Survivor Philippines: The Yak Chats with Roxanne “Roxy” Morris

Roxanne “Roxy” Morris, the 28 year old seminary student from Brooklyn, New York, was the second castaway to get her torch snuffed on Survivor Philippines after her Matsing tribe voted her out at tribal council on this weeks episode of Survivor. It was the second loss in a row for the Matsing tribe. We got to sit in on a media call with Roxy who gave us a little insight into who she was and how it all went down.

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The Yak: Roxy, how did you come to be on Survivor? Are you a fan? Was this your first attempt to be on the show?
Roxy: Honestly there is a cousins cousin of mine who is a huge fanatic of the show. He tries out every year and is really excited about it. He knows every single player and has watched every season. He would talk to me about it but I would talk to him about what I talk to people about which is going to church, stuff like that. He said, you know if you want something you always get it. He said I think you’d be a good player on Survivor. I said “really?” So I made a 45 second video and submitted it online and got called the same day.

What type of conversations did you have with Russell prior to going to tribal, did you think he was on your side?
Roxy:: Absolutely, I was guessing, I was trusting as much as I can. Even after watching the episode, he made his best effort. He went up to Denise right before tribal and said “she’s saying some stuff, she’s making good points.” I think Denise’s decision to vote against me was just a personal decision. When the minds made up, it’s made up. I don’t think it was a matter of thinking Angie was tougher than I or anything like that. I really think that Russell was on my side but you don’t want to be on the side that has 2 against the side that has 3 so it was kind of like he was bullied to vote against me. I still believe that at that particular time he was on my side.

What value does Angie bring to the tribe?
Roxy: Zero, none. She doesn’t add any value to the tribe. She brings Malcolm some kind of comfort but that’s about it.

What happened to the plan to send Russell home after last week?
Roxy: If Zane would have shown a inkling that he wanted to be there he would not have gone home. You cannot get rid of all the men on your tribe. We wanted to keep Zane but he showed that he can’t do the game of Survivor at all, he couldn’t even fake it. Nobody wants to lose another guy, that’s just what it is. I think people would prefer to lose a woman when you’re thinking of the physical challenges. Russell being a man is one of the few things that saved him. Even though he may not be as strong as he looks.

Is there anything else that you could have done to save yourself?
Roxy: I knew that it was between Angie and myself. Half of this game is strategy and the other half is the way the chips fall.
For me, I always wholeheartedly believe that I was going to stay in this game as long as Jesus wanted me to and if he wanted me out second or it was my exit time, I was at peace with that long before going to tribal council. I think I pulled out the best possible “save myself” tactic at the very end and tribal showed it. I seemed very down because of the rain but I’m sorry at tribal I held my own and I did not go down as some quiet little unsure person. I went down stating my claim and saying my piece and I will stand by that.

Roxy of Matsing Tribe

The Yak: During the challenge Russell kept his promise from the week before to not dictate who was going to do what. He asked Angie who had commented that she ran track in High School if she would run twice and she said she couldn’t. He then asked you and you told him that you had not drunk as much water as the others. Do you think if you had put forth a stronger effort you would have showed your strength? Did your tribe ever even discuss who was good at what with the exception of people saying they weren’t good at puzzles?

Roxy: In terms of strategizing absolutely not. My tribe was so unhealthily obsessed with building a little condo for themselves on the island, they didn’t even address the fact that we just lost a challenge. They get back and they awkwardly say “Oh, I’m going to get wood, I’m going to get water. They are just interested in building a little empire on this island and never address the fact that “Hello?, we just lost a challenge!, let’s talk about that.” That was my issue, their focus was in the wrong place and that’s why I talked about camp life at tribal. It shouldn’t be their focus.
As far as me saying I didn’t drink enough water. Number one, we’re stuck on an island, we’re not drinking a lot of water. I particularly used that excuse at that time and looked Russell in his eyes because one, he got out of the the game because of dehydration so I knew if I said that, he was not going to pick me to run twice. The reason I didn’t want to do the two runs is because I wanted to give Angie a platform to fall on her face. I wanted to give her an opportunity to showcase that she was weak. Just in case we had to go to tribal council, I knew that her and I would be on the chopping block and I knew that was something that someone could not use against me, that she was stronger than me. I don’t care what she said about running track in High school. I wanted to show that this girl (Angie) is not really able to play this game, physically. I proved myself to be correct because after she ran she fell to the floor. In the first couple of seconds of her running, she had already slowed down, they were coming in third picking up the puzzle pieces in the first leg. That was my strategy behind saying that.

The Yak: Was anyone offended when after losing the challenge Russell said the tribe needs to get their heads out of their ass?
Roxy: I know Russell, that’s just who he is. You probably could have yelled “fire” at that point and no one would have paid attention. We weren’t really listening to Russell. At that point everyone was just thinking, who’s going home?

How did you take away the portrayal of your religious beliefs? Last night we saw you sitting on the beach talking to God one on one, and even in a different language. Denise made a comment.
Roxy: I mean I pray. If it’s a question about how do I pray? or when do I pray? I’m stuck on an island and when you start to feel like you have no super strong allies, God’s always there and always there for you. I hope that’s what people thought. If Denise is spooked out by me speaking in tongues, she wouldn’t be the first person in the world to be feeling weird about that, but that’s understandable as well. People are going to say things are weird, but what’s weird to one person is normal to another. Denise is from Iowa so I don’t know how much exposure she has to different types of anything. I’m from an International city such as New York so differences are normal to me.

Did you recognize either of the celebrities in the game?
Roxy: I didn’t recognize the baseball player. However every time I looked at Lisa I felt a familiarity when I looked at her but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

The Yak: Would you return to play Survivor again?
Roxy: Absolutely. I think the game is very challenging. They make it look so much easier than it really is. I definitely think that it’s a game that every person who calls themselves a Christian could have an opportunity to play.

The Yak: Thanks for the chat, Roxy. The Yak wishes you the best!