When the cast for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans was announced, it would be a huge understatement to say that the show's devoted fans had big reactions to who was chosen. For example, viewers were blown away that, even though the cast was going to be smaller, the season had more competitors than the show had ever previously had at the same time. On top of that, many observers were shocked by how many recent players were chosen to play during the upcoming landmark season.
At first glance, it may seem like the new school players have a major advantage since so many of them have competed with some of Survivor 50's other competitors. For example, the upcoming season's cast features three Survivor 46 veterans, Charlie Davis, Tiffany Nicole Ervin, and Quintavius 'Q' Burdette. However, based on what was once revealed about Tiffany and Q's relationship, them playing together again may not be an advantage at all.
Quintavius 'Q' Burdette made Tiffany Nicole Ervin "extremely frustrated"
During Survivor 46, Tiffany Nicole Ervin and Quintavius 'Q' Burdette started the game on the same tribe. While they sometimes seemed to be on the same page, it was also obvious that there was regular strife in their relationship. After fans saw Tiffany get voted out of the game, she revealed just how bothered she was by a specific aspect of competing with Q.
In May 2024, Tiffany was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly about her Survivor 46 experience. EW asked Tiffany if she was upset that Q lasted longer than her in the game since he asked to be voted out earlier in the game, claiming he needed to fall on his own sword after messing up. In response, Tiffany revealed she was "extremely frustrated" that she was voted out before Q. She also stated that even though Q would act like he never actually wanted to exit the game, she didn't believe that.
"Oh my gosh. I don't even know how to describe the level of frustration because more than anything, I'm like, 'You don't even want to be here. You've been trying to quit since Yanu days.' And sometimes he'll make it seem like this facade like, 'Oh, it's just to test everybody.' How many times do you need to test us? Please! It was extremely frustrating for me."Tiffany Nicole Ervin
While Tiffany's extreme level of frustration with the situation comes across in that quote alone, that wasn't the end of what she had to say about Q outlasting her during Survivor 46. While continuing to speak to EW, Tiffany stated that she believed Q only lasted as long as he did because other players were dragging him along. Tiffany also repeatedly called Q a "nuisance."
"But then at some point I kind of came to the realization — of course, this is my own opinion — but I realized I think he was just getting dragged along for votes. This is something that I said really early on in the game, and of course, this is me breaking my own Survivor rule: People would rather deal with a nuisance than a threat. In that moment, I did not realize that I was the threat and Q was the nuisance. People wanted to keep the nuisance and get rid of the threat. So what are you going to do?"
In the past, Survivor players who didn't along when they played together the first time have been able to put that aside and team up when they returned together. As a result, it is still entirely possible that Q and Tiffany could team up during Survivor 50. Still, given Tiffany's 2024 comments about Q, it seems very likely that working with Q could be a Herculean effort in patience for her if they become Survivor 50 tribemates.