Jake Billingsly's CBS.COM chat on 12/06/02 follows. Transcription by Seftor on VOTEDOFF.TV.
BY SNN
Friday, December 6, 2002Q: Jake, you did great in making it to the jury, but you didn't win the big prize. Is there anything you wished you had done differently?
A: Absolutely, I think there's something that I would have done differently, that is told Ted that it was Clay who told me that the tribe was thinking about voting Ted off. I did not reveal that to him and I wish I had.
Q: Jake, would you have chosen your tribe differently if you had it to do over?
A: Absolutely not! I loved my tribe, I loved all the players on my tribe. It was my dream team! They were all athletes, they were all wonderful people. I wouldn't have chose differently at all.
Q: Jake, were you surprised at Brian's comments when he was at the voting booth?
A: *laughs* Nothing about Brian surprised me very much. I really like Brian very much, but when he makes a comment, it's sort of like a politician. He can make a comment that goes in a circle. It never says anything but he makes you think he said something! So, I hear the comment but I never knew what it meant! *laughs* Typical Brian.
Q: Jake, was Jan really as wacky as she seemed to be on the show.
A: I thought Jan was a sweetheart. Jan was a real likeable person that I really grew attached to as the show went on. I didn't find her wacky a bit ... just interesting.
Q: Jake, was anything in Jan's cemetery besides Lucky and Oliver?
A: Quite frankly, I never saw that cemetery and I didn't know that the cemetery was even there until I saw it on one of the airings. She didn't share that cemetery with me.
Q: Who surprised you the most while watching the show?
A: I think probably the biggest surprise I had was when Penny not only snuffed out my flame, but voted against me. That surprised me. I'm also not the first guy in the history of the world to have his flame snuffed out by a beautiful girl.
Q: Who do you think Ken and yourself had a tighter bond with, between Penny, Erin, and SA?
A: That's a really good question. Until the flame snuffing incident, I would have thought it'd have been Penny, but looking back on it, it had to have been Erin.
Q: What did you think of the whole SA vs. Penny thing?
A: Boy, what a good question! I never could get to the bottom of what started that or what it was about. For some reason, they just didn't seem to care for one another and it was almost like a cat fight! I really don't have any idea -- I loved 'em both.
Q: Jake, are Clay and Ted as lazy as Ghandia said they were?
A: I really don't know what Ghandia said about him -- I don't remember what she said, but I thought they were both pretty lazy. I thought Clay was probably the laziest of all the survivors that I dealt with the entire time I was there. But, on the other hand, he's still on the show and I'm gone, so he obviously did something right! Or I did something wrong ...!
Q: Jake, this morning I saw you on the Early Show, and you let it slip that Jan was on the jury. How much trouble are you in?
A: I think you misunderstood what I said. Having made it past that point in the game, Jan was already at the stage where she was going to be either a jury member or a finalist. So, she'd already achieved her goal.
Q: Did you get to see your wife right after you were voted off?
A: No, I didn't see my wife until I got back to Dallas, Texas.
Q: Jake, I just wanted to tell you that I now believe in love, after seeing you with Jenny last night.
A: Wow! Well, it's certainly there and I'm glad that it's apparent to everybody. We have a special relationship.
Q: Did your wife happen to mention which was the worst of the "delicacies" that she had to eat? My family and I were rooting for her!
A: Thank you for rooting for her! *laughs* I certainly was too. The bug she hated the most was that big water bug and that's because it was real juicy! And reminded her of a big ol' roach!
Q: What did your wife feel about the diary you wrote everyday on the island?
A: She loved it! I wrote the diary with a ton of emotion and when she read it, she felt the emotion that I had at the time. In fact, believe it or not, I read part of it to her and we cried together.
Q: What kind of things did you do to pass time on the island?
A: Boiled water, searched for food, paddled the canoe, and went around the other islands and not because I wanted to, but I listened to FAR too many recipes!
Q: Did you ever confront Penny about when she betrayed your alliance?
A: I didn't have to confront Penny about it. Penny confronted me and told me what happened. She felt terrible about it, she felt terrible that she believed Clay over me. Clay was playing the game extremely well and he was telling her that I was saying bad things about her to him and to other members of his tribe which was a TOTAL lie. But Penny didn't know what to believe and she is one heck of a competitor and certainly wanted to win the game. Her competitiveness is one of the reasons I picked her for my tribe in the beginning. I absolutely love Penny. I think she's a wonderful young lady and I absolutely have no animosity towards her whatsoever. She played the game as best she could and I love her to death -- that's all there is to it!
Q: Would you accept and offer from Playgirl?
A: *laughs* What would my nine grandchildren think??? BUT! thank you for the kudos!
Q: How was Penny's wedding?
A: Penny's wedding was incredibly beautiful. She was an absolutely gorgeous bride and her new husband Matt is an incredible man! We had a great time there and I'm really glad that I went.
Q: I hated when Ted was rolling his eyes at you when you were telling the truth. It definitely turned me off with him. How do you feel about Ted?
A: Ted had been in the game with his people for 18 days before I got there. I walk into camp and and start trying to form alliances with CG. While I was telling him the truth, I understand why he would be very, very skeptical. Ted's an interesting fell and I like him a lot. I'm sure with the experience we had together, we'll be friends for the rest of our life.
Q: What was behind your strategy of aligning with all the women?
A: In competitive situations, I've always found men to try to intimidate and be less truthful. What I planned to do in my strategy with the men was to find that guy that was not superficial and align with him and I did that with Ken. With women, I like the fact that women can get emotional about things, so normally you understand where you really stand with a woman, and I had planned on taking the strongest woman that I found with me in the final round ... and obviously that didn't happen.
Q: Jake, you had a real Indiana Jones vibe going for you, would you ever consider a career in the entertainment industry?
A: Absolutely! I wouldn't rule anything out. I'm an adventurer, I love adventure, and now I'm lookin' for my next adventure! *laughs*
Q: What were the other luxury items you thought about bringing?
A: Well, I asked for things they wouldn't let me have at all -- survival things: a leatherman tool, 200' of parachute cord, a roll of duct tape ... but I didn't get any of it! It quickly became apparent to me that I wasn't going to get anything that was going to help me survive and because I love to write so much, I chose the journal and pen.
Q: Jake, now that you and Ken are gone, is it hard to find someone to cheer for?
A: Absolutely it is! While I liked the people on CG, I LOVED the people on SJ. At this point in the game, if I pull for anyone, it would probably be Helen.
Q: I get grouchy when I'm hungry or tired. How did you remain cool for 33 days!?
A: Well, first I won't say that I didn't get grouchy and tired, but food never has meant that much to me. Water on the other hand has. I think I was grouchier from having to drink hot water than I was from lack of food.
Q: Why did you vote off Erin after she comforted you in the loss in the snorkel challenge?
A: That was the most emotional decision that I'd ever made. I absolutely love Erin. She's a real sweetheart, a wonderful girl. She thought I lied to her. In the cave she said "I'm going to vote for Ken, right???" and I nodded and said "I understand". I knew she thought that I was going to vote for Ken and that bothered me SO much I had a little tribal meeting and asked everyone if they wanted to know if they were the person who was going to go that night. Erin didn't want to know ... or she thought she already knew. In any event, that was one of the most emotional things I've ever been through. I don't know whether it was harder to actually vote for her or watch that episode where we voted her off. Erin is a sweetheart and I know she would have been loyal to me.
Q: Jake, if you real threat was clay, why then did you vote for Jan?
A: I voted for Jan last night because she had already told me that her only goal was to make it to the jury. That's ALL she wanted from the game -- to make it to the jury. Since we were at that point in the game where she'd already made it to the jury had she been voted off, I felt very comfortable voting for her since she had reached her objective.
Q: How important was it for you to remain true to people, instead of say, backstabbing?
A: Thank you for the compliment. I played the game the way I live my life -- with respect for other people. My value system never changed in the game and it never will. I both love and respect people.
Q: Jake, early on in the game, Sook Jai was winning all of the challenges. Later on, Sook Jai started losing most of the challenges. What was the major factor in the reversal of fortune?
A: That's a great question and I've pondered it ever since the game started and quite frankly, I don't think I know the answer to it! Obviously, we made some mistakes in the people that we voted off of our tribe and the other team just seemed to get a little better as the game progressed. And maybe we got a little too comfortable in our ability so that we didn't try quite as hard. But I really don't know the answer.
Q: Did you ever regret killing a chicken?
A: When you're hungry, you'll do a lot of things. Chickens are to give eggs or provide meat -- that's what they're for. I don't regret killing the chicken. I do regret killing them on national television. *laughs*
Q: Did you review any of the previous Survivor series? If so, who was your inspiration to try out for Survivor? And why did you want to be on survivor?
A: That's a real easy question -- Michael Skupin. I thought he was the greatest survivor and my inspiration. But Michael made a statement that anybody over fifty would have a very, very hard time competing in the physical challenges and that statement REALLY set my competitive juices flowing, and that's when I decided not only was I going to try out for the game -- I was going to get on it! I'm a senior, but I don't feel like a senior ... *laughs* ... that's only an age.
Q: Jake, what of the challenges did you enjoy the most? Which was the most difficult for you?
A: I thought carrying that 250 pound dummy around that island and over the top of it was one of the hardest things I'd ever been involved in. I was totally dehydrated, and man, was it hot that day! The one I enjoyed the most was the one where Penny threw the ball like a slingshot. I probably enjoyed it the most because I loved the feast we had after we won it! And because I was really proud of Robb that day.
Q: Jake, in your goodbye speech, you said "a door gets opened" ... what "doors" have been opened for you because of survivor?
A: That's a great question! Survivor fans are probably the best fans in the world. I've had an opportunity to meet so many and share my experiences with them. That's really special. What other doors will open in the future, I don't know, but I sure am anxious to walk through them when they open.
Q: Any final comments for the Survivor fans?
A: Thank you for being survivor fans! Like I said before, I was a survivor fan LONG before I became a survivor and being able to share my experiences with you wonderful fans has been the highlight of my experience. Maybe I didn't win the million dollars, but I certainly have a lot of new friends, and I don't know how you put a value on that.
ARRRRRRR!!!!
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