“Survivor 47” star Gabe Ortis is clearing up his final words after he was eliminated.
On Wednesday’s episode, it appeared that the 26-year-old radio show host called his ally Caroline Vidmar a “snake” for voting him out.
And while Vidmar did betray him, Ortis exclusively told The Post that the comment was actually directed at Teeny Chirichillo.
“That was the one vote that surprised me. That Teeny actually flipped,” Ortis said.
Read Ortis’ full interview below.
New York Post: Was it shocking that Caroline turned on you despite your three-way alliance with her and Sue?
Gabe Ortis: No, just because I thought that was the best move for her game at this point. I was like, if Caroline wants to just get to the end, then keep me in the game. If Caroline wants to win, which I know Caroline wants to win, you got to get me out way before we get to the end, which is what we were talking about doing together. So I was hopeful that she would stand by me, but I wasn’t surprised when I saw that she did because I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re an amazing, amazing player and an amazing strategic mind. And you did the best move for your game.’
Was it a complete disadvantage for you that Tuku had the most numbers at the merge, and thus became a target?
I don’t know if it’s so much about the numbers. Like, yes, that is a problem. But we survived a lot of votes with the numbers. Relatively speaking, I think it’s more about solidifying that trust among you guys. And that’s what tribal council does, is when you survive tribal council and you are part of the plan that is implemented, that grows trust. There aren’t a whole lot of things you can really do in ‘Survivor’ to properly grow trust. I would say one is sharing advantages. Another is alerting somebody that they’re going to be voted out. And the third is being on the end of the plan that actually comes to fruition.
So I think that we definitely were at a disadvantage going in with so many people just because we didn’t put pen to parchment as much as everybody else did in the game. And I think that a lot of people had more confidence in their relationships and alliances going in than maybe some of the Tukus did.
It was unclear if you and Kyle were going to stick together or go after each other. What was your plan for him?
I wanted to keep Kyle in the game as long as possible. I really did. Now, with that being said, if we ever got to a point where me and Kyle were both vulnerable and people were like, ‘Let’s get Kyle out,’ I wouldn’t have fought particularly hard to keep him. But I was very confident I could beat Kyle in the end. And he was somebody who was very honest with me. So I was happy to keep Kyle in the game all the way until final tribal, if that’s what it took. But if push came to shove, I wouldn’t have stood in the way of Kyle going home.
Who outside of Tuku did you trust the most?
I wouldn’t say that I had a deep loyal relationship with Teeny, but going into the night, it was somebody I felt really good about voting for Genevieve. And so that’s why you get that snake comment from me at the end because I felt really good about Teeny voting for Genevieve. And then when it didn’t happen, I was like, wow. That was the one vote that surprised me — was that Teeny actually flipped.
Just to clarify, you called Teeny a snake and not Caroline?
Well, Caroline was right next to Teeny. I did it moving so it was kind of in passing. I hate lingerers. You’re done, you got voted out, grab your torch, go home. I wasn’t going to hug anybody. Not even for personal reasons, just because I don’t like that trend at tribal. And all the Tukus stood up and hugged me. But I kind of did it in passing and just looking down. And Caroline was right there. But no, it was directed towards Teeny. I made eye contact with Teeny. Teeny knew it was about them. And when Andy leans over and is like, ‘Did he just call you a snake?’ He was talking to Teeny. I think everybody picked up on that.
How do you feel about this trend in the “New Era” of ‘Survivor’ where people are not sticking with their alliances until the end of the game?
I think I have a pretty interesting perspective on this because I was somebody who was trying to do that. I had my Tuku 3 and then an ancillary fourth with Kyle. Like, let’s just take this to the end. The biggest variable in ‘Survivor’ and it’s why it’s so difficult and it’s why it’s impossible to really prepare for the people you are casted with. So I think that there are some seasons that call for you flipping on your number ones and flipping on your close allies and just going all over the place with who you’re targeting. And I think there are some seasons that call for unity and for sticking together. I think you saw that work pretty well until last night with me, Caroline and Sue.
But I also think that it’s all about who you’re playing with. And if the people you’re playing with in the game, you’re playing calls for that, then yeah, do it. Don’t not do it on principle. But to properly answer your question, yes, I think more people should be open to the idea of sticking with the people that you’re in with because it gets you pretty deep into the game. I got to single digits and that’s something really difficult to do.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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