The fans just can't catch a break.
Laura Alexander became the third fan voted out of Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites on Wednesday's episode of the CBS reality competition (which also saw the polarizing Shamar Thomas pulled from the game due to a scratched cornea). Perceived as the weakest player physically, Laura was voted out by every single person in the tribe, including her alliance mates, who chose to keep the stronger players (Reynold Toepfer and Eddie Fox) despite the fact that they were not part of the alliance.
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On Thursday, the 23-year-old administrative officer from Washington, D.C., talked to The Hollywood Reporter about being blindsided, why her alliance turned on her and what she really thought about Shamar.
The Hollywood Reporter: Were you surprised you got voted out?
Laura Alexander: Yeah, it was definitely a blindside. I expected it to be a split vote between Eddie and Reynold that night. At that point in the game, I thought that loyalty played a bigger part than strength, especially if a [possible] swap was coming up and Eddie and Reynold would be able to jump ship faster because they didn't trust the major alliance.
THR: Every single person voted for you. Were you aware of that before you saw the episode?
Laura: Once I realized that more people were voting for me than just Eddie and Reynold, I knew the entire tribe had voted for me.
THR: You seemed especially close with Sherri [Biethman]. Were you upset she also voted for you?
Laura: I don't think Sherri had much of a choice. I think Matt [Bischoff] really led the effort, and once Matt had Michael [Snow], all they needed to do was to get Eddie and Reynold to solidify their votes. At that point, they were desperate. Once the guys decided to vote for me, Sherri and Julia [Landauer] couldn't have played a big role in whether to vote for or against me. From their perspective, they couldn't go against that vote and get on the outs with the guys. They had to save their own selves.
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THR: If the tribes get changed up or merge sooner than expected, this decision could come back to haunt them. Do you think they made a big mistake?
Laura: In my mind, I knew it was because of my physical weakness; they voted me out on strength, and it was the obvious choice. I couldn't contribute more than Eddie or Reynold could contribute in the upcoming challenges. At that point, I was throwing out anything to get them not to vote for me that night. Whether they help with the swap coming up potentially or even the merge down the road, they are down in numbers regardless; the favorites have the numbers. One thing that could help us at that point was to have a really strong alliance and then get one of the favorites to swing our way.
THR: What are your thoughts on Shamar?
Laura: While I was in the game, I have to say, Shamar was very disrespectful toward other people on the tribe. I don't know who Shamar is in real life; I don't know much about his background other than he's an Iraq war veteran. He may have come from a [terrible] background, but [if so], I don't think that's an excuse. I hope he learned something from that.
THR: Would you play Survivor again if asked?
Laura: If they asked me to by some odd chance -- I don't know if I made enough of an impression -- I'd say yes in a heartbeat.
