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'Anyone Can Be The Snake!': 4 Reality TV Legends Discuss Their Time On 'Snake In The Grass'
Cirie Fields, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Rachel Reilly, and Janelle Pierzina reveal why they wanted to do "Snake In The Grass."
"Snake In The Grass" is difficult enough when it's four strangers playing the game. But when the players are people who actually know things about each other, the difficulty level goes way up — especially for the Snake.
That was the case in Episode 5 of "Snake In The Grass," which featured four reality TV legends: Rachel Reilly and Janelle Pierzina from "Big Brother," and Cirie Fields and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick from "Survivor." The four women were either friendly with one another or had watched each other on TV before, which made it all the more challenging to determine who amongst them was the Snake. In a recent interview with USA Insider, they discussed why they wanted to try "Snake In The Grass," who they suspected during the game, and their reaction to the Snake Pit.
Why They Chose To Do The Show
Rachel: I had no idea who was going or what the show was about, but I got the call and I was so excited to just get to go on it. They told me it was a "Survivor"-type scavenger hunt, and I was so excited to be able to do it; I've been into competition shows forever. Then when I got to the beach, meeting these ladies was insane. Just arriving on the beach and knowing I was going to be there with Cirie, Stephenie, and Janelle, it was like the best day of my life.
Cirie: I felt similar to Rachel. I thought it was a "Survivor"-type scavenger hunt. I love "Amazing Race," I love "Survivor," what better than to put them both together? Of course I'll go. And then the icing on the cake was to see my two "Big Brother" ladies. I almost burst into flames. I mean, Stephenie, it was a joy to see a familiar face as well, but I had never met these two and I watched them on TV so it was exciting.
'Stephenie: Well, when I got the call, I had gotten a couple of calls to be on "Survivor" before, and I was either pregnant or I just had a baby. I always wanted to go back because I've never won. I'm really due for a win here, people! ... So I was really excited to get back out there and just show my kids, like, it's OK to get out of your comfort zone, etc. And then I see you guys out there, so I was like, OK, this is going to be good.
Janelle: They told me it was a treasure hunt with a possibility of finding some money, and I was like, really? OK, I'll do it. Really, I didn't know what to expect. I literally, when I arrived blindfolded to the beach that day, thought I was going to be on a treasure hunt. That was in my mind: I'm looking for treasure. And then obviously that wasn't the case.
Their Reaction To The "Snake"
Stephenie: I wanted no part of being any sort of a Snake because I am not a good liar. When I saw Cirie was there, Cirie knows me very well, and she of all people is going to know if I'm the fake and if I'm lying at all, acting funny at all, she's going to be on me. So I was not really thrilled about that idea, actually.
Cirie: Once [host] Bobby Bones told us what it was about, I'm like, damn, they didn't make me the Snake [laughs]. I wanted to do it!
Stephenie: She would have been a good one.
Rachel: Yeah. it would have been so good to be the Snake because the Snake wins $100,000. So I'm not going to lie, I wanted to kind of be the Snake, too. I would have been awful, but I was like, oh, you can win 100k, so why not?
The Shocking Clue Incident
Stephenie: I don't regret trying to get rid of the clue at all. I think it was the right move. It was sitting right there in plain sight, and they would have found the clue. The clue said something very specific to me, like this hero had brothers and I have four brothers, and I was a Hero on "Survivor: Heroes vs Villains" and yeah, it was very specific, you guys really would have been on to me. So I kind of was like, damned if I did and damned if I didn't. But, I mean, at least I did get rid of it.
Janelle: You did a great job. You worked so fast to hide that clue that we were all really in our heads and so mixed up because Rachel made it seem like it could have been her too because she stood in that swamp forever. So we were like, is Rachel hiding the clue?
Cirie: I never once thought it was Rachel. I always had a little bit of a question mark about Janelle, and I asked Rachel, like, "Why is it not Janelle? Tell me." I even asked you, Janelle. Tell me why it's not you. But I never once suspected Rachel. I knew 89% that it was Stephenie. It was just that random chance that my Spidey senses were wrong I was worried about.
Their Thoughts On The Snake Pit
Cirie: Going into the Snake Pit I was confident it was Stephenie.
Rachel: Well, the last clue, I think, was what made everyone 100% sure. Because even with the boat challenge, Stephanie maybe could have talked herself out of it. But once we got that last clue, it was done because we knew every part of the clue pointed to her.
Janelle: Yeah, it was pretty much her life story.
Stephenie: Yeah, that's why our episode was one of the hardest, because we all knew each other. Most of the others didn't know each other really. I was going to try to just be myself and be honest because I knew Cirie already knew me.
Cirie: If the clue was describing them, if you don't know them, how would you know?
Rachel: Right? That aspect makes it so much harder.
Stephenie: I could have been like, I'm a travel nurse. Like, I could have lied to you guys.
Cirie: That's probably what I would have done. [My advice to the Snake] is do not tell them your real story, which could give them the answers to the clues.
Stephenie: Withhold information and maybe even make up a new personality.
Rachel: You could make up a whole different person or be someone you know personally. If you're pretending like you're your sister or something, then you'll be able to play that off easier.
Janelle: I would say, for someone working on a team, definitely share as much information as you can and then also fact check things with the others. Because I remember constantly working with Cirie and she was my number one confidante and it helped. Find a person in there that you can share information with.
Rachel: And it goes really quick, so you need to ask the hard questions from the second that you get to the beach. Like, don't wait and do the surface stuff. You can't be nice. You have to start asking those hard questions right away because the game is so quick and you don't have time to get to know people.
Cirie: For me, if you happen to be with somebody you know, don't automatically assume they're not the Snake. It could be your brother, your sister, your aunt, your mother. They can be the Snake, too. Anyone can be the Snake! You have to separate that personal relationship from the game.
Tune into "Snake In The Grass" Mondays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network.
