Kat Edorsson, the 22-year-old, polka-dot-bikini-wearing Survivor: One World contestant, really wants your love. No, seriously, she does. And she wants you to demonstrate that love by voting for her for the show's fan favorite before Sunday's finale. "That's all I want to do," Edorsson told us, referring to being named the position that comes with a $100,000 cash prize.
Edorsson, a University of Central Florida student and self-professed University of Miami Hurricanes fan, lasted 33 days on the island. Her legacy: farting on a fellow castmate, and putting up a commanding performance in her final immunity challenge. However, after she won the loved-ones reward challenge and pissed off her tribe with her selection of two people to join her, she was unanimously blindsided on the May 2 show.
Edorsson (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, we should mention is the sister of a New Times marketing executive) took a break from shopping Thursday to chat a bit about her time on Survivor, how devastated she was when she was voted off, and who she thinks should win. Oh, and also about that comment that came just moments before she was blindsided. You know the one: "Blindsides are always fun and exciting."
Well, maybe not always.
Cultist: We're going to start off on not a great note. Obviously, last week
is when we all saw you get voted out. What's it's like watching that
back?
Kat Edorsson: Watching it back, I was actually really devastated, from,
you know, to have to watch your mistake again that you made. Ultimately
the biggest mistake I made in the game was when I chose Alicia for the
reward instead of Sabrina or Chelsea, and ultimately it is really hard
to rewatch your mistakes that you made, so it wasn't that easy. And then
blindsides are not funny!
I was going to ask! Because I know
right before that happened, you said it was fun and exciting, and as an
audience member, you're like "Oh no!" You know what's coming up next. So
looking back, not fun and exciting?
Absolutely not. Blindsides are not fun, and they're definitely not exciting. [laughs]
I
know you said the biggest mistake was choosing Alicia instead of
Sabrina or Chelsea. During the show there was a lot of talk about how,
"Oh, Christina should have gone. Tarzan should have gone" on the reward.
And yet, you mentioned Sab or Chelsea; why those two instead of the
ones everyone got up in arms about?
Honestly, the reward
challenge for family members is the sign of death. No matter who or what
you choose, it's going to be the wrong decision, because everyone is
going to be upset with you. So ultimately me picking Christina and
Tarzan was not going to benefit me in the game. If I told Christina to
sit, roll over and play dead, she would have done that. And if I was
going to tell Tarzan, "Hey we're packing up shop... the game's over," he
would have been like, "Oh, OK, no big deal." So ultimately I was like,
OK, I'm going to pick Kim because I'd rather have her strategizing with
me than without me. And she's a part of my final three. My
million-dollar mistake is when I picked Alicia. Alicia I should have
never picked.
Chelsea and Sabrina were so sour that I took Kim
and Alicia after they just went on a reward [in the prior episode]. But
they went back to the camp and raised hell... But I don't know if you
watched but this episode that just came out [this Wednesday], Chelsea
just picked a friend. So, for all of those people that are saying that I
was selfish, look at Chelsea's choice: she picked Kim, again, and she
picked Sabrina. I'm appalled by the behavior of the women yelling and
screaming at me because I was selfish to pick Kim and Alicia, but they
did the exact same thing. And not only did they do the same thing, but
they made it look like I was just so naïve. And honestly, I thought that
they had to make up any reason for me to be eliminated.
Looking back and watching the whole season, how did you think you were portrayed on the show?
I'm
actually really happy with the editing that was going on with the whole
show for Survivor. It was just 100 percent me. And the only thing I'm
a little bit sad about is that they didn't really show me strategizing
too well. I mean, I went on the island being one of the strongest girls
on the tribe, and, yeah, I was really goofy, I had a great attitude. But
when I went on the island, right when I got there, I made a solid five
alliance with the strongest women on the tribe. Then I made a final
three on the second day I was there. Then I kicked ass in all of the
challenges.
And then I was ultimately put in a situation when I
made the wrong choices. Do I think I played a great game? Absolutely. Do
I think I made a few bad decisions? Yes. The fact that I did not
entertain Troyzan's idea when I should have, and I picked Alicia when I
shouldn't have. And if Kim really wanted to save me, which is what she
should have done, she should have let me win that [final immunity]
challenge. But she didn't, so here I am talking to you.
Which,
in fairness, is not the worst place to be. But not the same as a
million dollars. Looking back over the course of the season, do you have
favorite memories or favorite challenges, and then the reverse, least
favorite? I know personally the last immunity challenge with you hanging
on for an hour was incredible. I am fairly certain I could not do it.
It
was an hour and a half that me and Kim were holding on. That ultimately
has to be my favorite because that was the point where I knew how hard I
could push my body, and everybody knew I wasn't going to win because
ultimately going against Kim, unless Kim was going to let me win, her
body mass compared to mine, it literally said Kim was going to win. But I
didn't know that because I had all the heart in the world to win that
game. She's like my big sister so when she won I just slapped her hand
and I was like, "Go away, I don't want to talk to you. Just go away."
My
least favorite challenge probably has to be the ball one when I was
balancing the ball, only because I almost won that one as well. It was
an immunity challenge and I was balancing those balls. I actually kick
myself every day for stepping off the perch on accident, or I just fell
off. It was a great moment for me, but it actually haunts me.
If you made it to the end, and you got really close, how do you think the jury would have voted for you?
You
didn't see, but not only did Troy say "Do it, Kat, you've got this"
[after he got voted off], but also Leif said, "You got this, Kat." Even
Jay was like, "Kat, here's my shirt." The guys were voting for me. If I
were to have made it to the end, I would have probably won.... They were
actually really upset with Kim, because she was blindsiding everybody,
and if I took Alicia to the final three, I mean, who was going to vote
for Alicia? Ultimately I made everybody really happy. I was really
sweet, I played a great game, I had a lot of heart, and the fact that I
was able to do those things, I thought I was actually going to be a
great winner.
And your final three, you would have taken Kim and Alicia with you?
Christina
and Alicia was going to be my best choice to pick to come to the final
three with me. But I didn't want Kim to go with me, but I didn't mind
sitting next to her. Because everyone hates her, and you might have had a
shot with her, because I'd rather have her protect me all the way to
the final three and have my back than be against me. So ultimately Kim
was my best ally.
Who do you think should win out of the people that are left?
I
think Chelsea, Sabrina, and Kim would be fantastic as winners. They're
individually strong in their own way. Kim is a phenomenal Survivor
player, and Chelsea, she's like a hero of mine, she has a fantastic
heart, and Sabrina is wonderful with PR and communication. And I have a
feeling she'll do great things one day with the million dollars.
What do you think your chances are of winning fan favorite?
That's
all I want to do is win fan favorite. I think that I was actually
really sweet and really charming. And I really played the game with a
lot of heart, and I think I have a great chance of winning the fan
favorite.
In your exit interview you had begged Jeff Probst to let you come back. Why did you want to go back to the show so badly?
I
honestly think I have unfinished business there. Survivor is one of the
greatest games I've ever played and I felt like it was kinda stolen
from me. I felt like I had a lot more to give. So if I had a second
chance obviously, I'd be a lot more strategic, and a little more cold in
that sense, but I'd still be very funny and humorous, so kind of under
the radar, but a really good player with making better decisions. This
time around I'd be making better decisions as opposed to just be a good
player.
What you're doing now?
Right now I'm actually
trying to get back into real estate. I want to work for a company that
sells time share and sell real estate and beautiful property. I'm
graduating UCF, it's my last semester.
Congratulations!
Thank
you. And I'm really looking forward to doing a lot of things, a lot of
like fitness stuff, and a lot of challenges, and just in general. And
I'm really fired up to do a lot of things, especially to help people. I
kind of want to be a promotional speaker, just because people might
think that you're silly and that you're dumb, I think it's just having a
good attitude about life. And maybe just promoting that sense for the
good of people.
I understand you spend a lot of time in Miami. What's your favorite thing to do down here?
I'm
a huge Canes fan. I bleed orange and green. So I love the football
games, I love to go there and go on the boat and, like, you know, I do a
lot of charity work down there too. So Miami is probably one of my
favorite places to be. I feel like I should be living there, but
unfortunately I don't have the money to go to UM, so I would transfer in
a heartbeat if I could, but I can't afford it.
And now that you're graduating, are you considering moving down south to Miami?
Yes. I would love to be in a big city, and I really love Miami.
Anything else you wanted to tell your Miami fans?
I
wanted to set the record clear with a few people, I did have open-heart
surgery, and I will be having it again. However, I wanted to make sure
everybody understands that to be on Survivor, you cannot have an
illness... I've been checked out and I am very healthy. Yes, do I have to
do it again, of course I do. But I'm really looking forward to working
with my charities, and making sure that I'm healthy, and I really love
the support and thank them all very much. And they can vote for me for
fan favorite, I would really appreciate it.
The final episode of Survivor: One World airs on CBS this Sunday, starting at 8 p.m. Visit the Survivor website to place your vote for fan favorite.
--Jordana Mishory
Follow Cultist on Facebook and Twitter @CultistMiami.