SURVIVOR Host: There are lots of great questions, so let's get begin! If you're just joining us, we're chatting live with Survivor JoAnna Ward. We'll get to as many of your questions as we can. Let's get started! Hey JoAnna! How's it going?
JoAnna: I'm doing fine.

Whitney: Hi JoAnna. I was really surprised to see you go last night. I never thought you were overly bossy, nor did I think you were one of those "under the radar" people. Why do you think that you were voted off, and what do you think you could have done differently to stay longer?
JoAnna: I think I was voted off because of mental, spiritual and physical strength, and I probably could've stayed on longer if I would've formed an alliance.

TheAmazonQueen: Who did you see as your biggest threat, and why?
JoAnna: My biggest threat was Deena, because she was intimidated by me from day one. She watched me a lot; she critiqued my moves and watched the way I interacted with others.

blueroses: JoAnna, why did you apply for the show if you have such a huge issue with the Immunity Idol? If you watched the show, you knew you would be competing for it.
JoAnna: I was not a fan of the show, and I felt that the show gave the leverage to choose whether or not to touch the Immunity Idol. I didn't think a prerequisite to being on the show was that you had to touch the Immunity Idol.

Mike_Hawk: Hello, JoAnna. Were you shocked when Deena was named leader over yourself? You seemed more a natural fit for leader.
JoAnna: No, I wasn't shocked that Jeanne nominated Deena the leader after I declined the position.

Grumby: JoAnna, after seeing the show, what are your thoughts about the differences between men and women? Does one sex have an advantage over the other?
JoAnna: I really don't think that it's gender as much as the heart of an individual and their intent they have on winning. A woman can strive to be as good as or better than a man, and it all depends on how much heart that individual has, and that also applies to men as well. I've seen Daniel not be able to cross a beam, and then you have someone like Janet, who's older and frail, fight her way through a Challenge that was excruciating for her. It's not male or female; it's the individual who decides to put mind over matter on whatever they're facing.

zyzzyg: JoAnna, was it ever discovered who was responsible for the granola bar?
JoAnna: No, it was never discovered who was responsible for the granola bar. That's why I did not vote against Janet, because I believe her when she says she didn't do it.

Rooster: JoAnna, kudos on playing a respectable SURVIVOR game! Did any of the women really work hard at fishing, or was it more that lack of experience in fishing made everyone reluctant to fish?
JoAnna: I think it was a combination of both. Although I caught fish, I think it was through prayer and God's mercy that I actually did that. The only one who actually had experience in fishing was Jeanne, and I thought me and Jeanne and Christy put a lot of effort into fishing that the other girls did not.

leahsmom: JoAnna, how did you feel when Christy stated that as a "vessel of Christ" you should have been nicer? Do you feel as if you were portrayed poorly?
JoAnna: I can say that it was amazing to me that Christy had no respect for my Christianity and my wanting not to touch the idol, but she wanted me to be this loyal Christian when it came to putting her in her place. In that particular segment, I feel that I was portrayed poorly, because if you look, there's a glimpse of me in a bathing suit, and then on talking to Christy I have on a rain jacket. The reason for that is because I only confronted Christy after she'd be in my face three other times asking me to step down as a leader, telling me that I was stupid for not liking the idol and that I was the main reason people weren't liking her. Because those things weren't portrayed, it seems like I was aggressive towards Christy and she wasn't aggressive towards me. And indication was that she did not vote against me, I voted against her. She was a complete antagonist against me at that point in time.

Grumby: JoAnna, was Christy's deafness a liability or an asset for your tribe?
JoAnna: Christy's deafness was not a liability, but it wasn't an asset either. However, her hostility and her perception that people were weeding her out because of that became a liability. Her assumption that she was being isolated because of her deafness became a liability early. However, after she and I had our confrontation, I expressed that she should probably not feel that way, and her entire attitude changed.

beatup: Did you and Christy make up after the incident and finally get along?
JoAnna: Yes, Christy completely changed her perception of how she thought people in the tribe viewed her. She dismissed her disability and embraced her ability to function in the Amazon and represent well, which she did.

katfox: Since you caught so many fish last night, how come you weren't doing that regularly?
JoAnna: What's not shown is that Jeanne had come up with the idea that we could take those little fish that we were using and cut them and use them as fresh bait. That was the break (besides prayer) that caused us to catch fish.

kitkit: What do you think after seeing the tapes where all Heidi talks about is her body?
JoAnna: [laughs] I don't have a problem with Heidi talking about her body. However, I do have a problem with her expressing that Jeanne or me or whoever were actually jealous of her body. She should be proud, but considering that we were out in the middle of the Amazon, starving without shelter, with not enough water, it was wrong that she thought we were actually jealous of her and Jenna as well.

jccrat: JoAnna, Before watching it on television, were you aware that Heidi and Jenna thought they looked better than everyone else?
JoAnna: No, I had no idea that they thought they were cuter than we were. I had no idea! To take that thought into compulsion or to say they were things that we were jealous of... I'm not being arrogant; I'm very humble. I don't think Heidi's cuter than I am, the only thing she has on me is a breast job, which I don't have. I don't know where all this "cuteness" is coming from. I don't have a problem with her feeling good about herself, but to say that I'm jealous of that? No.

Realwife: JoAnna, did your tribe cut their own throats by voting off the person who has been feeding them and keeping them warm?
JoAnna: Not really. The nature of the game is to go as far as you can go, and I was a threat to some people, and for self-preservation reasons they voted me off.

tbolt: Did you like having the tribes divided by gender? Do you think you would have done better had there been men in your tribe?
JoAnna: I really can't say, because I don't favor one gender over another. I personally look at character and integrity and the heart of a person as well as their intentions. So depending on what type of man they were, we may or may not have had problems. I can say that I wish we would've had a more aggressive group of women.

AmazoniaWoman: JoAnna, did the whole separating tribes into men and women ruin your strategy at all?
JoAnna: I really didn't have an initial strategy. I just intended to go and be myself, and if that caused me to lose, then praise God. If that caused me to win, praise God. In the end, I can only be myself.

mjs1: Was SURVIVOR: THE AMAZON the first time you had applied to be on SURVIVOR?
JoAnna: Yes, it was. I wanted to apply because I'm a school guidance counselor, and my teachers thought that I would do well.

Verry: Hi JoAnna! What was the most challenging moment for you?
JoAnna: Starting the fire before the guys in the last Reward Challenge and losing. [laughs] And my tribemembers saying "Oh, well, it's okay." It was very hard for me.

iGGy: JoAnna, did you underestimate the men in the last Reward Challenge?
JoAnna: No, I reallly didn't underestimate them, because they had coke and a refrigerator, and they also had their male egos saying, "we're great fishers." Then again, our women weren't the type who just wanted to go out and annihilate the guys. They seemed more the type that they wanted to coo or entice the guys or manipulate the guys...whatever it is they say.

leahsmom: JoAnna, we love you here in Australia. Were you surprised by the way some of the women in your tribe are using their "womanly ways" to get what they want?
JoAnna: I was surprised that they would still try to use those womanly wiles in a tribe of women! I was extremely surprised that they'd use it so openly--like, "Hey! I'm out here and I want you to be mesmerized by my body"--that the girls actually would do that, with that mentality: "look at me, and don't vote me out." That method totally eludes me.

Grumby: JoAnna, which aspect of SURVIVOR is the most difficult: dealing with starvation, or dealing with others in your tribe?
JoAnna: Dealing with others in the tribe probably far outstrains any hunger that could've existed. You're supposed to be a tribe and work together to achieve a common goal in defeating the other tribe and not tearing each other apart or playing in Challenges passively.

das560: JoAnna, on THE EARLY SHOW you mentioned that about 1½ Jaburu tribe members were playing SURVIVOR in a similar way to you. Would you say the full member was Jeanne and the half member was Deena? Please explain.
JoAnna: I would say the full number is definitely Jeanne, the half number would be Christy, because we really were interested in surviving; the other girls were interested in winning.

riciana: If Shawna had not been sick, would you still have voted for her?
JoAnna: No, I would not have voted for Shawna if she didn't ask me to vote for her.

SURVIVOR_Nut: What did you miss the most, besides your son, while you were in the game?
JoAnna: I really missed my mom and the comfort of knowing that she would've praying and fasting right there along with me.

LdyLesa: JoAnna, did it surprise you while you were watching the show on TV how your teammates really responded to your faith?
JoAnna: No, I wasn't surprised. I kind of expected it to be a lot worse than what it actually was.

BlueEyes: After seeing the tapes, what one thing made you the maddest about the Survivors?
JoAnna: How Rob had so much confidence and faith in his Eight Ball and persuaded his tribemates to have the same confidence in the Eight Ball, but he hated me because I was always saying "Jesus" but all I really said was Hallelujah Glory! or Hallelujah Amen!

jojo: JoAnna, while in the Amazon, did you find any time to take in the beauty and wonder of your surroundings, or were you too busy with "survival?"
JoAnna: I took in a lot of the experience there. I went miles and miles away from the tribe. Jeanne and I took long walks and sung a lot, and we just explored a whole lot of the jungle.

SURVIVOR_fanatic: What were your students' reactions when they saw you in the show?
JoAnna: I'm not sure. I haven't really had any conversations with any of my students, but I'm sure they're extremely proud. They thought I was the coolest guidance counselor. I'm actually no longer at that school, because I recently moved to Atlanta. But I'm sure they would be very proud.

Toucan: Was fish the only food source you could gather or find?
JoAnna: Jeanne and I found several pineapples and berries and other types of green fruit.