By John Powell – GlobalTV.com

Although she was outnumbered and perhaps even outgunned, Tiffany never threw in the towel during the final phase of the Survivor 50 game. Tiffany sat down with us and explained why emotions were running so high, why she wanted Cirie to win and how she feels about her overall edit.

John Powell: It’s great to be talking to you, Tiffany. How are you feeling today?

Tiffany Ervin: I’m feeling great! I am over the moon!

John Powell: I’m going to set the stage for you because I want the spotlight to be on you. First, during the previous challenge, you had everyone else publicly working against you. This is a game for not one, but two million dollars. Is a person allowed to be upset because everyone is targeting them? Because I saw a lot of comments asking why you were so upset back at camp. Can you explain what you were going through at the time.

Tiffany Ervin: Okay, so first of all, I think people are mixing things up. Initially, right after they teamed up against me, I wasn’t even upset yet. We got back to camp after that challenge, and while I didn’t appreciate them working against me, I didn’t fully process it until Cirie told me what was going on when we finally had a chance to sit down and chat. I had suspicions, and she confirmed them for me.

However, what the viewers didn’t see is that when we got back to camp after that challenge, the mood was so sour and stale—especially Joe. He was pouting, and you could tell he was visibly unhappy.

In my head, I couldn’t understand why, because I’m the type of person who gets along with everybody. I didn’t understand why I was being iced out the way I was. I thought maybe I had over-celebrated at the challenge. I wondered if I did too much with the jumping around, so I apologized to everybody when I got back to camp. I said, “Hey guys, I’m so sorry if I was being a bad sport or over-celebrating. That’s not how I meant it.” Again, I only said that because I thought everybody was pouting and icing me out over my celebration.

Then I realized, “Oh, you all are just mad because you couldn’t send me home. Clearly, you’re working together.” But it still hadn’t fully set in yet. After that, I realized, “Oh, you are the bad sports.” But I still wasn’t that mad because that evening, my focus wasn’t even on that. I had the immunity necklace, so I had nothing to be mad about myself.

My focus was entirely on keeping Cirie. I wanted Cirie to stay. When I got back to camp, I was upset because Cirie left. It was less about me being mad that they were ganging up on me, and more about the fact that, for the first time in the game, I felt and knew that I was truly alone.

Cirie helped ground me in a lot of ways out there. She was a friend, she was an ally, and she was one of the very few people who wasn’t intimidated by my success. She never iced me out or made me feel bad for winning an immunity challenge. So when she left, I thought, “Great, now I’m stuck on an island full of people who hate me and want me gone.”

I think some of the anger I expressed afterward was also because of Aubry. Aubry was another person I was aligned with, but behind my back, she teamed up with the guys and was visibly helping them in the challenge to get me out. I thought we were allies. Wanting me to go home is one thing, but teaming up with them to actively get me out? I think that’s messed up.

John Powell: I think anybody would feel that way in this game. Everybody just wants a fair shot and a chance to compete. When you know going into tribal council and going back to camp that everyone is against you, it feels like you’re climbing a mountain. How could you not feel that way, especially with two million dollars on the line that could help you, your family, and your friends?

Tiffany Ervin: Exactly.

John Powell: I was actually speaking to Cirie recently, since you bring her up. She told me, “I love Tiffany. If we had gone to the final tribal council, that girl was willing to let me take the game.” She mentioned how magnanimous you were. Is that truly how close you two were out there?

Tiffany Ervin: Yes, yes! Everyone is shocked by that, and they ask how I could take Cirie to the end. There are so many reasons. Oh my god, I have so much love and respect for that woman! But also, as a lover of this game, I realized that Survivor 50 is not just any old season; it’s something more than that. I think we owe it to the viewers to give them an incredible story and ending because this is a landmark season.

I am not intimidated by Cirie, just like Cirie is not intimidated by me. I think that’s what made our bond so magical and safe. I would have been more than willing to sit next to Cirie in the final three. First, because I think she deserves to sit there, especially on a season like 50. The fans deserve to see her there, and I’m not scared.

John Powell: When speaking to the other survivors this season, one question keeps coming up over and over again: “Where is Tiffany? Where is her game? Where is her edit?” I’ve heard this from multiple people. On one hand, that must make you feel really good. On the other hand, what do you think about your edit, and what do you think about the female edit in general this season?

Tiffany Ervin: I’ll speak to my edit first. I will admit I was a little disappointed by the fact that I didn’t get a lot of screen time in the beginning. It’s not because I’m selfish or feel entitled, but there was a huge gap between the number of confessionals I had versus other people. I tried to remain neutral because I knew how far I made it into the game. I told myself, “There’s no ending where I don’t get shown because I make it all the way to the finale. They have to tell my story, or else the entire season won’t make sense.”

As far as the female edit in general goes, I do think people’s criticisms are valid; I’m not going to invalidate anybody’s feelings. On a season like 50, with 24 iconic players who all have complex, interesting points of view, it is very hard to tell a story that feels balanced and equal across all fronts. However, I follow those Survivor fan pages that track the confessional counts, and the imbalance is hard to ignore. It is hard to ignore the statistics and the facts.

John Powell: What did it feel like to be in the middle of that tribal council? What did you think of it, and can you tell us what was happening?

Tiffany Ervin: Yeah, it was crazy at that moment. I felt like it was my job to balance the scales. As a juror, Dee said it best when she noted that you want to make sure the process feels even and fair for everybody.

There were moments where Stephenie and Chrissy were heavily defending Jonathan. At one point, I felt like I had to call it out and say, “Is this even a question? What are you talking about right now?” Stephenie was just listing things she loved about Jonathan’s game, saying, “You’re wonderful, you’re great, you have the total package, you’re strong, you go fishing, and you start fires.” I was thinking, “Girl, are you asking him a question or just complimenting him?” I wasn’t the only juror who noticed it.

I felt like, “Listen, this is unfair. Let’s reel it back in.” Our job as the jury is to ask fair, balanced questions to ensure we get the outcome that makes the most sense. It is not an opportunity to spread propaganda for the player you personally want to win. That was crazy.

Yeah, there was a lot of people speaking for the finalists instead of letting them address the questions themselves, which I’ve rarely seen to this extent on a jury.

Tiffany Ervin: You mentioned you’d be willing to come back and play again, which would be amazing. What do you think you need to do next time to cross that finish line?

Tiffany Ervin: I just needed to secure that last puzzle piece in the final immunity challenge. (laughs)
That’s the only thing I could have done differently. (laughs)

I built all the relationships I could possibly make, right up until the point where the depth of those connections actually became part of my threat level. I won the challenges I needed to win, right up until the point where my challenge wins made me a target. There was nothing left for me to do other than pull out that one final clutch win when I needed it most.

John Powell: Looking back at your journey, is there anything specific—whether it’s a strategic move or a personal moment with someone—that you wish the fans could have seen? Watching you on Season 50, I think we saw a whole different side of Tiffany than we saw before, and I wish we could have seen even more of it.

Tiffany Ervin: I’m right there with you. (laughs) I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to showcase a higher level of gameplay than I did the first time around. Outside of wishing the viewers saw more of my social game to give a full 360-degree picture of why I was such a major threat in the end, I also want people to know something about the moments where I was wearing my heart on my sleeve and letting out my emotions in the confessionals.

It’s important to note two things. First, even though I was going off in my confessionals this season, the people I was targeting never knew it. That is how I got as far as I did. When I was mad at Jonathan, Steph, or Chrissy, they had no idea until it was too late. That is how I managed and maneuvered through the game differently than I did on Season 46. On 46, when I had a problem, I just blurted it out. This time, I saved it and used it as fuel to make moves. I just thought, “Fine, I’ve noted what you did, and now I’m going to navigate around you.”

Second, I don’t think people could fully see things from my perspective because my thought process wasn’t shown a lot. I had to navigate the game very differently this time because I made it so deep, and I didn’t have the luxury of hiding behind a shield. From very early on, I was perceived as a massive threat—even before I started winning immunity challenges—because I’m strong, athletic, and muscular. I couldn’t hide that, so I had to play intentionally.

I hope the women and young girls out there who face similar challenges—where their strength and independence might intimidate people—can take this as a lesson. You do not have to let that stop you. Just because someone tries to knock you down a peg out of fear doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get right back up. Above all else, that is the message I want to convey.

John Powell: Well, yes. As a human being, you should never dumb yourself down or hold yourself back because of the opinions of others. You should always do the absolute best you can so you don’t fail yourself. The other thing is that Survivor is very tough for people who wear their emotions on their sleeves and don’t bury things. That kind of passion can be positive, but it can still be misconstrued as negative. In either case, Tiffany, this was a whole new version of you, and I loved seeing it. I wish you all the best in the future, and I truly hope your Survivor journey isn’t over just yet.

Tiffany Ervin: Thank you so much, I appreciate that. I also hope my Survivor journey isn’t over yet. Take care, and have a great day!