Survivor 43 had multiple power players fighting to get to the end. Showbiz Cheat Sheet talked to Cassidy Clark over Zoom on Dec. 15. This is what she had to say about her plan to take out her former ally.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from the Survivor 43 finale, “Snap Some Necks and Cash Some Checks.”]
Cassidy’s argument with Karla was more heated than what ‘Survivor 43’ fans saw
Q: My first question is, how do you feel about the rift that was between you and Karla [Cruz Godoy] after watching the episodes and how it was several people who were kind of starting that fire?
Cassidy: Yeah, I think it was tough because, like, we played the game so closely together, and we made so many moves together. And we both talked about how we wanted to see a woman at the end, especially after everything had gone on like mid-merge or pre-merge, then into the merge.
And so like, for it to end the way that it did, the conversation was a lot more intense then it than was shown, and it got kind of heated. And so it was a bummer that it ended the way that it did.
I felt like she held, held it against me, that I was in a better position to get to the end than she was. And I don’t think that was my fault. Like, I don’t think I should take the blame for that. And I think that she was upset by that.
The fact that, like, I think she thought she the whole time was playing a better game to me and could just take me to the end and beat me. And she didn’t consider the fact that I was playing my own game and that I think it just it came as a surprise to her too late which is on her that she didn’t see me as, like you know, a threat. And so, like, I wish I hadn’t held that against me, but yeah, it was a bummer the way it ended for sure.
Cassidy doesn’t respect Karla’s move to threaten to poison the ‘Survivor 43’ jury
Q: So we get a live tribal. Karla knows her head is like on the line. She talks to Jesse [Lopez] first after he pulls out this idol. Then everyone wants to talk to each other. You did straight up ask if she was turning it on you. What does she have to say in response to that?
Cassidy: I mean, because the conversation we had, she basically said, like, if you vote me out, I’m not voting for you. I’m going to make sure nobody thinks that you had credit for any of the moves. I’m going to slander your name to the jury.
And that was just like so offensive to me because we–she knows that I worked my a** off, like, in the game and strategically. And so for her to, like, threaten me with, like, ruining my game from, like, from the inside out, like, you know, that was–I just felt like that was a really petty way to play. And I didn’t think that, like, as a fan, like, I just don’t have respect for that kind of gameplay.
And so, and also her being like such a close ally of mine, that also hurt a lot. And so it was just like, I don’t know, like I don’t know what I could have done to for it to be any different. Like she knows that she was a threat and I did what I had to do and, like, I don’t regret it.
Cassidy admits she plotted to get rid of Karla with Sami
Q: Was there any conversations between you after the game that like, OK, Sami [Layadi] lied? Like, that’s not where I’m going back to. Sami lied, saying you were gunning for her to even start–
Cassidy: The thing was, Sami didn’t. He didn’t actually lie about that. Yeah, they didn’t show it. But I knew about Karla’s idol before Jeanine [Zheng] got voted out. I figured that out about the beads, and I knew.
But I knew that if I told her I knew or if I told James [Jones] that it could get back to her. And that I knew, I knew she would target me and try to get me out because she didn’t want that information getting anywhere. So that’s a big reason why I didn’t talk to her about it.
But I did talk to I talked about to like just in my confessionals. But also I, I started planting little seeds with Sami and people who I felt like potentially I could use to blindside her later in the game. I didn’t want to do it before my bigger threats were out. Like, you know, like Noelle [Lambert] and people that were not in my alliance.
But eventually, I wanted to be able to have the numbers. And I talked to Sami a lot about this, and we were planning something, but he just wanted to make the move too early. And I tried to tell it like, it’s not the right time. Like, let’s just hold out. So then once he got caught, like with his pants around his ankles by voting for Karla and no one else did, like, he threw me under the bus for sure.
Which I don’t blame him for doing. But like I had my own plans and my own game, and I knew I saw Karla as the threat that she was, and I knew we had played similar games. But I think people had more respect for her just because she’s a better like public speaker and conversationalist. And so I knew that I couldn’t go to the end with her.
If the opportunity had presented itself. Yes, I was planning on blindsiding her, but that’s just what I would have had to do anyway. Like before, she got me because I knew eventually she was going to see me as a threat and try to gun for me.
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Q: What is your relationship like with Karla today?
Cassidy: It’s OK. I mean, I feel like we’re cordial. And I don’t feel like I’ll ever get, like, the full truth of what happened, like after she got voted out and things like that. Like whether she did do that.
I mean, I heard whispers that that happened after I–after the game ended. She denies it, but like, I don’t know. So it’s hard for me to, like, trust what she says.
I feel like I don’t know if we’ll ever fully get back to the friendship that we had. It was definitely something that was left on the island, I think. Hopefully, we can make amends one day. We’re not like at each other’s throats or anything, but it’s–I think we both are just hurt by what happened a little bit. And it’s something that’s so…we’re still processing and working through.
This interview has been condensed for this article.
More ‘Survivor’ exit interviews from Showbiz Cheat Sheet
‘Survivor 43’: Cody Doesn’t ‘Blame’ Jesse ‘but, We All Need the Damn Money’
‘Survivor 43’: Sami Felt Guilt For Blaming Gabler, Explains His Connection With Karla
Noelle Says ‘Survivor 43’ Told Her Story ‘Perfectly,’ Answers if She Planned to Turn on Jesse and Cody
‘Survivor 43’: James Gives His Fix for the Knowledge Is Power Problem, ‘It’s Not Meant to Be Fair’
‘Survivor 43’: Ryan’s Secret Goal in His Merge Alliance Pitch, ‘It Was More of a Trap’
‘Survivor 43’: Jeanine Says ‘Kudos’ to Jesse Keeping Her ‘Baby’ in the Game
‘Survivor 43’: Dwight on That Idol Mystery and a Jesse and Karla Preseason Theory
‘Survivor 43’: Geo Responds to Cassidy’s ‘Sassy’ Comments and Says ‘Karla Had the Bullets’ Not Her
‘Survivor 43’: Lindsay Hates You Think She’s out for ‘Paranoia’ and Not Karla’s Strategy
‘Survivor 43’: Nneka Talks Struggling in That Challenge, Bonding With Cody, and More
‘Survivor 43’: Justine Says ‘Hats off!’ to Cody for Clever Idol Hat, Shares What the Edit Left Out
Morriah on Disappointing the Dad of ‘Survivor 43’ and Not Believing Gabler
