‘Survivor: Camaroan’: Francesca Hogi on Making Show History

Francesca Hogi Survivor CBS - P 2013

CBS

Francesca Hogi

Francesca Hogi made history on Wednesday night’s Survivor premiere.

The 38-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., became the first person ever to be voted out first on Survivor twice, first on Redemption Island and now on Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites.

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On Thursday, she spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her dubious distinction, what she would have done differently and whether she'd ever play again.

The Hollywood Reporter: How hard was it being the first person voted out -- again? And how have you been dealing with it?

Francesca Hogi: It definitely sucked, but I pretty obviously didn't have a choice in the situation. So I pretty quickly just decided to have the attitude that it was something that happened, and it doesn't define me and I was just going to get on with my life. So that's what I did.

THR: Did you think you had a shot at convincing enough people to vote for Andrea instead of you?

Hogi: I thought I had a shot. I definitely thought that I had Cochran and Dawn on my side, and I thought that I could count on that working out. I knew by the time I left for tribal council that there was a chance I was going to go, but I was just hoping against hope that there would be a different outcome, and that the people that I thought were in my alliance were actually with me.

THR: Some of the players said they were voting you out because you were such a big threat and that you should take it as a compliment. Do you take it that way?

Hogi: I do take it that way. All of these players who had so much more experience in the game than me and so much more success than me were so afraid of me that it felt like they had to get rid of me first. I totally take it as a compliment.

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THR: Would you do anything differently?

Hogi: Maybe I wouldn't do it.

THR: So you won't go back and play a third time?

Hogi: No, no, no. Nobody needs to see that. 

THR: After you got voted out, you said you were going to root for a fan to win. Is that still the case?

Hogi: I'm definitely rooting for the fans and also my alliance. I was hoping for nothing but the best for Brenda and Erik and Brandon, for sure, but I didn't have a particular favorite in mind. I didn't really know their names and couldn't tell some of them apart, honestly. There were a lot of blondes. So I was just collectively rooting for the fans.

THR: How did you experience compare with your first time playing?

Hogi: It was easier in the survival stuff because we had fire right away, and that's huge. On Redemption Island, that was not the case. All that anxiety about the fire and shelter wasn't there, so it was definitely more fun. For the first couple of days out there, it was a good time, which did not happen the first time I played. But I wasn't out there long enough obviously to have a really strong feeling about one experience versus the other. Both kind of sucked in the end.

Kimberly Nordyke