Kelly Clarkson may be an American Idol, but Kelly Sharbaugh simply got idoled.  On the last Survivor: Samoa the 25 year old San Diego hairstylist became the second member of the jury after Russell Hantz caught her with the old Hidden Immunity Idol trick play.

You had to know Kelly was in trouble when she got several confessionals earlier in the episode. Despite coming across as a cliché love 'em and leave 'em bad girl Survivor: Samoa's preseason marketing, Kelly turned out to be a shrude player.  In fact, she was apparently all too good at holding her tongue for the producer's taste because they rarely let her get a word in edgewise.

In our interview Kelly told me why she is glad Russell chose blankets over a tarp, showed a different side of her friendship with Monica and explained why Galu's wins lead to their losses.

 
Q. Several contestants I have interviewed have been dismissive of Monica. You seemed to be her best friend out there. Tell us about the Monica you knew, and why she had more going for her then we've heard.  

Monica is an interesting one. Her and Laura were the forerunners of this all-female alliance that made the men of Galu increasingly uncomfortable. I think in a game like Survivor when you are primarily associated with just one person, it can never be good. It's hard for me to grasp and understand her strategy. She had just graduated law school but told us she also worked as a Disneyland character...? She would have benefited much better had she been honest about her schooling. I think she would have received more credit and respect. I feel like many others were dismissive because they felt that she wasn't really playing this game. I feel like physically, Monica was the weakest link since the beginning. Sometime during the first week, I told her this and that she needed to make sure she ate and drank more because she was getting too thin too quickly and  people were uncomfortable with it.

Q. When Russell Swan chose comfort over function he said it was because the girls would have killed him if he didn't. Set the record straight: Did you want him to choose the tarp or the pillows and blankets?

When I saw Jeff give Rusell the option between the survival needs vs. the blankets, I was like pllllllleeeeeeeeeeease choose blankets! I think there's even a deleted scene of Laura and myself talking about how smart the comfort decision was while giving each other massages on the beach and the guys were all struggling to catch fish. And I stand by that! Yeah it rained like crazy, and we got soaked and the blankets smelled terrible, but we still had them to wrap ourselves in and shield ourselves from the wind. It got really cold there at night. And Russell has a wife and daughter at home that he was so used to caring for so he felt a responsibility to take care of his Galu women. Maybe it didn't make the most sense but I appreciate it, Russ!

Q. Galu was unusual in Survivor history because you only went to Tribal Council once before the merge. Did that unify you? Or did it leave more unvented tension for Foa Foa to exploit?   

We had an incredible winning streak and I think that we spent our off days helping around camp, and eventually able to relax definitely brought us all closer. We didn't have to constantly be strategizing and planning who was next so we were able to get to know each other and even enjoy ourselves out there. I think Foa Foa had an advantage going into the merge though because they had been to tribal so many times that they came swinging and we were a little too cocky and confident.



-Henry Jenkins, BuddyTV Guest Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)