My interview with Survivor: Fiji‘s second booted contestant was a fascinating insight into the game that we all love to dissect. Erica was poignant and didn’t hold anything back when she reflected on what went wrong.
Murtz Jaffer: How shocked were you to be voted out?
Erica Durousseau: Oh my goodness, I was totally shocked. I had no idea I was going home that day.
MJ: Did the tribe tell you that they were mad at you after the challenge because it still seemed like you were blindsided?
ED: Right, nobody told me anything when we got back to camp. I heard Rita tell me one thing. She was kind of in agreement, like ‘oh, nobody’s listening to you’ but that was the only thing that I ever heard about my performance at the challenge and what my other team members were thinking. They never told me anything. And you know, I had no idea until I saw my name for the first time.
MJ: Two women have been voted off first, why do you think the women didn’t get together?
ED: Well, I think it was because, a) I tried to talk to Rita about the women kind of sticking together but you know, a lot of women it just never works! I mean if you look at the history of Survivor, the women can never really band together.
MJ: Right, just like Vanuatu when they almost did it and then a guy still ended up winning
ED: Right, exactly. I just don’t know what it is with the women but we can just never get it together as far as the game.
MJ: In one of your clips on Survivor Insider, you said that you didn’t like the way Rita was playing the game and how she was all about the looks. Can you explain that further?
ED: Well, you know it’s kind of like I don’t know how to really explain it. It’s just when you’re dealing with people and you want to be yourself out there and you want to give off the best impression possible but it was just with her it was like a lot of she was really kind of unpredictable because I saw her talking to several people. She was talking the same game plan to a lot of people which was not the way I was playing. Not to say it was something bad, but you know, it shouldn’t have been done.
MJ: Right, it was just different from what you were doing
ED: Right.
MJ: In the first episode, you seemed to be very active in your alliance-building. You said that you wanted to talk to people and clearly clicked with Rocky and Jessica was voted out. Why did Rocky go from being one of your friends to somebody who instigated you being voted out?
ED: Well, after the whole Jessica thing, we had decided (after we had found out that she was leaving) I think we kind of decided to vote the same way that we were gonna do before we found out. And that didn’t happen. And I think the alliance kind of broke up. I mean afterwards it was really Rocky, he has a really strong personality and he does his thing. And I don’t really think that we really clicked well, really. I mean we spent a lot of time together the first few hours we were on the island but as far as me and him really getting along, I don’t think that ever really happened.
MJ: Right, I think it was more like you and Jessica and then Jessica and Rocky, so you kind of got lumped together.
ED: Exactly. We were good as a team and then when you subtracted Jessica out of it
MJ: (Laughs). Yeah
ED: It’s kind of useless.
MJ: How did you get cast on the show? Is it true that you were found on Myspace?
ED: Yes, I had a casting associate contact me, send me an email on myspace. They didn’t really tell me what it was about and she’s like ‘call me, call me!’ And when I finally called her back, they told me about Survivor until I sent a tape in, and the next thing you know, I was in LA a couple of days later.
MJ: Even though the tribes were not split according to race, this really didn’t seem to play a factor in the way people voted. Do you think it just wasn’t a consideration?
ED: Well yeah, I think that whenever we got out there, people just kind of clicked with the people they were closest to or (could) reach for. People, they clicked for different reasons. And so I mean, I talked to my race about the people who were out there. We talked a lot. There was a possibility to develop something and there’s just so many twists and turns in the game that you don’t know what’s going to happen moment to moment. So I think that’s more to do with not actually trying to find somebody in your race but trying to find somebody that will help keep you there the longest.
MJ: Now speaking of race, Earl was on Exile Island when you were voted off. Do you think he would have been surprised at the tribe’s decision to send you home if he had been there?
ED: Oh definitely. I don’t think it would have been a question if he would have been there if I was leaving or not because I think he has a pretty good feel of the game. He’s a really smart guy, he knows what’s going on and to get rid of a stronger player when you have probably more physical challenges that will be tougher than the ones that we had before, I don’t think it was a smart move and I don’t think he probably would have agreed with that. Of course, I don’t know! He was gone, but it will be interesting to see what his reaction is when he comes back.
MJ: On your CBS bio, you described yourself as being confrontational. As soon as I saw that, I was like ‘oh my god, let’s see what happens.’ Did you think that this would be a problem for you on the show and do you blame that style of yourself that kind of instigated what you did at the challenge?
ED: Yeah, I definitely think it played against me there. I wanted to use it in a sense where if I thought something was going on, that I would have enough guts to go investigate. Or if I saw somebody talking over in the woods, or I saw somebody creeping off that I would be the kind of person that would just kind of be in-your-face, not really bossing around but kind of like ‘hey, what’s going on.’ Just always trying to be in the know. So that’s the way that I wanted to use it.
MJ: Right, because it did seem like you were playing a good game. Like you did almost everything that you’re supposed to do on Survivor. You talked to people early, you made an initial alliance so it was kind of surprising to see you go.
ED: Right, right. I was totally shocked by it and I guess you know, you just have to look at it right. When people look at you and they are playing an individual game so early, it’s hard to really look at the bigger picture three days from now or six days from now and all you see is ‘I want to be in the final three, I want to win, you gotta get rid of this person.’ That’s the approach that they were taking.
MJ: Does it make sense to you that two hot, young and athletic girls were voted off first and the older contestants like Sylvia and Yau Man are still there?
ED: Yeah. You know what? I think they looked at it in the sense of ‘who’s the competition?’ Who’s going to be the one that’s going to hinder me from getting down to the merge or getting down to the final five or the final three?
MJ: And it’s better to take weaker people I guess.
ED: Exactly.
MJ: Is there any one person that you blame specifically for your exit?
ED: You know what? I initially my thoughts were that it was probably Mookie who contrived everything and then looking at it on TV, I was totally shocked to see that Rocky was actually the one who made it happen.
MJ: And finally, what’s next for you, I understand you work for the American Heart Association?
ED: Yes, I am back in Baton Rouge. I do fundraising campaigns and you know, just working on some individual things. Me and my best friend are actually trying to bring an Arena League team to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
MJ: Really?
ED: Yeah. I mean we love football, but I am looking forward to any other opportunities that come to me.
MJ: That’s perfect, thanks Erica.
ED: Thank you.
Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Erica Durousseau received a track scholarship to Grambling College, also in Louisiana, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications. She then moved to Jackson, Mississippi for three years before relocating to New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, Durousseau was forced to move to Lake Charles and then Baton Rouge.
Durousseau currently works as a youth market director, traveling between two states while managing fundraisers. She previously worked as an advertising sales representative, store supervisor and waitress.
She describes herself as subtle, confrontational and outgoing. Her hobbies include writing, reading and spending time with her family. Her favorite sports are football and soccer. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Currently single, Durousseau’s birth date is December 11, 1979.
– Survivor: Fiji airs on CBS on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
– Survivor: Fiji airs on the Global network in Canada on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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