Survivor 49 is now fully underway, and as seen in the latest episode, the players' futures are far from certain. Throughout the first three episodes, the original Kele tribe was decimated entirely, and only two players managed to survive the first phase of the game.
In episode 4, a desperately needed tribe swap occurred, and the remaining fourteen players were divided into two whole new tribes. The Uli (red) tribe was no more, and everyone else got split between the new Hina and Kele tribes.
Matt disses two-time Survivor winner Sandra Diaz-Twine at Tribal Council
At the immunity challenge, the new Kele tribe managed to grab their first win of the season, giving immunity to their members and a flint for the first time as well. Meanwhile, the Hina tribe headed towards Tribal Council, where contestant Matt Williams was the fifth person eliminated from the game.
Matt wasn't a pivotal player throughout his stay at Fiji, but he demonstrated a decent social game while at the OG Hina tribe. Once the swap happened, however, Matt went towards the bottom of the totem pole and was an outsider (alongside Jason Treul) to the core alliance consisting of four former Uli members. While Matt and Jason tried to flip the game, their efforts were in vain as Matt ultimately ended up going home in a 4-2-1 vote.
During his last moments on the island, Matt caused a stir when he expressed dislike for a particular way to play the game. More specifically, he called out the first two-time Survivor winner, Sandra Diaz-Twine's strategy, and how he didn't like how Sandra played.
"I hate how Sandra played the game, but I'm going to say it," Matt said to Nate Moore, as Matt decided to play the 'anyone but me' strategy, which Sandra used throughout her Survivor seasons, which as previously mentioned, worked out exceptionally well for her as it led to her being the first person in Survivor worldwide history to win twice. In addition, Sandra is considered one of the Survivor greats and is often included in people's Survivor Mount Rushmore due to her legacy.
Matt's apology
Upon reflection, Matt has owned up to his comments and mentioned during his exit press to TV Insider:
"Sandra, I apologize for thinking that what you were doing was not playing Survivor. When you're there in the moment, sometimes that's absolutely playing Survivor."
Matt explained that he was trying to play a loyal game and stay "OG Hina strong," which led him to target Nate over Jason. In desperation, he uttered these words to try to survive another day in the game. While it's fair for Matt to have tried his best to have stayed, it's an entirely different thing to use a highly well-regarded player such as Sandra and her iconic strategy as a blueprint, while being dismissive in the same breath.
The Queen responds
For her part, Sandra didn't hesitate to retaliate and defend herself.
On her Instagram page, Sandra uploaded a photo of Matt at his only and last Tribal Council with Matt's words on it and Sandra's own touch of "Girl, bye. Queen stays queen."
In addition, the photo had the following caption:
"Spoiler alert!! Here I am having a blast in Hawaii. Enjoying my husband's birthday week. When [Carolyn Wiger from Survivor 44] notifies me that I'm being talked about on episode 4 of season 49. All I'm gonna say is that my strategy has paid dividends not once but twice you better ask somebody."
Also, Sandra later reposted another photo, this time by the @dropyourbuffspod account, where she reinstates her former statement.
That photo also hilariously perfectly encapsulated Sandra's spirited words alongside a throwback to the third episode of Survivor 49, "Put your hand in the cage, you're gonna get bit."
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, obviously. However, I thoroughly concur with the statement that if you're going to go against a person who has two wins, six seasons, an Easter egg-sized statue of herself, and an undeniable Survivor legacy under her belt, you better not miss. Adios.