were deciding on a winner?

Star Toomey: We all know the theme of this season was ‘honest and loyal.’ Yeah — laugh out loud — but that really was the theme. The truth is, people were honest and loyal…to the people they chose to be honest and loyal to, right? So for me, I told myself: My vote is going to the person who was honest and loyal. If that wasn’t you, then you already shot yourself in the foot because you’re not getting my vote. At the end of the day, my vote went to the person who showed honesty and loyalty, who stood on that honesty and loyalty, and who stood on business. The person who stood on business? That’s who got my vote.

John Powell: One other thing too, I just want to know if you had any clarification on this, but we heard Joe say that you were his “Kryptonite”. I didn’t really understand what he was saying. Do you have any idea?

Star Toomey: I don’t. I don’t. I don’t know if he was saying I was bad for his game or I don’t know if he was saying like…I wish, I really wish I knew. I can’t wait for who you know. Hopefully he might be talking to you next because everybody that went against me needs to get hit. They need to go down. If you wrote my name down, you need to be sitting next to me.

Survivor 48 Fantasy Tribe