On Sunday night Lezel Crook, one of only two Survivors to get scrawny on the show, was the fourth Survivor to be sent to Dead Man’s Island after her closest allies turned on her and voted her out on Day 24.
I caught up with her after the episode to see what she had to say for her scheming self:
Tashi: What’s it been like watching the show - espesh considering there’s been so much anti-you sentiment?
Lezel: Obviously reading negative comments about you never feels good and I wasn’t prepared for it. I did take it on a little bit but at the same time I know that the persona on TV is how I played the game.
I went into it with a particular idea of what I needed to do to get as far as I wanted and in my daily life I’m very different. Just knowing that and separating myself from it has kept me quite strong.
Tashi: Yes, when you're in a show you’re a character.
Lezel: Exactly and you forget that. When you watch it and read the stuff in the papers, of course you feel it, but I’ve never done this sort of thing before so it’s new and a process. Now that it’s coming to the end I’m not taking it on so much any more.
Tashi: What was your first thought when you were told you were going to Dead Man’s Island? You obviously had a mega-freak-out that you were gonna be face-to-wrath with the Aguilans?
Lezel: I was so upset. I was thinking: “No, I want to have my bed and food.” Knowing that the Aguilans were on the island - I knew I was gonna be confronted with questions. I thought they would be very cold and rude towards me.
Dead Man’s Island is just such a grim place to be, it was like purgatory. When you’re in a survival situation you end up putting a lot of those issues aside and deal with the fact that you need to survive and get food to do that so it alleviates some of the tension if you didn’t have to do that.
Tashi: So you’re saying they were nice to you when you got there.
Lezel: Um, I wouldn’t say they were nice. Mzi was quite civil and mature in the way he chatted to me. We had a very open chat about what happened. The girls were a little bit more stand-offish. They weren’t mean but just a bit more cold.
Tashi: Mzi’s described you as being a scheming cheat. What do you say to that?
Lezel: I would say I wasn’t there to make friends or win a popularity contest. I was there to win a million rand. Maybe I was better at scheming than he was.
Tashi: Did you consider the jury and the fact that the three Aguilans specifically would be on it?
Lezel: Ja, that was playing in my mind all the time but you have very limited time to make friends or change perceptions about yourself. Also I knew that who I sat next to in the jury would make a difference.
Perhaps if I was sitting next to Zayn I might have won. The game’s very dynamic and constantly changing so you can’t anticipate how people will vote. Even though they think of you in a certain way on the island, when they actually get out and look at you, it might be different.
Tashi: If you thought you had a better chance against Zayn why did you and Jacinda want to take Gareth instead?
Lezel: It was based on the original alliance we had in the Rana tribe from the beginning. I initially formed an alliance with Gareth on Day 1 and then Jacinda joined later. The understanding was that we were going all the way to the final three.
I stupidly believed that that’s what was going to happen. I had no intentions of voting against Gareth or Jacinda. Towards the end of the day, before I got voted off, as we approached Tribal Council, I realized they were turning against me.
Tashi: Do you feel Jacinda stabbed you in the back?
Lezel: No I don’t. We were playing a very similar game and were pretty straight up about what we were doing. She saw an opportunity, she took the gap and I respect her for that. It was a choice between me and her and she was able to go ahead which was great for her.
Tashi: She’s been much more of a physical threat than you. Why did they choose to get rid of you instead?
Lezel: I think there were seeds of doubt that were planted by Mzi and Vanessa to try and mess with the Rana alliance.
When Mzi tried to get an alliance going with Gareth, he said: “Don’t trust the girls, particularly don’t trust Lezel because I think she’ll be targeting you next.”
That’s when it all started and then towards the end I think he felt that I wouldn’t be a physical threat but that he couldn’t trust I’d take him to the final two.
Tashi: Was the trust in Rana real?
Lezel: It was real right up to the end. I had very good relationships with everyone but when it gets to the final four things start getting nasty. People start smelling the money.
Our relationships were complex because they evolved over time. I was initially close with Gareth, then Zayn and then got closer with Jacinda - it’s just as things unfolded.
Tashi: The word integrity has come up as it always does in Survivor. Were you using the word as a strategy to hide what you were up to or did you really want people to think you have it?
Lezel: Integrity to me means sticking to what you say you’re going to do. My strategy was to form two strong alliances and stick to them as far as possible.
The agreement I made with Jacinda was that we were going to take each other all the way to the end if we could. I didn’t make any other promises, except with Zayn to take him to the final four.
I didn’t break my word on those agreements and I think that does show integrity. In Survivor I said I wanted to win a million rand and I tried to get far as possible.
Tashi: So your turning on Mzi by telling him one thing and doing another doesn’t impact on integrity?
Lezel: I didn’t ever say to Mzi that I wasn’t going to vote him out. I think the only person who said that was Gareth. Mzi and I actually never spoke about who was going to be voted off. I never made any promises to him that I would take him as far as possible.
Tashi: You smiled at him and then behind his back you voted him off.
Lezel: You’re on an island having conversations and I wasn’t going to be mean to someone. When I was talking to Mzi I was interested in him but I was still playing the game. The Aguila members would have done exactly the same thing to us I think.
Tashi: You guys had loads of time hanging around - why didn’t you even try to make a fire??
Lezel: I was actually the one who used to make the fire around camp but when it came down to making it in the challenge the pressure really got me. It was just one of those things.
Tashi: That didn’t come across.
Lezel: There’s a lot that happened that wasn’t captured when the camera’s aren’t around.
Tashi: I’m confused about the cameras. I thought they’re with you 24/7?
Lezel: No, they’re pretty much there mostly during the day. Towards the end they also had someone there during the evening. The cameras aren’t always following us - there are times when we went out foraging for food and the camera guys couldn’t climb up hills and stuff like that.
Like at night we’d have conversations and none of those things were captured. Also, that was boring. We were just sitting around chatting.
Tashi: How many camera men were there?
Lezel: We’re not really allowed to talk about the logistics of them.
Tashi: Did you ever talk to them?
Lezel: No way. They were like robots. They didn’t talk to us at all.
Tashi: How important is the money to you?
Lezel: Pretty important. It’s one of the main reasons I entered. I like adventure and love watching Survivor but having the incentive of a million rand. I can think of many ways to spend it.
Tashi: If you win what will you spend it on?
Lezel: My plan is to help my parents and my family, give them some money. I'd like to invest in property. I like doing pro bono work so I’d also like to set up a survival club for children where you can take them out hiking and things like that.
Tashi: So you’re a fan of the show?
Lezel: Yes, I’ve been watching the new one.
Tashi: What’s it like watching having been there?
Lezel: Interesting because Exile Island is Dead Man’s Island so it’s been surreal knowing what they feel like. Being on it has definitely given me more insight into the show itself.
Tashi: Who’s your fave Survivor of all time?
Lezel: Definitely Stephanie LaGrossa. She was just so awesome, such a great athlete. I love that she fought all the way to the end.
Tashi: And your worstest?
Lezel: I didn’t like Boston Rob. I didn’t really like him but I did kinda respect him because he was very good at manipulating people. He certainly wasn’t my best Survivor but I think he played well.
Tashi: Is there anything juicy about yourself that we haven’t seen during the show?
Lezel: Ja, a whole lot of things. Normally in life I’m very different - obviously I’m not living on an island, playing for million rand. I’m actually a lot more friendly and compassionate than I appear but no-one would know because all you see is what you see on TV.
Having said that I went into the game knowing that I would display certain strategies, meaning I would display certain types of behaviour and that I was a persona.
Tashi: Do you feel a need to defend and justify yourself?
Lezel: No, I don’t. I think the people that know me and that matter have been very supportive and are very proud that I’ve gotten as far as I have and have this extra chance on Dead Man’s island. I know who I am in my soul and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
Tashi: Has anyone surprised you watching and seeing what they’ve had to say?
Lezel: I was surprised by Brigitte. She didn’t really appear to be that upset about leaving and has subsequently said quite a lot of mean things about me which is fine, that’s what she felt at the time.
I think what surprised me was that when I went in I knew I couldn’t take things personally if I got voted out - that’s part of the game - and I was surprised that many of the Aguila members took us voting them out in such a personal way.
In hindsight I can understand - we’ve all been trying to compete but I thought that people would know that ultimately it’s just a game and we’ve all just done what we needed to do to stay in it.
Ends