“I was just sitting there praying for something to take me out of there.”
How did everything go so wrong so fast?
Robert Voets/CBS
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, what did you have for breakfast this morning?
Jess Chong on ‘Survivor 46’.Robert Voets/CBS
Did you have ants?
JESS CHONG:[Holds up jar of black ants] My husband bought these for our watch party.
I sprinkled them on sun cupcakes.
David Jelinsky and Jess Chong on ‘Survivor 46’.Robert Voets/CBS
They smell like vegemite.
They’re actually quite pungent.
Did you ever get your footing in this game where you actually felt like your normal yourself?
The Yanu tribe on ‘Survivor 46’.Robert Voets/CBS
I was a subdued version of myself.
There were some strong personalities out there.
I was like: I don’t need the attention.
Tiffany Ervin, Jess Chong, David Jelinsky, Q Burdette, and Bhanu Gopal on ‘Survivor 46’.Robert Voets/CBS
I’ll just let people say what they want to say and do what they want to do.
It was better and worse than I imagined.
Sorry, I’m running on five hours of sleep.
David Jelinsky, Kenzie Veurink, Bhanu Gopal, Tiffany Ervin, Q Burdette, and Jess Chong on ‘Survivor 46’.Robert Voets/CBS
I’ve seen you on less than five hours of sleep before, Jess.
I thought I was just spouting gibberish.
Also, I just did not sleep in pregame.
By the time of the marooning, I was at 120 hours.
I can’t do 120 hours without sleep.
And then it went downhill from there.
I was like, you’re able to say whatever you want.
The very first day during Sweat vs.
I know everything about their dogs, their home life, their hometowns, their families.
We talked a lot.
I wish they’d shown that.
Because I’m very, very extroverted.
I’m not introverted, especially when I’m meeting new people.
I get so excited.
And I was obsessed with Kenzie in pregame.
I was like: I really want to work with her.
I really want to play with you.
I was like, there’s no way this guy’s staying in the game.
Q was so pissed off, I could feel like the anger coming out of his pores.
I really appreciate your work ethic.
How much was everyone yelling at you during that last immunity challenge?
That is all I remember from the challenge.
So we can watch the tapes later and see if it’s my fault.
What was your role during the puzzle portion of that last challenge?
Or was it just they didn’t think that you were working fast enough?
What was the issue?
I don’t know.
But we had a very bad communication.
I don’t recall even designating roles for somebody.
We didn’t say, Well, maybe we should put the shortest person at the ends.
And so people are expected to just do a lot of different things.
And when I played rugby, I was a utility player.
I could play any of the back positions.
So I assumed people would have the flexibility.
That was stupid on my part.
How were you feeling walking into that second Tribal Council in terms of your chances?
So I looked at the idol.
I knew it was fake, and I was now running on 240 hours of no sleep.
And I was like: Why?
This doesn’t make any sense.
For the second one, it was very clear to me that they just wanted me gone so bad.
And I was just like: Well,Iwant me gone so bad.
I was grinning, and I was smiling through my torture.
I was like: Every minute here is torture.
I don’t feel respected.
I have not slept.
Nobody’s tried to help me sleep except for Bhanu.
What am I supposed to do?
And I was like: Why are they torturing Bhanu?
He’s already struggling so much.
What is going on?
And I was like: I just want this to be over.
And I think I was just sitting there praying for something to take me out of there.
240 hours without sleep, I’m getting dementia.
And I was like: If I stay out here, I’m going to really suffer.
I’m already suffering and trying to smile through it.
But I was like: This is a battle for my soul.
If I stay out here, I’m going to lose brain cells permanently.
So did you not play the Shot in the Dark because you didn’t want it to work?
There were a thousand reasons why I played the fake idol.
And so there was this glimmer of a chance that it was real.
But then I was also like: just don’t be real.
Why would they give me this fake idol?
I was just very confused.
And I also didn’t really want to lose my vote.
That was just total soup.
And I’m still confused about it all.
It sounds like you were done.
You were ready to go.
No, thank you.
And so we were all sleeping in the shelter.
And you saw how it cracked and fell on us?
Well, we would’ve probably died had we been actually sleeping under it.
So I want everyone to know thatDavid Jelinskysaved our lives.
That’s what I want everyone to know.
When he went idol hunting, he saved our lives.
He is a legend!
We would’ve gotten completely flattened.
Maybe that would’ve been a better outcome for me, honestly.
