Cranky Castoff to Tribe: "Let Me Break Your Toes and See How Easy It Is to Get Along" in Survivor

Former fan favorite defends boorish behavior and insists Russell is an "evil, arrogant liar"

With only a few days left in the game, the remaining Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Castaways finally have some peace and quiet.

The final five are too wily to let personality influence their vote, but no one seemed sorry to see the (former?) fan favorite's torch snuffed, either...

Q&A With Rupert Boneham

Who do you think is going to win fan favorite this year?
The same way that I won the first time in Survivor, I'm hoping that all the fans are out there [voting] for me. I would love to be able to take another check home and give it away in my mentoring program.

Do you think fans are viewing you differently this season?
You remember that first day when you saw me drop to my knees and tell the medical staff that my toe was broken? It was not just one broken bone in one toe, it was two broken toes in one toe and a broken bone in the toe they were taping it off to. What is different about me this time? I am going through so much pain every day, it's hard to keep control of my anger sometimes, and I get a little short-tempered.

I heard from other Castaways that you were pretty grumpy around camp.
But I tell them, "Let me break your toes and see how easy it is to get along in this game."

How do you respond to Stephenie and Tom, who say they were disappointed by your behavior and ego?
Like I say in my mentoring program, sometimes you say something bad about others to make yourself feel better. I would tell Tom, "You're getting mad at James for being a bully at the same time you're trying to bully me into siding with you." To Stephenie I'd say, "You're getting mad at all of us for losing a challenge instead of looking at yourself and what your performance was in the challenge." They did not like having a mentor analyze what they had to say. Honestly, they didn't like having to look at themselves and what they were doing.

Why do you think Colby stayed longer than you?
Colby is very good at the social side of the game, especially with the females. He's young, cute and single. I'm old and married. If Colby does it right, he might even be able to outlast Russell...I know if I sat down with Russell on one side and Colby on the other, I would leave with a million dollars

This may have just been the editing, but you seemed to go on a wild wood-chopping rampage on your last night.
I really was chopping wood all night long; I'd have to gather wood for days. It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to chop up an entire pile of wood. [No one ever] said to me, "Don't make noise at night." The only thing said to me was, "Oh, Rupert, thanks for keeping the fire going. Oh, Rupert, thanks for keeping us warm at night. Oh, Rupert, thanks for having it so we can cook in the morning." I think Jerri just needed somebody to complain about. I honestly don't think too many people got too upset with having fire. One of those benefits of having me on your tribe is I keep a fire burning 24 hours a day.

Was Russell doing much work around camp?
Besides being one of the most manipulative and arrogant people I've ever met, Russell is also pretty darn lazy. He never went out and gathered wood. He never went out and gathered food. He never went out fishing with me. That man would sit and try to intimidate and manipulate every day. That was his going to work.

Do you think he was just more comfortable with his position rather than lazy?
I don't want to think bad about anybody, and I'd like to think that yes, he knew he wasn't going anywhere, he knew I would do all the work, he knew things are gonna be OK if he sits there and still does nothing...I stood up to Russell and tried to show [the tribe] the guy is evil. The guy is arrogant and the guy is a liar. I call 'em how I see 'em.

Is there one person in particular you fault on the Heroes tribe for the Villains' majority?
The person who always wins Survivor is not always the best Survivor. They might be the luckiest Survivor. But there are so many others things out there that are out of your control, it's hard to say this is why I lost or I won.