Survivor victim fuels spat with host

STUFF.CO.NZ ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

ELIMINATED: Survivor: China contestant Erik Huffman is angry at host Jeff Probst for calling him a 'lousy player'.

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Survivor: China victim and self-proclaimed virgin Erik Huffman has fuelled a spat with Jeff Probst after the show's long-running host labelled him a "lousy player".

In an interview with Reality TV World, Probst said Huffman was a "lousy Survivor player" who had "no chance of winning this game".

But Huffman, a 26-year-old Nashville musician who was eliminated after failing to persuade lunch lady Denise Martin to switch alliances, said he was angry at Probst's comments and wanted him to justify them.

"I was a little pissed when I first read that because I didn't think he had the grounds to say I was a lousy player," he said.

"Really, it's a matter of opinion. I'm curious to know if he considers everyone who got voted out before me a lousy player as well."

Huffman said he did all he could to stay on the show, including a last-minute attempt to make Martin switch alliances.

"She (Martin) never said ‘I'll vote for you and Peih-Gee' but I think we had convinced her of her position in the other tribe. I guess she just got spooked at the end and got scared of jumping ship."

Huffman, who hadn't seen Survivor before finding out he was on the show, said he struggling with the lack of food.

"It was much harder than I could have ever imagined. We didn't eat for the first four days, the challenges were brutal and we had no energy to put back in our bodies, so mentally it makes you go crazy. You're trying to strategise but you have no energy.

His decision to out himself as a virgin to fellow contestant Jaime wasn't part of a strategy, Huffman, said, and the couple are still good friends.

"I wasn't really strategising at that point in the game. It was just a product of she and I connecting and getting really close. I guess I just felt comfortable enough and trusted her enough that it kind of came up in conversation and I just went with it and I didn't think twice about it.

"I don't think it hurt me at all, Jaime and I are still really close and so I feel for whatever reason we connected out there and I really trusted her. It's strange that it was on TV. It's a little odd but at the same time it's ‘oh well'.

"We've kept in touch, she's really cool (and) we've really got a lot in common, we really hit it off. Hopefully we'll maintain contact for a really long time.

Erik said he couldn't pick a winner, but he hoped Todd didn't take home the $US1 million prize.

* Survivor: China screens on TV3 on Thursday nights.

- © Fairfax NZ News