AE: How did you feel about Nate calling you a nancy boy after Raro lost the swimming challenge?
BV: Let me start off by saying Nate is a good guy and it was a game. I don't think he meant to call me nancy boy in a bad way. I think it was a stress factor, and it was pissing rain, you know? You take everything with a grain of salt. He apologized to me after the fact, and it is what it is, but I know a lot of people are pissed off about it.
AE: So it was an isolated incident? There wasn't more of that sort of thing off camera?
BV: No, no, no. Total isolated incident.
AE: In the light of Isaiah Washington calling TR Knight a faggot on the set of Grey's Anatomy, and the recent firing of an ESPN commentator for using the word "gay" inappropriately on air, what are your thoughts on the prevalent use of sexual orientation slurs in our society? BV: It pisses me off to no end, but I think you have to look at the context of the situation, and I think that people shouldn't blow things out of proportion. I'm the type of person to forgive and forget, and that's why I forgive Nate for saying that.
AE: Back to the game, was your decision not to swim in that challenge simply a matter of wanting to do better during the puzzle portion of the challenge? BV: Well, it's a two fold answer for that one. First and foremost, I do creative things for a living and get puzzles like the back of my hand, like I told the people on my tribe. At the end of the day, we had lost every single challenge in the final homestretch, and I was like, "I'm not going to lose this challenge because I'm going to kick ass at this puzzle and this is how we're going to win." And above and beyond that, Rebecca stepped up to the plate and said, "Oh, I've been swimming. Let me do this. I can do this." I'm like, "okay, well, she wants to swim, I'm going to kick ass at the puzzle, and this is how we're going to win." That was my thinking.
The second part of the equation was that it was a reward challenge, and I had wanted potatoes and peanut butter. That's the obvious decision, right? But a couple of the younger members had wanted bread. Do we have a freakin' bread box on this island? It'll last for 40 minutes then spoil. You have to think about the longevity of the tribe, the carbohydrates that we'll need for future challenges down the road. And you know what? We lost. So it is what it is.
AE: Do you think your "every man for himself" comment sealed the deal on your getting booted off the island?
BV: It was blown out of proportion. The only reason I said that was simply because the merge was coming, they had edited it to sound like that was the only comment I had made. For me, it wasn't about playing a single-man game. It was about playing for the team first and foremost, but then after the merge it would be every man for himself. Plus, the whole threat factor. The boys — and girls — were afraid I would have merged back with my old Puka tribe, Yul and Becky.
AE: Did you consider changing tribes during the mutiny?
BV: I did. I thought about it for a fraction of a second, stepping off the mat and saying, "You know what, Raro? Hasta la vista." But ... then after the merge, I would have had five people gunning against my ass, so it wouldn't have been a good move for me.
AE: What were you thinking by saying you didn't trust anyone on your tribe at Tribal Council?
BV: First of all, I tried to play a truthful game, and trust is a big word for me. That's what I said that night. And it is. I don't trust some of the acquaintances I've known for years, let alone people I've known for 21 days who I'm competing against in a game for a million dollars. He asked if I trusted them and I said no. I don't want to lie and say, "Yeah, I trust you. I heart you." No.
