Jerri Manthey, Wicked Witch of “Survivor 2”

But, of course, that wasn’t all of it. She had more opportunities to be a bitch in the post-finale discussion. After saying that she never expected anybody to like her – and having Bryant Gumbel interrupt to say that was a good bet – she claimed that what happened on the show was separate from what happens in real life, and that it’s easier for some to see this than others. She seemed to be indicating that Kel should just get over it because it was the game. Meanwhile, some of the last words from her on that game were her talking about how Colby and Tina did things that were so terrible and it showed what kind of people they were. Yes, in addition to all of her other faults, Jerri is a hypocrite.

But it gets worse than just hypocrisy. She also said that she felt bad that Kel harbored such resentment and hatred towards her. Mind you, he never said that. In fact, just moments earlier, he specifically said he’d forgiven her but he just doesn’t like her. That’s not resentment and hatred. More delusional ranting from Jerri.

Then Jerri did the only thing she could to extend her 15 minutes of infamy – she posed for Playboy. As I noted in writing about her layout and interview, no matter how good looking she might be, you can’t help but see her inner bitch (which is made easier because it so frequently becomes her outer bitch). Even in the article that ran with her photos, any possible beauty was obscured by her quotes and thoughts, which accompanied the pictures.

Jerri talked there about how “bitch” has such a negative connotation and she wished there were some other word for “an aggressive, proactive, independent woman.” She added, “If I were a man on the show, I’d be a hero.” As usual, she was wrong. Instead of being a bitch, she’d have been an ass or a jerk or any one of many other insults that could have been used. Jerri said that people were “threatened” by her because she is a woman with power. No, she is a woman with a nasty attitude and severe social interaction problems. And people were not “threatened” by her, they just plain didn’t like her.

She tried to excuse her treatment of Keith by saying he gave her a hug and said he’d be dedicating his rice cookbook to her. But she could not even come up with an excuse for her slander against Kel. In a related Playboy chat, she said she was “very proud of the way I played the game.” It’s difficult to believe that somebody can be proud that she managed to piss off so many people that she ended up not only losing, but being perhaps the most-disliked person on television at the time.

As if to further underscore this point, Jerri claimed in the chat that her real personality did not come through in Survivor. So what is her real personality? Well, another person asked in that chat if Tina’s breasts were real or fake. Jerri, with her typical shrewish nature, said, “I really don’t care to comment on that.” And then, of course, she commented on it by saying, “I think it’s pretty evident what the answer to that question is.” Then she typed in that she was laughing. Ah, so “bitch” is indeed her real personality.

Why did she act this way, both on the show and after? Well, it has been noted by some that Jerri was likely never really in the game to win. She’s an actress (allegedly) and may have been looking for a way to jumpstart her career. As Kel told me during one of our times I interviewed him, Jerri knew that controversy causes air time – in other words, you get your face on TV more, and are therefore more memorable, if you cause controversy as opposed to just sitting back. What better way to cause controversy than to accuse the professional chef of bad cooking or attack the integrity of the guy from the military? But whether she was playing to win or just to boost her own career (which, incidentally, obviously has not happened), she still acted in a shameful manner. Speaking of furthering her career, it was recently announced that she is on the cast of the upcoming WB reality series, The Surreal Life with other barely remembered “celebrities” like MC Hammer, Corey Feldman, and Emmanuel Lewis. Will she bring the same personality to that show that she brought to Survivor?

Overall, Jerri was a nasty, mean, ill-tempered, petty, picky, evil witch who thought the world revolved around her and was oblivious to the feelings of others. If that doesn’t deserve induction into the Reality TV Hall of Shame, I don’t know what does.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of the Reality TV Hall of Shame, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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