“Survivor 50” premiered Wednesday, welcoming back 24 all-star players from all eras of the show’s 25-year history, and it didn’t take long for the blood to start spilling.
Somebody had to be the first out, and unfortunately for the only “Survivor: Borneo” castaway, that player was Jenna Lewis-Dougherty. In our exit interview with the Season 1 player (watch it in full above), she revealed that she wasn’t actually the first person to float Cirie’s name to her Cila tribe. That person, she says, was actually Mr. Christian Hubicki! According to her, the “David vs. Goliath” vet was the first to point to Cirie as the tribe’s biggest threat, and after conversing with Rick Devens, the message was sent to Cirie that Jenna was coming for her.
“I didn’t know that Christian set me up that way,” Lewis-Doughtery tells TVLine. “I didn’t say Cirie. I thought I was going along with what Christian wanted and trying to ingratiate myself.”
Below, Jenna explains her side of what went down, and why she felt like she was “late to the party.” She also comments on the amazing footage from Season 1 that was shown and why she thought Joe and Savannah might’ve been her saving grace. (And later, check out some additional Episode 1 thoughts here!)
TVLINE | Jenna, I’m so sorry you were the first to go. How crushed were you after that Tribal Council?
JENNA LEWIS-DOUGHERTY | In the moment I was really crushed, but you know, there’s also that surprise. I knew that I’d get votes with Cirie and Ozzy, but I truly believed Christian, so he’s a very good actor. He’s going to be the little chess master, but I was upset. On the flip side, when I saw the breakdown of the tribes, I really felt like I had no connection. I felt like these people already had their connections. Can you imagine in a social game, getting to start with somebody that you’ve played the game with twice? I don’t care that you voted each other [in the past]. It’s someone you know. It’s a touchstone. And the same with Christian and Emily in his pregame interviews, which we didn’t know. He’s like, “I consider Emily, outside of the game, like a really good friend.” Well, what a gift. What a gift to start a social game with a really good friend. I didn’t have anybody that I’d seen in 20 years, and there was only Colby, and I wasn’t even put on his tribe, but Cirie and Ozzy were put together, and Colby and Stephanie were put together. The other OGs had this one person to trust and build off of. I kind of feel like I was a sacrificial lamb over there.
