Danny Massa reacts to Carolyn's revenge on the Survivor bros
You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?! It turns out Danny Massa is exactly who Jeff Probst was talking to when he read off the Bronx firefighter's name three times at Tribal Council this week on Survivor 44. That was enough to send Danny out of the game and over to the jury, but not before he could unleash a lethal Robert De Niro impersonation.
Was Danny blindsided by the vote and idol play? What does he make of Carolyn's seeming disdain for him? How did he react upon learning his number one ally in Heidi had voted for him the previous Tribal? And is he bummed that the fake idol he planted for Matt never got played? We asked Danny all that and more, and you can watch the entire interview above or read it below.
CBS Danna Massa on 'Survivor 44'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When you walked into Tribal, what did you think was going to happen? Did you think you had the votes to take out Carson?
DANNY MASSA: Me or Carson. That's why I said the thing about in your first fight you're going in, and being like, "Wow, this is crazy. I'm so scared to get knocked out." And then after have a few fights, you're like, "Yeah, that might happen, but the fact of the matter is there's nothing you can do about it right now." You go out swinging and you can't be attached to the results. You've got to be attached to the journey. And as soon as you do that, that's like Zen. All right, man, the work is done. What do we got now?
Carolyn did not seem to be a huge fan of yours after your brotastic journey with her and Brandon. What was going on with you two out there?
This is what I'm going to do when it comes to that situation. Did me and Brandon hit it off? Yeah. He's from Philly, I'm from the Bronx. I'll definitely say this: I vibed more with Brandon than I did with Carolyn. It definitely was highlighted as a negative.
When it comes to the lunch, I'm not going to defend myself. Clearly, I'm biased, I'm a fan of myself. But I will say this: Brandon is one of the most compassionate, sweetest people. Even though he's this big monster of a human, he's very considerate. You can ask anybody who's ever interacted with Brandon. He's very considerate. He can walk into any room and have a conversation with anybody.
Maybe I was just some bro-ish show-off, and maybe that's something I have to reflect on. But I will say my man Brandon is a super considerate, genuine person, and I don't think he got a good edit there when it comes to ignoring because he speaks to everyone. That guy is a Renaissance man. So I can't defend myself. I'm a fan of myself, but Brandon's a sweetheart human. So if anybody feels negatively about that, I would disagree with them.
Robert Voets/CBS Carolyn Wiger, Brandon Cottom, and Danny Massa on 'Survivor 44'
Could you tell after that moment as you guys moved into the merge that Carolyn wasn't feeling you?
Yeah. She's a nice person so she's never mean, just in general. Nobody on the show is mean. So she was never a dick to me or anything. And I'm also very optimistic person, so I'm not just going around looking for like, Why does this person not like me?
I knew we weren't the best of friends, but it's a game. We may have gotten along very well if we went out to some type of event or if we were hiking together, but playing Survivor is not hiking. So a lot of the times situationally, you could be at opposition.
You said at one point how it's not good enough to just win Survivor, but you have to be great along the way. Yet your strategy was to take out all the great people, which is a good strategy, by the way. But what about that scene at Tribal where you're saying that, but going for Frannie at the same time for being great?
Yeah, take out the great players. You take a shot at the king, you best not miss. I took a shot at Carson. I missed. I took a shot at Brandon. Another thing they didn't show is how calculated Brandon was. He was terrifying to me. I'm like, Whoa, dude, this guy is seeing this game. And you know, he's a huge physical threat. Same thing with Frannie. And you could see from Frannie she started to figure things out.
It was never personal to me. It was strictly business. I said this a bunch of times: I came out here to make lifelong friends and beautiful relationships. Your mother comes to New York, I'll pick your mother up from the airport. But if I meet your mother out in Fiji, I'll put votes on her tonight. I have no connectivity towards my life, my heart, and my voting. Like, I loved Frannie out there. Me and Fran did breath work every day together. It's like poker. Am I not going to bluff my friends just because I like them?
You save Frannie with the idol and then you almost immediately come after her. Is that just different needs at different points of the game?
Yeah, and I truly believe this: If I get to the end, I win. I didn't want it to be any question. If I got to the end, I wanted to be the Sole Survivor. When it comes to making that, I knew I had a successful idol play at my hands. That's a huge feather in my cap. It was purely selfish, to save my ally at the time and to move further in the game. And, contrary to a lot of people's belief, if Fran would've taken me on the journey, I would've done the same thing.
CBS Danny Massa on 'Survivor 44'
What was your reaction when you finally found out that Heidi had voted for you at that previous Tribal?
I was confused. Because at the time, I said to myself: Logically, there's no point for her. I've given her no reason to go against me. Even in our conversation, I said "I'm only telling you this 'cause you're my number one." Basically, that was me saying, "They don't want you to know this. They think you're going to flip on me, but you would never do that."
I just couldn't put it together. And I knew Yam Yam was so smart. Just the way he interacts with people, his emotional intelligence is just sky high. But I'm like, It's not smart for Heidi to go against me. It doesn't work out for her. Heidi's a smart player. Yam Yam's a smart player. Who does this help? And I'm like, Alright, it helps Yam Yam. Therefore, it has to be Yam Yam.
There's nothing I love more than someone sauntering up with an idol to play and then finding out it's fake. So I was so excited with all these fake idols getting in the game. How bummed are you that Brandon told Matt about the idol you planted being fake and that he never got a chance to try and play it?
Oh, man. Yeah, it was an absolute bummer. It's the nature of the game, man. Information got around. Part of me, when I found that [out], I go, I'll hold both these and take 'em to the merge. But I'm like, You know what? I can't guarantee I'm making it to the merge. And when you're on your first beach and that birdcage is there, that paranoia was overwhelming. People are like, "Who has it? Who has it?" So I'm like, Alright, how can I get this paranoia down? I was like, Matt finds the fake and then that at least buys some time.
Robert Voets/CBS Danny Massa on 'Survivor 44'
Are you still pissed off you never won an individual immunity?
Yeah, that's a bucket list thing. The way my mind works though, people come back and play Survivor again. So, to me, I don't look at that as a failure. I look at that as next time. I ain't dead. That's a beautiful part of Survivor. That's a beautiful part of livin'. Shout out to Cody, I ain't dead. Invite me back. I'll try again. I lost my first two fights in mixed martial arts, and then I went on to fight for championships. It's just a loss. It ain't a failure. It's a failure when they say I'm done.
So yeah, I want it bad, man. Lauren whipped my ass. Frannie whipped my ass. Yam Yam whipped my ass. Kudos to them., I never felt poorly that I didn't win. If you watch me, I always go over and I give props to the winner and then I go off and be a baby for a moment or two. A stoic doesn't not experience emotion. They let it come and go. I let my emotions come and go. I go and show respect. My parents taught me [to] always show respect [to] the winner. Don't take their moment. And then I go make myself scarce for two minutes, be a baby, and then back to the game.
What's something that happened out there that we never saw on the show that you wish had made it to TV?
We did breath work on the beach and meditation every single day. Frannie led us through some beautiful meditations. Even when me and Frannie were at odds, we would always do some breath work, no matter what. So it was cool for both of us to see that aspect of our lives.
With Jaime, just how tough and how much of a camper Jaime was around camp. She knew more stuff than most people. She was preparing the fish, and no matter what situation with rain pouring down, I would look over and that smile would be there — tough as nails. Those are things I would have liked to have seen more. I remember being impressed by that, that this cute little girl is getting poured on [by] rain, storms happening, and she's like, "Namaste!" That was very cool.
CBS Danny Massa on 'Survivor 44'
What can you tell me about the reception at Ponderosa once you actually got out of the game and met up with the jury and talked shop and got some food and drink in your belly?
What do you mean? You know what I did, bro! I got reunited with my bromance Brandon! Me and Brandon bro-down! [Laughs] No, man, it was cool, to be honest. You get voted out and you feel originally poor 'cause you wanted to win. You start like, Maybe I should have done this better, that better. Maybe I didn't play as good a game as I thought. And then I see who I'm sitting there with — legitimately straight savage competitors. I'm with Matt, Frannie, Brandon — Kane is a genius.
This game is so much, and this is for pre-merge people, too: Nobody is better than anybody. And I truly believe that. Of course, there are good players and bad players, but what I'm saying is that if you're like, "I made it further than this person; I made it to the merge," then I think you're a silly person, because a lot of this is poker and what hands you were dealt.
I felt like I was dealt a pretty good hand when it comes to the game, and I think that a lot of the people in pre-merge were really, really good players. If you look at the post-merge, who I'm returning to, I'm looking at them and that made me feel really good. Like, Okay, I have so much respect for these people. They got voted out before me. It's not a matter of worth or whatever that human beings like to give. So, it was cool being amongst such people I had such respect for, and we got lit and partied and it was so much fun.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
Jeff Probst almost plummeted to his death filming a Survivor stunt
Lauren Harpe talks about troubles at home in Survivor deleted scene
Survivor and The Amazing Race moving to 90-minute episodes this fall
Frannie Marin reveals details of Survivor romance reunion with Matt
Carolyn Wiger takes the tribe bowling in Survivor 44 deleted scene
Jeff Probst says future Survivor loved ones visits are not dead
Survivor 44 players reveal the loved ones we won't get to see
Kane Fritzler reveals reaction to Jaime's fake idol on Survivor 44
Carolyn accidentally lights her pants on fire in Survivor 44 deleted scene
