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Christian Hubicki‘s journey on Survivor 50 was like no other. He started fire without flint, pooped his pants, found a Billie Eilish boomerang idol, helped Rick Devens hide a fake idol at tribal council, voted out former ally Mike White, delivered endless confessionals, and ultimately fell prey to a new twist created by none other than Jimmy Fallon. It’s that last topic that caused the fan-favorite to become “rage-fueled” in his final moments on the show.
Read on for our full exit interview with Christian, in which the Survivor: David vs. Goliath alum dives into all of his best and worst moments on Season 50. He also gives us an update on where things stand with Mike.
Gold Derby: You were voted out in part because of a twist brought about by Jimmy Fallon. That leads me to my first question: How great is Stephen Colbert?
Christian Hubicki: [Laughs] Actually, one of my robots was featured on Stephen Colbert in the earliest days of his show. You can briefly see me on a video clip of my PhD dissertation robot our laboratory worked on. So, you know, Stephen and I, we go back.
You did say in the episode that you’re looking forward to an apology from Mr. Fallon. Can you give us an update?
Christian: It’s still very early in the day, so I don’t know. It’s all just happened, and is so fresh. I’m trying to arrange a mediator for our meeting as we talk, so hopefully this all will come together. I believe in you, Jimmy! [Editor’s note: after this interview took place, Christian was confirmed as a guest on Fallon’s Tonight Show for Thursday evening.]
You are the puzzle king, so when you went on the barge and saw the puzzle, did you think right away, “I’ve got this”?
Christian: Oh, no. There are lots of different kinds of puzzles. One of the reasons I thought to go on this journey is because I didn’t think it would be a jigsaw puzzle. Those ones are actually tricky. Kamilla [Karthigesu] and Chrissy [Hofbeck] are excellent at these. I can panic, and I don’t do it as fast as them, for sure. I think in the middle, I panicked a bit. I locked in too much on one piece, and that wasted too much time.
What did you think of the cinematography of the camera under the water and catching the puzzle floating down?
Christian: The cinematography on the show, period, is beautiful. There’s a scene of me under a hammock, talking to someone that they will catch. How they get these shots is incredible. I’ve always had such respect for Survivor‘s production quality.
You are the first person in Survivor history to vote for themselves. If you couldn’t win the show, are you at least happy that you made history in some way?
Christian: I don’t tend to count these sorts of things as, like, “Oh, I’m the first in history to do this.” That’s not generally how I view my times on the show. What I love to view it through is just the sheer ebbs and flows of the feeling of playing. I guess, technically, I voted for every single person who went home at my tribal councils, including myself. So there’s that, if you want a factoid.
Do you have any regrets about telling Cirie Fields your plans to vote out He Who Shall Not Be Named [Ozzy Lusth]? It seems like she’s running the show over there.
Christian: Absolutely, I do wish I did not tell her that. Far and away, if I can look at something that was a clear mistake that I made in the game, it’s that. I seriously look at that as like, “Oh my gosh, that was a turning point for me.” That’s my view on it, at least. Not that people weren’t coming for me — I know Jonathan was. But I think that Cirie pivoting on me was literally pivotal for my going home. She’s got a way of being subtle. I wanted to go very deep with Cirie because someone like me is often targeted near the end … but Cirie is also a person that could be targeted.
One of your biggest moves this year was getting out Mike White, your old buddy from David vs. Goliath. Where do you and Mike stand today?
Christian: The only reason I got rid of anyone from the David vs. Goliath three is because I was fearful of what that would look like at the merge for me strategically. I felt I was dead meat with the trio. As soon as I voted off Mike, I knew he would probably be hurt by this. So, as soon as I got home, I sent him an overly long voice message on all the reasons that I did what I did. At some point, I hope that he will respond or at least listen to it, if he hasn’t already. I’m still waiting for that, but I’m hopeful for that day.
But I certainly understand why he would be hurt. One of the things I said in my message is that I did it for purely strategy reasons and not anything else. It was just a bad situation at that swap, and I had to get out of it somehow. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that it got rid of him, and it would hurt him. I know he’s got a lot of wonderful things going on in his life, and I wish him well with all his success. Despite all of that, he loves Survivor. He wanted to go on this show again, and I was taking that away from him. I’m hopeful one day we can talk again. I have nothing but respect for the guy.
Jimmy Fallon is not the only celebrity that screwed you over. You found an idol, but you couldn’t use it because of Billie Eilish. Anything you’d like to say to Billie, if she’s watching?
Christian: Billie, we’re cool! It’s understandable. It’s all right. You have this fun celebrity twist idea, but I don’t pretend that Jimmy Fallon or Billie Eilish are going to suggest something that Survivor is not gonna want. Everyone’s OK with what’s being put in there, and it’s not like I expect Billie to take time out of writing her songs to run some computer simulations as to whether or not this is a good idol twist or not. You try to have some empathy for these celebrities, because they’re people, too.
Only 10 players remain on the island. Tune in every Wednesday on CBS to see who’s voted out next on Survivor 50.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
