'Survivor' villain Courtney Yates: 'Me and Coach got our own show' at Ponderosa

The Danielle-Parvati-Russell alliance voted Courtney Yates out of "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains." Courtney tells Zap2it that she was playing for Todd Herzog, that she didn't fall for Russell's schtick and that she and Coach have a spin-off show back at the Ponderosa.

Why did you decide to do "Survivor" again?
Courtney: I got love for everyone at "Survivor," it was an honor to be asked. I thought about it very carefully and I finally though, "I can do this!" I was playing for two people, myself and for Todd from "Survivor:China." He's my bestie, we've been friends ever since we went on the show. He loves "Survivor" more than anything, so it was a tribute to him.

On being a Villain:
Courtney: I wasn't surprised to be a Villain. At first, I was didn't think I had done enough to warrant that, but then I thought about it. If you're a woman on a TV show who has more to say than  [puts on a high-pitched voice] "What a great idea, I love it," then you're a villain. I'm never going to be as sweet and lovable as the Heroes ladies, but I wouldn't want to be either, so that's fine.

On the way the Villains tribe split:
Courtney: In the beginning, it was six against four and it was Rob, Russell, me, Sandra, Parvati and Danielle but then the boys started trying to dominate and it turned into gang warfare. Everything kept changing because the nature of the game changes challenge to challenge and we kept winning, so by the time we did get around to voting people off that there was pent-up hatred between the boys. The girls all got along really well. It was weird, it was Rob vs Russell and you had to pick a side or get the hell out of the way.

What was Russell like, as the new kid nobody knew?
Courtney: Russell is sort of standoffish with me. He ran right on up to Parvati and she started cuddling up with this 5'1 creepy dude and that made a few heads scratch, but whatever. He was just sort of there. There were a lot of people to keep track of, but he'd already lived in our camp so he had all these hidey-holes and he was always running off. His strategy is to get people paranoid so I was like, "Aren't you cute, why don't you run along," like Rob Mariano is going to be targeting me first. I'm not a threat. He realized it's not going to work on me. He's a great player, you gotta take your hat off to Russell, he's the new generation.

Who were you rooting for once you got voted off?
Courtney: Obviously Sandra was the rice to my beans but I also have much respect for Parvati. She's a really great player. She's a little bit in Russell's shadow, though. On the flip side, I gotta have love for Amanda, I gotta serve it up for my ladies.

What was it like back at Ponderosa with Coach?
Courtney: Ponderosa was amazing. I didn't get to go in China, so I was like this is so much fun. I was like, "Oh Coach, we're going to have so many adventures together!" It was hilarious to have me and the Dragon Slayer shacking up like a vacationing couple. It was such a weird experience, we had such a fun time. It sucks to get kicked out but if you're gonna be a loser you may as well have a fun time with it. We got into all sorts of crazy adventures, you'll have to check out the Ponderosa videos. They're only gonna get better and better.

Do you have any messages for your fans?
Courtney: I think I've got a lot of fringe fans. There are the people who are like, "Rupert's so awesome!" but then there are a few people who are like, "What about Sandra and Courtney, they're really funny too!" [laughs] I'm glad I could speak to a different audience than what is specifically catered to, so thank you to everyone who has been really nice to me. Don't be sad that I'm not on the show anymore, be glad that me and Coach got our own show, it's like a spin-off.

The Ponderosa videos Courtney speaks of are at the CBS official "Survivor" website and we can assure you, they are amusing.


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Photo credit: CBS