Survivor 41: JD Robinson Reveals Biggest Mistake Before Elimination

Survivor 41 contestant JD Robinson recently revealed some of his largest errors in judgment that lead to his elimination from the competition. JD made a valiant effort on the show but ultimately his strategy to win the game marked the end of his time on Survivor 41. With a stressful game of alliances and betrayal behind him, JD has a positive outlook for the future.

Originally set to air in 2020 but delayed due to the ongoing global pandemic, Survivor 41 returned on September 22, 2021. The classic reality series announced a variety of changes to the competition this season, causing some fans to criticize Survivor 41. At 20 years old, JD is one of the youngest competitors this season. JD survived an elimination after beginning the game, trying to make connections with other players. Ultimately JD was unable to get through the next round of eliminations after suspicions about his allegiance began surfacing among contestants.

Post-elimination, JD had some time to reflect on the decisions he made on the show and where he may have gone wrong. He says that he miscalculated when it came to his expectations of his competitors. “I think I expected everyone to play similarly to me, and that was a huge mistake,” he tells Parade. “You can’t expect everyone to make the optimal move or not to be too vicious.” When it comes to players being “vicious,” JD believes Shan Smith and Ricard Foyé did just that. JD feels that Shan and Ricard were manipulative in their game strategy and “used [players] as their puppets. “JD adds that he feels Brad Reese and Genie Chen made the wrong move in veering away from his plan to “flip the game” on Shan and Ricard. He revealed that he spoke with Brad and Genie about his extra vote but that it was not shown on the show. While he says the extra vote was of some advantage to him, he made the wrong choice when attempting to give the vote to Genie and work with Shan. Despite his elimination, JD says he and Genie got along well. However, JD does admit he takes issue with some of what other contestants had to say about him, saying, “I don’t want to throw shade at anybody; that’s the last thing I want to do. Then again, they all threw shade on me in their confessionals, and I never said a bad thing about anyone.” 

Being eliminated from a competition is cause for sore feelings for anyone, but the sting of being eliminated from Survivor 41 may have been a bit more intense for JD. He admits he had trouble with his performance on the show as an avid Survivor viewer and says “watching it back was so hard.” JD also stated that he was especially disappointed by his mistakes after he spent a good deal of time listening to podcasts speculating that he was one of Survivor 41’s fiercest players, saying “it’s in me. I just couldn’t execute.” Despite feeling down about being eliminated from one of his favorite shows, the superfan says “[he] was having fun out there!” He adds that he believes viewers will see how he felt about it all. “I enjoyed every second.”

As the highly anticipated Survivor 41continues to ramp up, it is clear that this season is one to remember. This year’s changes in Survivor 41 game elements are sure to have provided JD with a unique experience, though there is some question as to whether or not these changes are partly responsible for his early departure. Even though he did not get to spend as much time on the show as he would have liked and felt that some players spoke about him relatively unfairly, JD seems to be one of the most agreeable players on the show so far. Now that JD is gone, only time will tell what kind of drama is to ensue among the remaining contestants.

Source: Parade