Former Obama speechwriter has no regrets about ‘Survivor’ flameout

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When this season of “Survivor” premiered on Wednesday night, one of the 18 castaways who hit the beach in Fiji was already a micro-celebrity.

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Jon Lovett, 42, an Obama speechwriter turned popular podcast host, is a co-founder of a political media company called Crooked Media, a co-host of “Pod Save America,” and a well-known liberal pundit. (Spoilers ahead.)

Lovett’s “Survivor” turn generated buzz ahead of the premiere, with “Survivor” fans and politics heads alike speculating how he would fare on the show. Cast as a lovable nerd with the gift of gab but no outdoorsy experience, could he hack it on the island? Would his fame be a help or a hindrance? Could he win it all?

These questions were moot when Lovett became the first person voted out of Season 47. After his tribe lost the episode’s second challenge and his teammate Andy had an emotional breakdown, Lovett suspected that he was on the chopping block – and he was correct. His journey ended nearly as soon as it began.

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After being voted out, Lovett spent the remainder of the season at a resort reserved for booted contestants called Ponderosa, with no access to the outside world. We spoke to Lovett on Thursday morning about the experience.

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You understandably looked mad when you became the first person voted out. What were you thinking in that moment?

That it was bad luck. I really was trying to not be too bummed or upset about it, but just appreciate like, “Here I am, I’m at Tribal Council, there’s Jeff [Probst], he’s snuffing the torch.” I basically had a compressed [experience]: win a challenge, lose a challenge, get voted off. I’m fortunate enough to have been insulted on the internet for a decade, so I really wasn’t worried about the feedback. I was really more disappointed that I didn’t get the full experience that I had hoped to get, because I was excited to be part of Survivor. I still think it was a very rewarding and exciting experience.

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Do you regret trying to flip the vote? Do you think it could have been Andy, or do you think your name would have been written down, regardless?

The vote was on me the second we got back. That’s what I would have done. If Andy doesn’t have his moment, it shakes out differently. But once he did, basically it narrowed the number of outcomes that were possible. He just kind of laid himself out in front of everyone and so he was no longer a threat, and I remained one.

You mentioned that your friends and family would get a kick out of seeing you suffer on the show. Did you watch it live with anyone, and what was the feedback that you got from them?

I watched it with my significant other. I knew obviously what was going to happen, but you don’t know what it’s going to look like, what the edit’s going to be like. On the whole I felt they did right by what happened, and I was laughing and enjoying it by the end. I had watched it on East Coast time, and a bunch of people from “Pod Save America” and Crooked all went to High Tops, a gay bar in Los Feliz [Los Angeles], and they were all watching. It’s not far from where I live so – I think in violation of the instructions I was given by CBS – I ran down there and watched the last hour or 45 minutes of the episode, kind of hiding in the back. It was so funny to watch. Because gay world is not very big, I saw a few people I knew, and somebody said as I walked in, “Oh, he obviously doesn’t go home. He would not be here if he goes home first.” And then as it’s happening, I see them seeing me, and it was just very funny.

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You’ve been saying that “Survivor,” to you, is this experiment in democracy. So, did you learn anything about democracy from this experience?

Yeah, it doesn’t work. It’s a failed experiment. I don’t trust these ballots. I don’t think the process is fair, and if Jeff had shown just a little bit of courage, I would still be in the game. There’s a lot of fraud going on. I’m not sure everybody on my tribe was alive –

Will you be staging an insurrection?

Listen, I’m not allowed to say what happens in the next episode. But no, look, I’ve gotten to talk to so many journalists and people in the run-up to this election … talk about the importance of participating, talking about this non-cynical version of the democratic process, which I do genuinely believe, is why people have returned to “Survivor.” You wake up one day and you lose a vote and you wonder if you could have done more. Not a big deal in “Survivor,” a much bigger deal in the world.

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Do you have any predictions for the non-“Survivor” election that’s coming up this fall? What’s on the agenda for you before then?

We’re not in the prediction business. We have to worry about what should happen, not what could happen. “Pod Save America” is hitting the road, we’ll be in Pennsylvania, in Michigan. “Lovett or Leave It,” [another of his podcasts] is heading out on the road. We’re really encouraging everybody in this home stretch to spend a little less time angsting on the internet, whether it’s on the “Survivor” Reddit or not. If everybody shows up and gets their friends and family to turn out, we’ll be okay.

You pointed out that you were the oldest person on the tribe. Did you learn anything from Gen Z while you were there?

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I’ll tell you a moment I felt really old. Somebody said that their favorite karaoke song is “Zombie” by the Cranberries. And I thought, “Oh, that’s not a very good karaoke song. That’s a song about a terrible conflict.” But I kept that to myself.

How was Jeff Probst in the flesh?

Jeff is such a good example of what it looks like when you fully commit to something you care about, not ironically, not cynically, not pessimistically. He so believes in “Survivor,” and that is infectious.

Before the show, he teased you as being one of the greatest storytellers that will ever be on “Survivor.” High compliment! Do you think you’ll go back on the show?

Well, I feel like there are more stories to tell.

What experience were you looking forward to the most that you did not get to have, other than, I assume, an aqua dump, unless … ?

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Listen, that’s between me and God.

There’s a lot [I wanted to do]. But I have no regrets about doing the show. I wanted to get the most out of this. Just the production of it is fascinating. Being isolated from your friends and family, from the news, was fascinating. Being at Ponderosa – and obviously I can’t go into the details – but everybody who gets voted out on “Survivor,” myself included, figures out the story they want to tell, not just the world, but themselves about what happened. I was the first out. One by one, other people arrive, and here are their names – just kidding! One by one people arrive, and before they’ve had a chance to really process it, they’re so raw, and they’re telling you everything. The good, the bad and the ugly about what happened. And I have to say, I learned more about “Survivor” from those conversations than in years of watching it, listening to podcasts about it or thinking about it.

Anything else about your experience you want to add?

I feel like I’m getting the exact amount of jokes at my expense and anger on my behalf. If anybody wants to make a joke about me being the first out, they’re welcome to do it, but you have to go on “Survivor” to be the first out.

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