‘Survivor’: Kelly Wiglesworth Reacted to Sue Hawk’s Infamous Speech in Unaired Confessional
The passionate yet cruel “rats and snakes” speech, delivered by Sue Hawk, has gone down in Survivor history as one of the most memorable moments from the long-running reality competition series. With the most ruthless parts aimed at Kelly Wiglesworth, she didn’t have a chance to give a rebuttal, and the episode didn’t include her response. However, the runner-up gave her first raw reaction to the harsh comments shortly afterward in an unaired confessional.
Sue Hawk gave infamous ‘rats and snakes’ speech during ‘Survivor: Borneo’
During the first season of Survivor (2000), the final two came down to cutthroat player Richard Hatch or Kelly Wiglesworth, who won four straight Immunity Challenges to secure her spot.
When faced with the jury, Sue Hawk, who she voted out, took the opportunity to unleash on the finalists in a “notorious” speech that has since become one of the most memorable Survivor moments. She referred to Richard as an “openly arrogant and pompous human being” but praised his impressive work ethic.
The jury member then went after Kelly, who she once considered her friend, and claimed she would have preferred losing to her than allowing Richard to get to the end. Sue also claimed she saw Kelly’s true colors when she turned on their alliance.
Therefore, the contestant insisted she would vote for Richard to win and cruelly said she wouldn’t help Kelly if she saw her “dying of thirst” outside of the game. Finally, Sue “plead” to the other jurors to let the game unfold how “mature nature intended,” which is for the snake, or Richard, to eat the rat, which she dubbed Kelly.
Kelly Wiglesworth responded to her harsh comments in an unaired confessional
Ultimately, Sue’s vote did play a role as she lost in a close 4-3 vote to Richard. After the speech, Kelly addressed her former ally’s remarks in an unaired confessional. She started by noting she didn’t have a “lot to say” but called Sue “immature” for giving the ruthless speech at her age.
Kelly explained she aligned with the Nevada native “early in the game” but knew her ally began scheming against her, which is why she ended their pact.
Additionally, she noted she didn’t believe Sue’s remark that she would have sat next to her in the end as the finalist figured out she aligned with Richard. The runner-up continued, pointing out that she only made it as far as she did because she won her to the end.
Kelly also referred to Sue as a “bad sport” for her bitter speech, noting she hoped for more “grace and maturity” from her former ally. The finalist concluded by commending herself for her game but stated she would probably never compete again.
She recently revealed she regretted not letting the late Rudy Boesch win
Following a 15-year break, the runner-up returned for Cambodia (2015), adopting a more traditional approach to her game based on loyalty and strength in challenges.
While it initially worked, the other contestants quickly identified her as a jury threat and eliminated her shortly after the merge. After her appearance, Kelly largely disappeared from the community as she focused on raising her son and began working with a talent management and production company.
In a July 2021 questionnaire with EW, the two-time competitor called making it through the competition without receiving a vote against her the “proudest moment” from playing the game.
On the other hand, she admitted she regretted not stepping down for the late Rudy Boesch at the final three immunity challenge. If she had, there’s a good chance he would’ve become the first Sole Survivor over Richard. Survivor 41 airs Wednesday at 8/7 Central on CBS.
