TVLINE | Have you seen the clip of Billie Eilish that’s been going around about the Boomerang idol?
No, you’re actually the second person who asked me about it, and I’ve been avoiding the internet for maybe obvious reasons, but tell me about this clip!
TVLINE | She was on the “Good Hang With Amy Poehler” podcast and she was like, “Apparently I wrote a letter to the castaways,” and almost using air quotes as she spoke. She didn’t really seem to know exactly what was going down with the boomerang idol that her name was attached to. She was speaking rather flippantly about it. I was going to ask you for your take on what she said…
Well, I’ll tell you what, that is mildly devastating because, man, that boomerang idol was just the talk of the town. It’s disappointing [that] through this point, it hasn’t really played out the way that I think it was designed to play out. But one of the more interesting things about that idol design was that it could not be transferred. It was non-transferable. You could only play it on yourself. And that’s part of the reason why I came up with the plan that Devens could play his idol on me. I was trying to sell it to them that it’s the only idol in the show so far that can be played on somebody other than yourself. And if Rick is trying to make a big move, this is his big flashy move to make, because nobody else can do it. So I think it added an interesting dynamic.
TVLINE | Who would’ve been your ideal Final 3 had you made it deeper into the game?
Man, you tell me. At this point in the show, I was very worried. I was positioning myself to be a no-vote finalist, that I was going to get taken to the end, and I didn’t really see, necessarily, the most realistic path to winning for myself. If the plan against Cirie worked, maybe that builds up some win equity for me, given the fact that Cirie was so closely ingrained with so many people on the cast, but I remember thinking to myself, “You just have to judge how the jury is feeling. It’s not necessarily about how you feel.” There’s still so much game left to play. You still don’t know everybody who’s on the jury, but at this point in the show, if I had not been voted off, I remember thinking to myself, I wasn’t sure if Joe and Rizo necessarily had the most respect. Obviously, I was unaware of a lot of what was going on behind the scenes with both of those players. They had their own relationships, own alliances that were blind to me at the time. But, based off of what limited information I knew at the time, I remember thinking to myself, maybe that combination. I have a more differentiated game vs. them.
But obviously watching it back, especially Rizo, for instance, has a lot more going on, I think, than the impression was at the time. But yeah, old school players, it’s a hard pitch to be a new era person arguing for why somebody like Coach should give you their vote, right?
TVLINE | I asked you after “45” if you’d ever play again and you were like, “Nope, I’m done. I’m good!” but here you are. So I’m going to ask you again! Will we see Emily Flippen in Fiji for a third go at the million?
Yeah, maybe I live at 500 Hypocrite Hill in Fiji or whatever. I was lying to myself, not just everybody else, I swear. I said this [after] “45” and I know that I ended up doing the exact opposite, but I’m genuinely happy I tried on “50.” I’m so thankful to have gotten the opportunity. It was a once in a lifetime experience, but I think I want to keep it that. I don’t really have an interest in playing again, and I don’t think that the audience necessarily wants to see me do the exact same thing again, which is just likely what I would do, which is put my foot in my mouth, be a total absolute chaotic mess, blow up a bunch of people’s games. That’s not fun, for me, for anybody else. So I’m flattered I got the opportunity, but I think I will spare the audience from having to witness the absolute train wreck that would be a third season for me. Not that I would even be asked, but no, I’m good.
