Survivor Host: You all have a lot of great questions for Michelle, so let's get begin! If you're just joining us, we're chatting live with Michelle Tesauro. We'll get to as many of your questions as we can. Let's get started!


Survivor Host: Hey Michelle! Thanks for being here today. Are you ready to take some questions?
Michelle: Yeah, I'm ready!


CeLeRoN: Hey Michelle, great job! How come you didn't go with the plan of pretending to have trouble downing that smoothie?
Michelle: Because there was no real plan. We didn't know if it would be the slowest person who drank the smoothie or the fastest. There wasn't really a plan--it was more of an idea. So, I just went about it however I could and got it over with as soon as possible.


momtotwo: Do you think that was the final nail in the coffin?
Michelle: No, the final nail in my coffin was when Burton was voted off.


BLUE_NamGroup: Michelle, do you think you made your alliance with Shawn and Burton too early in the game?
Michelle: No, early in the game we didn't talk about it for a long time because we didn't have to, so it was more of a friendship than an alliance at that time.


Ruperts~Snake: Michelle, were you informed of your alliance's change in plans about voting off Burton instead of Christa, or were you left out of the loop? If so, why?
Michelle: I was left out of the loop, although I did have a suspicion. I was left out of the loop because they knew I liked Burton and thought it was dumb to vote off the strongest player. Had they told me it would have made everything difficult for everyone because I would have fought it.


Arrgh: Did you have a crush on Burton?
Michelle: [laughs] Everybody loves Burton!


Jeffs Special: Was SURVIVOR everything you had hoped?
What's your best/worst memory from the game?
Michelle: SURVIVOR was everything I hoped and then some. The best part of the game is the knowledge I got after everything was said and done. The worst part was just waiting around and the boredom while we were hanging out with no luxury items, so there wasn't much to do.


Ruperts~Snake: How did your tribe fare without Rupert for three days?
Michelle: We did just fine without Rupert. It was one less mouth to feed.


seawater: What did Drake think when Rupert's team won that challenge? Did you realize it was because of Rupert?
Michelle: We lost not because we didn't have Rupert. We lost because we didn't have our strongest player--Burton.


Skinny_Canadian: Ahoy Michelle--what happened to Balboa?
Michelle: Balboa made it through our challenge. He pretty much hung out on the hammock all day. I hope he's still alive in the next episode.


CeLeRoN: Hey Michelle, sorry to see you go. Do you think Jon purposely caused your tribe to lose that reward challenge?
Michelle: No, Jon's just incredibly weak, and it takes a strong person to be the rudder.


Lucky: Was there any discussion of Jon's inability to steer the boat after the reward challenge?
Michelle: There was tons of discussion about that because he proved that he was probably one of the weaker people, if not the weakest person, on the tribe and that made him very uneasy. I was surprised that he couldn't figure out how to work it.


rink: Jon says he's the "puppetmaster." Is he running the show in Drake?
Michelle: No way! Jon is Drake's toy. We used him for entertainment. He comes off as smart but he is not as smart as he says he is.


dragonflymom4: Michelle, did it bother you when Burton teased Rupert so much?
Michelle: Everybody teased Rupert! We had nothing else to do all day except hang out with each other and make jokes, so it wasn't just Burton. Rupert made fun of us too, so it went both ways. Plus, it was funny! [laughs]


westcoast: Your parting remarks said "regardless of the politics." What did that mean? What politics did you perceive?
Michelle: Just the whining and crying that was going on back and forth, and people being indecisive. The politics that were really going on weren't the ones necessarily shown on TV, so, it's hard to really answer that because there's so much more that happened. By that I meant that I had a great time regardless of all the nonsense that happened.


Born2Win: Were you allowed to hunt any animals for food?
If not, why?
Michelle: Yeah, we were allowed to hunt animals, but there weren't many besides iguanas, snakes and crabs out there, so we pretty much resorted to the ocean. It was easier.


whipit: Hi Michelle, you had said this morning on THE EARLY SHOW that you were hoping that the Drake tribe would see they could make it without Rupert. Do you think that happened?
Michelle: No! I think that everybody was so in love with Rupert that they forgot the reality of the situation which was that Rupert had the advantage because he'd talked to both tribes. For all we knew he could've been having an alliance with people from Morgan.


cajunwuman: Michelle, does Jon annoy everyone as much as it looks like he does, and why don't they get rid of him?
Michelle: Yes, he's annoying, but he also makes for good entertainment. Just press the "on" button and he just goes! [laughs]


christarox: Michelle, did your opinions of the people on the show change after you saw it aired?
Michelle: For the most part, I knew everybody's true feelings about certain subjects, so I knew what they were saying on camera to the producers with a lot of them. What I didn't know was Rupert and how much he was in it for the TV. It wasn't all about the game, he was hamming it up for the cameras and that was weird to see.


seawater: Michelle, do you think Rupert tried hard to save your butt? What happened?
Michelle: Rupert couldn't save my butt. He wasn't the one making the decisions, but I do appreciate his effort and along with the other people that I talked to that afternoon including Sandra, Jon and Trish.


JeffsSpecial: Michelle, what would you have done if they picked you to go to Morgan for three days?
Michelle: I would have had a good time, and I would have made a crapload of alliances.


leahsmom: Michelle, how awful was it to watch yourself vomit on national TV? It was painful for me.
Michelle: [laughs] It was disgusting! I tasted that shake all day long!


Storm: So Michelle, I've heard many rumors that the game is rigged. Is it?
Michelle: No, of course not! It just happens to be a really, really interesting game with lots of unexpected twists.


walking: Hey Michelle, what do you think about Shawn after he betrayed you and Burton?
Michelle: Shawn was really annoying about the whole situation. When Burton was voted off, he made it seem as though he wanted Burton off, when in fact he was being threatened. They were saying, "Shawn, if you don't vote for Burton, we'll vote for you."


CherrysAnnCreme: Were you surprised with Rupert's kindness toward the other team, like when he gave them your rice? Did anyone object to it? And how hot is Jeff in person?
Michelle: Rupert's a good guy and it's a game where you're not out to make everybody happy so he just did what he had to do and that's fine. And J. Pro. is a stud alright!


FireyRedTU: Michelle, you stated you were most surprised by Andrew's looting. What did you initially expect him to take?
Michelle: More rice! I think he was scared to anger people on our tribe so that's why he didn't take his fair share of rice. He could have taken the whole thing.


Skinny_Canadian: Michelle, was there anything we didn't see on the show that you would like to share with us?
Michelle: It's really hard to sum up three days in a half hour or an hour, so I have plenty to say about what went on with the show...maybe too much.


Panaman: Michelle, Trish doesn't seem to talk much. Did you two relate or bond at all?
Michelle: Trish and I were both cheerleaders in college. She said that I reminded her of herself when she was young, so we did have a bond. But because I was so much like her when she was young, she knew that I was pretty tricky, and I think that was scary for her.


westcoast: In your CBS interview, you said you had no intentions of being on their side...why turn on your tribe like that?
Michelle: Because they singled me out once Burton was gone, and some of them were extremely rude about it. I wouldn't stand a chance with them so I'd have to go against them.


dtcutting: Michelle, which challenge was the most difficult for you?
Michelle: The first one with the cannon kicked my butt. I still have scars.


Survivor_Mike: How scary was Rupert when Shawn lost the spear?
Did everyone just avoid him in fear of making him even madder?
Michelle: [laughs] When Rupert yells, everybody walks away because his temper can get out of control. Honestly, the situation wasn't as serious as it was made out to be. I couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing, but then again, I wasn't in trouble!


Panaman: Michelle, in the limited time you saw Morgan, any impressions that stand out for you?
Michelle: Darrah's a pretty tough chick to be able to sit in that harness for three hours. She's extremely energetic, even having little to no food, and Andrew's a pretty savvy guy and seems potentially dangerous.


DarkXJolt: Was it annoying when Rupert just sat there and talked to you when you were throwing up?
Michelle: [laughs] He didn't even give me a second to breathe! But we didn't have that much time, so I appreciate him comforting me even when I was throwing up.


CowMan: Michelle, what made you decide to try out for SURVIVOR?
Michelle: It was a challenge that I knew I could do if I'd gotten the chance--it'd be an amazing adventure. But to be honest, I never thought I'd be on.