“Let them all be demolished.
Let them f—ing spiral themselves out.
Let them Matsing their way to the merge.”
Stephanie Berger on ‘Survivor 48’.Credit:Robert Voets/CBS
Robert Voets/CBS
The stars were not aligned for Stephanie Berger onSurvivor 48.
When did the problems with Sai begin?
We caught up with the Brooklynite the morning after her televised ouster to snort it…
Saiounia “Sai” Hughley and Stephanie Berger on ‘Survivor 48’.Robert Voets/CBS
I meansortit all out.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Have you spent more or less time looking at the stars since your time onSurvivor?
STEPHANIE BERGER:What if I said the same amount of time?
Kevin Leung, Stephanie Berger, and Mary Zheng on ‘Survivor 48’.Robert Voets/CBS
I am regrettably still into astrology TikTok, but talking about the physical stars or astrology stars?
How did you cope with that in the immediacy of the vote and then over the months since?
I mean, so you hear me say to Jeff.
Stephanie Berger, Sai Hughley, Justin Pioppi, Mary Zheng, Cedrek McFadden, and Kevin Leung on the Vulu tribe of ‘Survivor 48’.Robert Voets/CBS
I look at him and I’m like, It had to be someone, right?
That’s the game.
Someone has to go out and mathematically somebody has to go out first.
Stephanie Berger on ‘Survivor 48’.Robert Voets/CBS
I get an opportunity that a vanishingly small number of people on planet Earth get to go do.
You’re devastated and you got to move through all those emotions, right?
It is a grieving process, the way you grieve anything.
Jeff Probst and the cast of “Survivor 48'.Robert Voets/CBS
Hey, everyone says they always want to see the first boot season.
I mean, do I go and play the same strategy?
Do I go and play something totally different?
The cast of ‘Survivor 48’.Robert Voets/CBS
Now everybody knows that I’m a girl boss, so I can’t hide that part of myself.
But yeah, maybe we go back for another season.
You had the big premiere viewing event in New York City last weekend.
What were you feeling like going into that?
Were you looking forward to watching the premiere?
Were you a little worried about how it was all going to come off?
CBS decided to throwmea party?
They threw me a massive party with this fantastic install.
I’ve gotCirieandTonyandSandrain the audience.
That’s the coolest thing on the planet!
Again, this is something that so few people get to do.
What an enormously exciting and cool opportunity.
Of course, you’re a little nervous.
You’re like, What’s about to happen to me on the big screen?
But I trust myself.
you could be proud of a loss.
What does Jeff say right at the start?
He’s like Failing in the pursuit of something great that’s still worthy.
And I really felt that.
And I think anyone who’s ever played the game has that attitude and has that mindset.
When did you realize that you and Sai were just not clicking?
You’re going and pulling Justin, and I know how many seats there are at Luigi’s.
We’ve kikied, we’ve chit-chatted.
I knew the name of his mom.
I had clocked immediately that he perhaps had some secrets that he was holding out on the island.
I spent time with every single person.
And that was really strange.
I couldn’t get over why no one would talk game with me.
And so you’re sitting there being like, “What did I do?
What’s going on?”
I don’t know that.
We were so, so far behind, and it’s a TV show, it’s edited.
They have to create some suspense there.
They have to make it seem like we’re doing better than we are.
And then it’s a bigger defeat when we don’t make it on the last couple pieces.
And then he and I are also the ones on the puzzle.
Those puzzle pieces are heavy!
It’s already hard.
And we were doing it with three arms!
And again, the crate was also so heavy and we had a really hard time.
And there’s quite a few college athletes on my season.
You all also had a tactical error.
We had too many people on the rope and not enough people on the crate.
That is just bad judgment.
And I know I was a part of it.
But that is also not how we did it.
Why was she so surprised?
You see the clip of me looking at Mary being like, I’m worried.
If you are actually worried I support you.
That is a true ride or die as somebody who says, I want you to feel comfortable.
I don’t think votes are coming your way, Steph, but I’m sticking to my guns.
I’m voting Sai.
But if you want to play your shot, play it.
Look, as I said, I couldn’t make inroads.
That is the game.
And so it was very clear to me they were scheming against me because no one was schemingwithme.
No one was like, Steph, we’ve got you.
We’re not worried.
That is not how they approached it.
People can’t make eye contact with me while I’m doing that.
It was so obvious.
And at that point, I knew it was time to play it.
After you got your torch snuffed, how were you feeling about your tribe mates?
Were you rooting for them in the game or are you rooting for them to get voted out?
And the culture is not like a team culture.
It’s not a tribe culture.
It’s going to give them something to root against.
And I was like: I’m giving them nothing.
Let them all be demolished.
Let them f—ing spiral themselves out.
Let them Matsing their way to the merge.
And that is also the game, which you guys didn’t want to play with me.
Okay, then I don’t want to play with you and I’m not rooting for you.
And so I was befuddled.
I didn’t know where the Sai vote came from.
I wasn’t 100 percent sure that it was Mary.
I was hopeful, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure.
But I was not rooting for them.
No, they didn’t want to play with me.
I’m not rooting for them after this.
Come on, I’m a big person, but I’m notthatbig of a person.
This is the true tragedy here.
Dalton, we were robbed.
I will send them to you offline.
And I’m not going to make you do your punishment for getting voted out first.
You’ve suffered enough, Stephanie.
And honestly, I’m just glad that we spared Star fromnot getting to smoke weedfor two years.
I’m just out here doing a public service.
