Sundra to Blame for Ozzy's Loss?

(AP Photo/HO/CBS)

Poor Ozzy. All that swimming, jumping, fishing, coconut tree climbing and puzzle solving for nothing! Well, not nothing. Lusth does go home with a $100,000 check and a 2008 Mercury Mariner. Listen in on our conversation with the "Survivor" runner-up about his soft porn past, Jeff Probst's infatuation with him and why Sundra Oakley may be to blame for his loss.

The Slug: Hey Ozzy. Congratulations on winning the car. Did you get to check it out?

Ozzy Lusth: I don't get to see the car until March.

The Slug: Whaaa?!

Ozzy Lusth: I know. Talk about buzzkill.

The Slug: It could have been a very merry Christmas!

Ozzy Lusth: I know. I wanted to take all my homies down to Baja for a big surf trip, but that ain't happenin' now.

The Slug: Too bad. So tell me how you feel about being the runner-up to Mr. Kwon.

Ozzy Lusth: It's bittersweet. I'm disappointed because I didn't win. Obviously. But if there's anybody to be runner-up to, it's Yul. He's an incredible guy, a lot of integrity. I respect him deeply as a friend and as a competitor. I think we both played an amazing game. He was able to convince one more person more than I was. That's a fact that might haunt me for the rest of my life but probably not.

The Slug: Jeff Probst seemed really upset you didn't win. What was up with that?

Ozzy Lusth:  I tried not to do the whole play-under-the-radar thing. At the same time, I put every ounce of my heart and soul into the game whether that be climbing a coconut tree or fishing for hours and hours on the reef or jumping across the reef into the ocean or taking the outrigger with Cao Boi and Flicka to the other island — which actually took us hours and hours and was a lot harder than it looked. I think Jeff really respected the fact I went out there and embraced every aspect of the game.

The Slug: Do you know who voted for you?

Ozzy Lusth: I have a pretty good idea of who voted for me and who did not. I think that maybe some people have a small amount of regret after seeing the way I played and not just hearing my explanation through the jury. That's what it came down to for a lot of people because I didn't have a relationship with most of them. It had to be argued out in front of people. I think I spent too much time fishing and not enough time politicking. You know, Yul played an amazing game and that one person — I think it was Sundra — didn't vote for me. I thought she was going to, and I thought we had a special bond. So that was a little disappointing.

The Slug: How did you feel when they announced the tribes would be split by race?

Ozzy Lusth: I was a little weary just because I like diversity and I love being with different people. So to be with four other Latinos, I felt like, "Oh great. We're gonna clash because we're all very similar." But I thought it would be a good opportunity to disprove a lot of stereotypes.

The Slug: What did you think when the original Latino members of the Aitu tribe were voted out one after another?

Ozzy Lusth: That was something that was kind of depressing because J.P., Cristina and Cecilia
and I planned on trying to get back together and somehow swinging the game. But the pivotal moment was when we first merged and we were all going to vote Becky out, which Cao Boi had lauded. I went out fishing and Yul convinced Cao Boi to vote out Cecilia. It was a pivotal moment and changed the dynamic of the game drastically. As far as J.P. being voted out, I couldn't believe Cristina was the mastermind behind orchestrating his eventual boot. Of course, after J.P. was gone, Cristina was soon to follow. That left me alone with everybody else.

The Slug: How did you feel being so alone?

Ozzy Lusth: I was a little more free. I could play as a free agent. I didn't have to worry about my alliance doing something stupid. So as soon as Cecilia was voted out, I approached Jonathan and Yul bright and early and told them, "Hey, guys, my alliance is gone. Whoever keeps me in the loop, I will remember that and be honest with them as well."

The Slug: How did you feel when it was announced there would be a final three instead of two?

Ozzy Lusth: Honestly, I just assumed Sundra would vote for me. So I thought that was a good thing. I thought that having Becky and Yul together would detract votes from Yul, but it didn't happen. I think in hindsight it would've been a good idea to oust the idol. But at the same time, I wanted to see the four of us in the final four. I thought people would respect the way I played the game more.

The Slug: I know you have some, uh, acting experience. Will you be starring in anymore Playboy series?

Ozzy Lusth: No. That was me being young and stupid.

The Slug: Did you know that would come out when you agreed to do "Survivor"?

Ozzy Lusth: Oh, yes. Of course. The whole thing was me being stupid and needing money. I just didn't really care too much. I didn't ever plan on being on "Survivor" or in the public eye. I made a stupid mistake, and it's something I'm not really proud of. I think since then I've grown and changed a lot. It's a past chapter in my life. I'm definitely not planning on doing any more of those in the future.

The Slug: So who's the bigger sex symbol: you or Yul?

Ozzy Lusth: Hey, man. Yul's a sexy guy. He's like the Greek god chiseled out of marble. It's hard to compete with that. And, you know, he was one of People's sexiest men of the year.

Comments

[sbirnbaum]

When we found out, to no surprise that Yul won, we turned off the television off. I will not watch the rest of the show, my partner will. Yul did strategically play better but, I believe, without Ozzy's agility to climb anything and win the challenges, his tribe would've been hungry and gone long ago. Thank you for making the show so great. It was the best survivor we've seen because there weren't any slimeballs. So sorry that Ozzy came in second!

Also, yes, Yul has the chiseled look but there's something very endearing and sweet about Ozzy. As women in our 50s, he's the cuter!