CBS The cast of 'Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains'
A lot of “Survivor” castaways end up lamenting the way they behaved on the show. One who might surprise fans is Randy Bailey from “Survivor: Gabon” and later “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” because he always seemed to really embrace his “villain” status. In a recent interview, he revealed that he regrets agreeing to do “Heroes Vs. Villains” and says he is “not proud of” his behavior that season — and it could have been so much worse when the show actually aired. Read on to find out why.
Bailey Said His Mind Was Not Right to Return to ‘Survivor’
It’s no secret that “Survivor” is hard on its players, both physically and mentally. In an interview, Bailey told “Entertainment Weekly” that he was not in the right headspace when he was asked to participate in season 20 and he should never have agreed to be in the cast.
“I never should have done ‘Heroes vs. Villains.’ I was in the process of losing my job from doing ‘Gabon’ and I knew that doing ‘HvV’ only one year later would be the nail in my coffin,” said Bailey. “To participate on ‘Survivor,’ your mind has got to be right and mine wasn’t. My piss poor performance in ‘HvV’ definitely tarnished my legacy. I should have done ‘Gabon’ and ended it and left fans wondering ‘Why has Randy not returned?'”
He later added that things actually could have been much worse on the “Heroes vs. Villains” that made it to air and he’s grateful that CBS didn’t choose to destroy his reputation.
“I just wish I had been more prepared [for ‘Heroes vs. Villains’] … ‘HvV’ was not about me. I mentioned earlier that for ‘HvV’ my mind was not right to play ‘Survivor’ and I had many unflattering moments out there that I am not proud of that did not make the show,” admitted Bailey. “Production could have really destroyed me if they had wanted, and I am grateful that they didn’t. Instead, they chose to make [Russell Hantz] and [Boston Rob Mariano] look great instead of making me look bad.”
But Bailey Is Doing Well Now
After losing his job because of having to leave to film “Survivor,” Bailey eventually moved to Kansas and started over as a substitute teacher, he revealed to “Entertainment Weekly.” He tried a brief foray into full-time teaching, but he couldn’t deal with the stress, so he back to substitute teaching, which is “a way better fit” for him.
He hasn’t settled down with anyone, but he does count a lot of “Survivor” castaways among his close friends.
He is closest with fellow “villain” Corinne Kaplan — they actually spent Christmas together at Kaplan’s place in Colorado this past December, with Kaplan writing on an Instagram photo of them, “Spent Christmas with another villain. Someone who doesn’t cooperate, hates meeting anyone new and occasionally spits at you. Also, my alpaca was there.”
Bailey also said he keeps in touch with Marcus Lehman, Kenny Hoang, Benjamin “Coach” Wade,” and Cirie Fields and he has also made friends with “Survivor” castaways he never actually played the game with like Bret LaBelle, Chris Hammons, and Teresa “T-Bird” Cooper.”
Bailey also has a message for wanna-be castaways — do not give up if it is your dream to play “Survivor.”
“It took eight years and 14 audition videos” for Bailey to be asked to play “Survivor” — and he said his proudest moment is sticking with the casting process until he finally got on the show.
“Survivor” is back in production now. If the pattern holds, it should be premiering its 41st season the third or fourth week of September 2021.
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