Josh Clinton: Hey Jupiter.
Jupiter Mendoza: Hey Josh. How are you?
JC: I’m good and yourself?
JM: Doing good.
JC: Cool. So were you a reality TV fan before you got on Pirate Master?
JM: Yes, I was a huge reality TV fan. I watched any show on any of the major networks, VH1, MTV, the E! network. Everything.
JC: Cool. Did you consider trying out for other reality TV shows before this one then?
JM: I considered possibly trying out for Big Brother, but it just didn’t pull me enough for me to actually go through the audition process.
JC: So why did you decide to do Pirate Master then?
JM: Pirate Master was actually brought to my attention before I found out about it. My friend Courtney from Survivor called me and said she had the perfect reality show for me. I was like “really? what is it?”. She said it was a pirate reality show and basically you hunt for treasure and it’s like Survivor. I never really wanted to be on Survivor, but the fact that it involved pirates was very enticing to me.
JC: Yeah. Last night, we saw the “ghosts” of all the eliminated pirates come back on the ship. What was going through your head when you saw that?
JM: Oddly enough, I had conflicting feelings. I was a bit nervous. While we were waiting to come up to the big ship, we knew something was happening but weren’t sure exactly what. So once the ghosts came over I got really nervous, because the captain and the crew had set adrift some really great competitors and they were cut for that reason. I was really nervous, but I was actually really excited as well. I was excited to see Cheryl and Sean again. Eventhough they were coming for vengeance I was really happy to see them. So it was really 50/50.
JC: I can understand that. The last few weeks we saw that you were really the only person that came out and said you wouldn’t vote for mutiny. Why were you against the idea of mutiny?
JM: Well it basically comes down to the fact that at the beginning of the show me and Azmyth had created a spiritual bond with each other. I told him, in the beginning, that I wouldn’t vote against him. This was way before he became the captain. I gave him my word. I’m not going to vote against you, so don’t vote against me. So it’s really unfortunate that he ended up giving me the black spot, because even when I was standing up for elimination in “Pirate’s Court” I still said that I wouldn’t mutiny against him. I was staying true to my word, which is how I live my life.
JC: Right. Were you trying to give Azmyth a heads up when you told him about the mutiny plans? What was your reason for telling him?
JM: Yeah. Basically, it was me clearing the way for people to have the opportunity to speak up. I was basically being the voice for everyone else and allowing them to say what they wanted to say. If there was a problem or anything they wanted to change. Unfortunately no one stepped up at that point in time. No one was like “yeah, she’s right! It would be nice if this would happen or that would happen.” I was leaving it open for everyone, but it was almost like hearing crickets waiting for someone to say something. So at that point in time, I realized that I was on my own. But that’s fine. I don’t have a problem in handling things or being the voice for people. If that was what was going to bring it completely to attention, than having everyone talk behind Azmyth’s back, then so be it.
JC: You said you created a bond with Azmyth early in the game, but then he gave you the black spot. Do you feel differently about Azmyth as a result?
JM: Once I was standing there up for elimination, I just got a different perspective of him. It could have been just that we had been out on the ship for so long and people just started to look different to me. I also thought that maybe the power of being captain might have gone to his head. It was really disappointing. I was as disappointed in Azmyth giving me the black spot as I was everyone else not sticking up for themselves.
JC: Do you see mutiny ever working on the ship, since both officers have to agree to it as well?
JM: The thing was Jay would say that he would be down for doing the mutiny, but Jay is very very manipulative. He’s probably playing the game the best right now. I also don’t think Ben really would have been down for the idea of mutiny. So even if the crew had all voted for mutiny, I still don’t think it would have happened. I don’t think both Jay and Ben would have agreed.
JC: Yeah, me either. Jay mentioned of turning on Azmyth at some point during this game. Do you think that will happen soon or do you think they will make it to the end before they face off?
JM: I don’t know, it’s really hard to say. I don’t know what happens next. Hopefully something interesting happens, because if the triad continues on like this it won’t be good for anyone.
JC: Yeah. So the strategy of the triad seems to be to eliminate all of the strong competitors first and leaving the weaker ones. If you were the captain, would you have the same strategy or would you want to face the stronger competitors at the end?
JM: Personally, I would get rid of the dead weight first. If I was the captain, I would have definitely targeted Jay, though. Early on in the game, Jay lied a couple of time and I’m not a big fan of liars. So that would have nothing to do with how good of a competitor he is, it would just be me not being down with liars. Again, Jay is playing the game really well and he is a good manipulator. I think I would keep around the stronger people knowing that the stronger people would most likely end up on my team more than the weaker people.
JC: Why do you think you were ultimately sent home this week?
JM: I’m almost positive that I was voted against because I was so close to Azmyth. In order for Azmyth to go home, I had to go home first.
JC: That makes sense. I talked Cheryl a few weeks ago and you also mentioned it earlier. You and her developed a friendship?
JM: Yes.
JC: Will that continue on off the show?
JM: Yeah, absolutely. I’m hoping to actually hang out sometime soon with her. The majority of us are still really good friends. It was an experience of a lifetime that probably won’t happen again and something most people won’t ever experience. Azmyth lives in Los Angeles. Kendra, Sean, and Laurel, we all live pretty much in the same area. So I talk to Azmyth, Sean, Nessa, and Laurel. I think that’s probably the main thing that we can take away from this show, besides the experience, is the friendships.
JC: That’s cool. So who do you think is going to be the cook now since both you and Sean are now gone?
JM: I have no idea. I’m dying to find out, though. **laughing** No one can cook as good as us. We were making something out of nothing. Literally, nothing. One thing that I was bummed that they didn’t show on TV was me falling all over the ship while I was cooking stew the entire day for the crew. But after that stew is gone I’m don’t know who will do the cooking, but I know that they can’t cook as well as I could.
JC: Yeah, that will be interesting to find out. What do you plan to do now?
JM: Depending on how things go, I do see myself doing another reality TV show or see myself on air on another show somewhere. It’s a fun way to ride, so I definitely want to ride it as long as I can. But other than that, I will eventually move back up North and continue back in holistic healing and massage therapy.
JC: Alright, very cool. Good luck with it all and thanks for your time.
JM: Thank you.
– Pirate Master airs on CBS on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT time all summer long.
– Pirate Master airs on the CTV network in Canada on Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT time all summer long.
