Both 'Survivor' tribes discharge members

AP Wire | 03/17/2005 | Both 'Survivor' tribes discharge members

NEW YORK - Tribal council was crowded on the latest "Survivor: Palau."

As the winner of the challenge, the starving Koror tribe was granted the right to feast on beef stew while observing Ulong's tribal council fuming, but they also had to vote off one of their own. Koror dismissed lawyer Willard Smith, while perpetual loser Ulong said bottoms up to bartender Angie Jakusz after a tie with Bobby Jon Drinkard required a second vote.

"I don't blame them," Smith told The Associated Press on Thursday. "If I would've been them, I would've killed me in my sleep around day four or five and used me for shark bait because physically I just wasn't there."

Upon his ousting, Smith turned back to his tribe and declared, "Stay strong. Stick to the plan. Finish them off." The 57-year-old told the AP his comment wasn't merely encouragement, it was a strategy to help his tribal allies merge.

"That was my attempt to give Coby some cover," said Smith. "That little thing at the end was just to try to keep in the back of Tom's mind the idea that he should stick to his all-Koror plan and that would give Coby, Caryn and Janu a chance to switch over to the other side."

Even more strategic was Smith's plan to be cast on the CBS reality show. He grew a beard, shaved his head, pierced his ears, bulked up and presented a "borderline psychopath" persona to casting directors.

"I didn't lie about anything in my biography or any information I provided," Smith said. "This is television. I created a character. They've had an entire platoon of failed starlets and wannabe actors audition for the show, but the finest acting I've ever seen is me in the audition process."

Jakusz, 24, was teary-eyed at her final tribal council. Besides losing every immunity challenge, Jakusz and the Ulong tribe had to suffer through yet another expulsion.

"It was just frustrating after losing so many times," she said. "It just felt like we got repeatedly kicked."

Jakusz and her tribe assumed Ibrehem Rahman would be voted off because he lost the challenge for the team, but there was no "backup plan" when host Jeff Probst revealed the Koror tribe would grant one Ulong tribe member immunity, which they assigned to Rahman.

"They don't really show it, but me, James and Stephenie all had an alliance against Bobby Jon and Ibrehem because we assumed that Bobby Jon and Ibrehem had an alliance," said Jakusz.

The tattooed Jakusz, who "didn't expect there to be so many models" on the island, blames a lack of communication - not leadership - for the tribe's losing streak.

"Jeff Probst was always like, `You don't have a leader. You don't have a leader,'" said Jakusz. "After what happened with Jolanda, nobody wanted to be the leader. The first person who tries to be the leader gets voted off because she's bossy. You think anybody wants to step up after that? No way!"