An entertaining chat with Mookie where he reveals his thoughts on Dreamz and Rocky, explains why he went through Yau Man’s bag and discusses why he said he wanted to quit at the beginning of the game.
Murtz Jaffer: Hey Mookie.
Mookie Lee: Hey, how’s it going?
MJ: Not too bad, it’s Murtz.
ML: Hey.
MJ: You want to get right into it?
ML: Let’s do it.
MJ: Obviously you weren’t shocked to be voted out, but how shocked were you to see that Alex wrote down your name?
ML: At the time I didn’t think about it. And then right when I was walking out of tribal council, I was like ‘I can’t believe he just voted for me.’ We had the gameplan to vote for Boo. I guess looking back on the episode, he said that he was going to make his vote count and he did. He basically outwitted me and that’s why I got voted out and he’s still in the game.
MJ: Do you respect his move?
ML: Yeah, I do. I mean we’re two of the original alliance and at that point, it’s survival of the fittest. You gotta do what you gotta do to stay in the game.
MJ: Where did you come up with the Four Horsemen name? Is it a wrestling reference?
ML: I have no idea! I have been trying to think of where that came from but we just always called ourselves the Four Horsemen and it just kind of stuck. I definitely have to talk to the guys at CBS to figure out where we came up with that.
MJ: Yeah, because Edgardo didn’t know either!
ML: Yeah, it’s kind of weird. It just kind of came out of nowhere.
MJ: You were an original member of Ravu… why didn’t Earl and Yau Man look out for you. Did you just not get along with them from the beginning?
ML: I got along well with Yau Man. I saw him more as a person in the background that would just always be there. And then Earl, I knew he was a strong player. So it was kind of like we bumped heads in the fact that without saying anything we knew we were both strong. We couldn’t be in an alliance together because we both had similar goals and we just could not connect eye-to-eye.
MJ: In her interview, Sylvia said that you complained near the beginning of the game and that you wanted to quit. What was up with that or was she just making it up?
ML: No, I mean I was frustrated at the time with losing so much and not having anything that out of frustration, I would say certain things. But obviously, earlier in the game you don’t really expect anything, you don’t know what to expect. Obviously I proved myself throughout the rest of the game that I wanted to be there.
MJ: I wanted to ask you about why the Asians didn’t stick together? We saw Earl/Cassandra/Dreamz get together. Same for Alex/Edgardo/Lisi. So why didn’t you team up with Yau Man/Stacy/Michelle?
ML: You know, I saw that and I saw that it was more of a racial thing. That you usually choose or gravitate towards what you know and Michelle and myself originally had an alliance with Rita and Rocky. But with Stacy, she just kind of wasn’t a nice person. And Yau Man, he just kind of went with the flow with anything. Everyone seemed to talk to him because he was the one who blah blah blah fed everyone. I think it was the whole Stacy thing. I mean she was just not likeable.
MJ: Tell me about Dreamz. Why did you team up with this guy, is he really a scumbag and do you blame him as being the only reason you still aren’t in the game?
ML: I mean Dreamz, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I aligned myself with him because at the time, I knew Alex and Edgardo were really tight. They spoke in Spanish to each other all the time and I knew that if it came down to five people or four people, I could never break into their alliance. I had to choose a person at the New Ravu and that person was Dreamz. With Rocky gone, I had no one else left. Obviously I made the wrong choice, made a mistake… if I could take it back and not tell Dreamz about the idol or align myself with Dreamz, I think I’d definitely still be there.
MJ: I want to know about your relationship with Rocky. At the beginning he voted for you and said that you knew why. Ultimately you voted him out, but in-between you guys became the best of friends. Can you explain your relationship with him?
ML: I mean initially I asked him why he voted for me. He said because he knew that I would never get a vote so it was just a kind of throw away vote. I think he was kind of bitter that I brought up Jessica’s name to vote her out. Along the way we became friends and a lot of people got annoyed with him because he was very loud but I have a friend like that at home so I got used to it and it’s something that I have been through and we basically developed a relationship through it all and knew that we had to stick side by side.
MJ: You seem to have it really out for Yau Man. On the last episode we saw you screaming at him during the challenge. Is this just because you are so competitive or do you really dislike the way he seems to be skating through the game without anyone even realizing it.
ML: I think Yau Man’s a great strategist. I underestimated him from the beginning and it’s very surprising to see how he’s performing in challenges and his alliances. I am just very competitive and if you see the challenges that I am in, I am very intense. When it came down to it, I was very frustrated with how Yau Man was performing in that challenge and that’s just about it.
MJ: Do you regret going through his bag?
ML: Definitely not. I think it’s always good to stir up some controversy. I think if I just went out without saying anything or doing anything, it would have been kind of lame (laughs). At that point, I still wanted to save myself and stay in the game and had the plan worked and Stacy and Cassandra weren’t there listening, I think that I would still be there.
MJ: I am trying to score some points with Michelle who you are rumored to be dating. Can you put in a good word for me?
ML: I definitely will. I will tell her that this is probably the best interview that I have ever had.
MJ: What’s next for you Mookie… tell me about the charity.
ML: Well basically the charity is to sponsor underprivileged children in the Chicago area for athletics and summer/winter programs. That just got started. We have got a couple of events coming up. Hopefully we will raise enough money to sponsor these kids.
MJ: Sounds great. Thank you so much.
ML: Yup, thank you.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Mookie Lee moved to Storrs, Connecticut at the age of three and then was raised in Northbrook, Illinois, for the majority of his teenage years. In 2003, Lee received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he studied Actuarial Science and Finance. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
Lee is currently a program manager at an internet loan company and is responsible for the coordination and implementation of business projects. He is also involved in real estate part time. He previously worked at one of the largest global consulting organizations as a consultant in transformation and business strategy, focused on the financial services industry.
Lee enjoys traveling, playing competitive sports (particularly basketball and volleyball) and spending time with his friends and family. He is a die-hard Chicago Bears fan and is a season ticket holder. He describes himself as outgoing, humorous, strong-minded, competitive and athletic. The most important people in his life are God, his parents, John and Mee, and his older sister, Kim, who recently married in the fall of 2006.
Lee is currently single and resides in downtown Chicago. His birth date is November 10, 1981.
– 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.
Please credit Murtz Jaffer & RealityDish.com when using this interview. If reposting, please post just an excerpt and link back to the rest of the piece.
