Krista Klumpp: the mediator in a short-lived ‘Survivor’ alliance
By Wade Kwon
She went from fearing a villain, to bonding with a villain, to being dragged down by said villain.
After 14 days, Fairhope native Krista Klumpp exited “Survivor: Redemption Island” in 15th place.
What went wrong? How did she come into such a controversial alliance? And what didn’t get shown on television?
The Columbia, S.C., pharmaceutical sales rep dished on her 2 weeks in Nicaragua during a conference call.
On aligning with Russell Hantz, the three-time notorious contestant: “I have a tattoo on my foot that says, ‘Saved by grace.’ And (Hantz) said, ‘I like your tattoo.’ And I was like, ‘I like yours.’ That’s where our conversation started and where we got to know each other.”
(Hantz has an arm tattoo that reads, “Keep Hope Alive.”)
Klumpp and Hantz shared some things in common, including Christian beliefs, a love of SEC football (he attended LSU, she was head cheerleader at Auburn) and being Southerners. She was drawn to this side that wasn’t shown on television.
But having seen his cutthroat moves in two previous “Survivor” seasons, she feared he would just unload on her at any moment. Instead, she connected with him personally, leading to their ill-fated alliance on Zapatera that included Stephanie Valencia.
On what she wish had been aired: “I did a lot of behind-the-scenes work for our alliance.
“Being an alliance with Stephanie and Russell, they’re such big personalities and so dramatic, (so the footage focused on them). I was a big part of a lot of our decisions that we made and a lot of the strategic conversations.
“I did a lot of mediating between Stephanie and Russell. Me being a mediator, me calming Stephanie and Russell down to not be so brash to the others is not as entertaining.”
On the Redemption Island duel with Matt Elrod: “I was doing really well staying focused, and I thought I was way ahead of Matt. I thought I had it by a long shot.
“To hear Jeff (Probst) say that Matt wins, it was like, ‘No way.’ I thought for sure that I had won it. It was over, very emotional for many reasons.”
On looking back at her alliance with Hantz: “I really feel like that was my only choice. None of the others were there to play the game like I wanted to.
“I knew I had to be aggressive from the beginning. I had to come in ready to play, and the only people ready to do that were Stephanie and Russell.
“When you’re approached by Russell to get in an alliance, I don’t believe there are many choices that you have.” (laughs)
“Survivor: Redemption Island” airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on on CBS 42.
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