Survivor Chick Fried
by Angel Cohn
Leann
Last week, the all-female alliance on Survivor: Vanuatu finally cracked. Chris, the last man standing, ganged up with older gals Twila and Scout as well as the unpopular Eliza to vote off Leann Slaby. It was a smart and shocking move Leann never saw coming. In fact, the overconfident 35-year-old even appeared to give up during an immunity challenge (the one where they teamed with friends or family), thinking she was totally safe. Here, Leann dishes her downfall with TV Guide Online, including her part in the chicken-bone incident.
TVGO: Did you first learn who'd voted against you by watching the episode? At tribal council, you seemed baffled. You even thought your alliance-mate, Ami, turned on you!
Leann: Yeah. I saw [the episode] for sure, but I knew. It took me a while to sift through it in my head, but I knew it wasn't Ami. The only reason that I questioned Ami for a moment was because I was sitting behind her and she didn't turn around.
TVGO: Do you regret just plain giving up in that challenge with your pal Terri?
Leann: (Laughs) I didn't give up! I know it looked like I did, but I was screaming myself hoarse. She could not hear me at all.
TVGO: Was Terri upset when she saw you got ousted?
Leann: Oh, yeah. She said, "I made you get voted off." I'm like, "Terri, it's not like we came in second place." People were putting their puzzles together and Terri was just getting her first bag [of pieces]. So, at that point, I knew it was done.
TVGO: Interesting how you made that speech during Tribal Council about how you weren't worried about losing immunity.
Leann: Oh, my god. Of all the times to do that! The one time I come out and say I didn't think it was life or death for me... bye-bye. I was overconfident when I should have at least had a backup plan. If it wasn't for Twila, it would have been fine. I was unsure about her [aligning herself with us] until she swore on her son. You shouldn't swear on your son.
TVGO: The women's alliance had been so dominant. Why'd you pick Eliza to vote off instead of Chris?
Leann: That was another mistake. If we had all decided on Chris rather than Eliza, [maybe] Eliza wouldn't have gotten wind that we were voting for her. That was another mistake — and it looked like my idea, but it wasn't. Scout and Twila couldn't stand Eliza and I was uncomfortable voting off either [Chris or Eliza], when what we should have done was voted off Scout.
TVGO: People seem to find Eliza annoying.
Leann: I think everybody had issues with Eliza. She was annoying at times, but she was not the hardest worker and I think, as time went by, she became less of a hard worker.
*
TVGO: You secretly brought back chicken meat for the women and gave bones to the men. That was very sneaky.
Leann: I thought it was funny! Some people were a little upset by that. First of all, in [Julie's and my] heads, we knew [the men] were going to be gone soon. Why share good stuff when they are going to be having great big meals in a matter of days? Granted, it wasn't that much chicken, but I didn't want to strengthen my opponents. I wanted the girls to all feel like a tight-knit group and we shared a secret. Plus, it was my reward.
*8
TVGO: Will you stay friendly with any of the women who voted you off?
Leann: Hmm... Let's see what happens before I make that decision. It is funny, because some of the people that I thought were fine on the island, when they get voted off, I see interviews and I'm like, "I'm not crazy about you anymore."
TVGO: What was the most difficult part of being out there?
Leann: By far, my worst moment was the day and night that it torrentially downpoured and our hut leaked. It was the feeling of just no escape; there is nowhere to go. Overall, it wasn't that bad. Once you get past 15 days you are kind of acclimated. You get used to your smelly self and we're like, "Hey, we don't stink so bad."
http://www.tvguide.com/news/insider/041201b.asp
