Survivor star blindsided in 10 mins

BY CHRIS SCHULZ

EXCLUSIVE: Erik Cardona says his elimination from Survivor: Samoa was organised just 10 minutes before his tribe was due to go to tribal council.

A stunned Cardona appeared to be in shock after spending most of tribal council taunting the four remaining members of the former Foa Foa tribe and saying they would be picked off one-by-one by the superior eight-strong Galu.

His elimination was made worse because Cardona possessed - but didn't play - a hidden immunity idol that would have sent Jaison Robinson home and secured his position in the game for another week.

Cardona, a 28-year-old Ontario bartender, told Stuff.co.nz his plans to eliminate Galu's Monica Padilla collapsed just 10 minutes before the tribe was due to leave for tribal council.

"I had just walked down the beach for 10 minutes and I came back and the entire plan had been thought up, put into place and implemented," he said.

"It was a true blindside in the sense that not only did I not see it coming, it didn't even exist until (just before) we went to tribal council. I have never been part of anything that unravelled so fast."

He slammed the remaining competitors for not telling him he was going home.

"I would have appreciated it if someone had given me the respect to say, 'Hey bud, I know this sucks, this is what's happening, it was great to have you out here, see you at the end'.

"That's all I would have wanted. Look me in the eye and tell me what's going down, and let me figure out how to work that out."

He regretted making so many strong statements about Foa Foa's members during tribal council.

"Foa Foa were the enemy. I had a team of eight people that we worked very hard to establish (so) I was very brash, very cocky and confident. I wanted to smash them out and finish the job that we started.

"Unfortunately, when I started talking trash my tribe didn't have my back. If I knew that my tribe was not going to have my back, I would have absolutely kept my mouth shut."

He said Foa Foa's Natalie White orchestrated his elimination.

"That's the frustrating part because this whole plan to blindside me was an idea that started from the enemy. You don't listen to the enemy. You don't take the opposition's advice, right?

"Am I taking crazy pills or something?"

Cardona didn't play his immunity idol because he wanted to save it for the future.

"At that point I couldn't rely on a hidden immunity idol to keep myself in the game. If they really think you're a threat or they don't trust you they are going to rally against you.

"I was hoping and banking on the fact that I had enough loyalty and trust with my own tribe that I wouldn't have needed it at that time."

Survivor: Samoa screens on TV3 at 7.30pm every Thursday night. Stuff.co.nz will interview every contestant as they are eliminated.

* Did Erik deserve to be eliminated? Watch the footage then post your comments below.

- © Fairfax NZ News