‘Survivor 49’s Matt Williams says he’s ‘eating crow’
You got to get lucky a couple of times uh to win this game. And and uh that was the opposite of getting lucky. I I looked around at the the buff everybody had and I thought, “Oh, this this might not end well for me.” Yeah. It was a a bad swap. I was on the wrong end of things. Was there a specific makeup that you were hoping to get just between the people you were with originally and the new people? Like what was your ideal draw there? You know what? I I didn’t think about it. And I don’t know why because we all knew that a shakeup was coming. When you’ve got one tribe down to two members, we we all knew something was something was going to happen. And I didn’t sit down and think, well, this would be this would be great and this would be bad. I I just thought, great, something’s about to happen because up to that point, you winning every challenge seems like the best way you could possibly uh you know, play Survivor. But it got to a point that it’s like I don’t feel like I’m playing Survivor and and so it was just exciting to know that something was going to happen and and and all of a sudden I thought that maybe this isn’t so exciting when I looked at the the make like oh the game has really begun now. Absolutely. Yeah. I want to talk about I’m going into tribal. Did you think that uh getting out Nate was going to come to fruition and if so what were the details of that that you thought was You know, it was I absolutely knew it was a long shot. I I thought I’m not going to just roll over, but the obvious move here is they’re going to get they’re going to take out a heina. It’s me or it’s Jason. And you know, I I I what can I do? How can I play this? And I immediately ruled out campaigning against Jason. I I I grew to love the guy. That’s not how I’m going to play. It’s not how I’m going to go out. I’m not going to I’m not going to say, “Hey, let’s all write down Jason’s name.” Yeah. I thought I’ll give them I’ll give them my my reasons to keep me around. And I’m going to I’m going to, you know, throw this Hail Mary pass. I I was friendly with Joan. They they they didn’t justify our relationship with the edit. Um I had the the journey with Joan and Jake and we talked and we we basically made an alliance. We’re going to work together after the the merge. that never made the cut. Um, and then the morning of uh my tribal, Joan and I spent two hours together out on the boat fishing and talking and I really thought I could flip him. I thought, “Dude, you’re on the bottom. This is your chance to make a move.” I I really thought there was a chance there was a possibility and I thought e even though it’s an an absolute maybe 5% let’s just say a 5% chance it’s something and I’m just going to go this direction and this is going to be my path forward and if it does work it’ll be absolutely amazing and obviously uh I’m here they’re still out there things didn’t go my way but it it it Some sometimes you don’t have a lot to work with in this game and I I always in a in a tough spot. I I did what I could and didn’t work out for me. You said you trusted Jawan. So what was your reaction to seeing that he completely ratted you out to the rest of the former, you know, red tribe. Yeah. You know, they did a good job smoke screening me. Um I I thought honestly I thought it’s a bad move for Jo. You know, he’s in a he’s in a fantastic spot. it’s too early to make a big move like this. Um, so I wasn’t surprised. I I thought I thought, you know, if it does work, it it’s it’s going to be a crazy thing. But I I completely understand Jawan’s uh thought process. He was out collecting information, bringing it back to his tribe. Uh he did a good job smoking me on it. I thought that there was a chance that he he uh he would flip. Um, so no, I wasn’t surprised. I was kind of bummed, but yeah, I I would have done what Joan did. You know, he he played it smart. It was a little early to do anything that crazy unless he unless he, you know, was absolutely offended by by somebody and he wasn’t. He was, you know, they got along enough that it was too hard to kind of break them up. you know, they were too tight. Yeah. Yeah. Um, go ahead. What was your reaction to Nate was saying that, you know, you were dead to him. He didn’t seem to really like you a lot towards the end by the time tribal was happening. What What was your reaction to that? Did it feel personal or was it not personal? You know, it’s Yeah. playing a game. You know, the the truth is in a different world, in a different uh swap, I would have loved to work with Nate. I I think I think we uh would have had that old guy dynamic and we could have we could have come together and and really done some stuff and my uh I I can see where where he’s like, you know what, you’re coming for me. That’s not going to end well for you. I’ve got the numbers. I’m in control here. And he was and he did and I’m out and he’s still there. Um but yeah, it’s survivor. Yeah, it’s that’s the game. you got you got to take a swing at somebody at some point. And I I I kind of viewed him as the guy in charge over at Ulie. And my pitch to Jason was or I’m sorry, not Jason, uh Jawan was, look, you’re on the bottom. You want to you want to change your situation? Let’s take out who’s on top. And this this is the move. This is a big move and it’s going to be your move and it’s going to be crazy amazing. And I thought I could sell him on it. Well, I hoped I could sell him on it, but I I knew going into it it was going to be a tough sell. And he did he did what was right for his game at the time. Absolutely. Absolutely. Why not play your shot in the dark? Was that something that you were considering seriously or no? You know, I I I considered it briefly and I, you know, another thing that didn’t really come through in the edit was Jason, Sophie, Joan, and myself were all in cahoots. We were all supposed to write down Nate and you know Jawan says, “I’m on board. I’m gonna do it. Let’s let’s do it.” So, as as we talked throughout the day, I told Sophie and Jason, “Look, it’s going to happen. Just play it cool. Write down Nate. Just pretend you’re on the pretend you’re worried and we’re going to write down Nate.” And they’re like, “Let’s do it. Yay.” And I thought, there’s there’s a chance that they’re they’re acting and they’re going to pull this off. And if everybody writes down Nate and then I play my shot in the dark and throw my boat in the garbage, I’m going to be the biggest schmuck in sur in survivor history. So I thought there’s no way I can play it just on the off chance that these guys come through and pull it together and I’m the guy who screws it up. I I would never recover from that. So yeah, it just kind of immediately became a not an option. All right. Yeah. Well, the way you put it that way, that definitely makes sense because then you have a three- three split if you don’t have a vote and then you’re you’re screwed there. You know, you’re screwed. Uh you got a little shady about Sandra. What how come you don’t have any love for the two-time winner? Explain yourself. You know, uh it’s so different when you’re out there. You know, I’m sitting home watch on TV. I watch Santa. I’m like, how is that a strategy? How could anyone go play Survivor and your your your strategy is anyone but me? And and then when you’re out there and your back’s against the wall and you Well, Nate said, “You were throwing these guys under the bus.” I said, “No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t campaigning against Jason or against Sophie.” I just said, “Anyone but me.” And I thought, you know, prior to going out on the island, I thought those words will never come out of my mouth. I I’m a I’m a smart guy. I’m going to come up with a strategy. I’m going to And there I am. Anyone but me. So, I bow down. I apologize, Sandra. You got it to work. I You got it to work twice. I couldn’t get it to work for one tribal. So, you you you got you know something I don’t, Sandra. And I Yeah, because some of social media some of social media was a little ticked off at you about the Sandra thing, but you are apologizing. So, that’s fair. Did you see some of the comments or No, no, I see. Somebody Somebody told me she was in Hawaii when she heard she Oh, yeah. talking about me. So yes, Sandra, you are the queen and I I am eating crow. Matt, what would have happened if original Hina went to tribal? How would that have looked? You know what I think initially if we went early? I think Jason was kind of the consensus like, yeah, this guy. But after a couple of days getting to know Jason, I was like, I’m never going to write his name down. He’s the coolest guy you’ll ever know. And I w I was in real tight with uh Stephen. Uh Stephen and I actually had an alliance that never made the the edit. We were the early birds and when we’d pass each other, we would go cheap cheap kind of a checking in. And uh and and that was legit. I’ve talked with Stephen since. He’s like, I was 100% in with that. and you know hated to see you go, but I I don’t feel like I would have been uh in danger had the original HEA 6 gone to tribal. Um I was the guy catching all the food, catching the crabs, the fish, the snails, building the fires, building the shelter. I I I don’t know how it how it would have played out, but I don’t feel like I would have been in danger had we gone to to tribal as the original Hen 6.
Before being voted off “Survivor 49” after a tribe swap, Matt Williams shaded two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine and said he dislikes her “anyone but me” strategy. After Williams’ comment caused a stir with fans online, Diaz-Twine, 51, caught wind of the drama and clapped back at Williams, 52, from her vacation in Hawaii.
Read more at https://nypost.com/2025/10/16/entertainment/survivor-49-star-matt-williams-explains-shading-sandra-diaz-twine/
#survivor49 #mattwilliams #sandradiaztwine
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