Susan Hawk
Susan (
Sue)
Hawk (born
August 17,
1961 in
Waukesha, Wisconsin) was a contestant on
Survivor: Borneo (season one) and
Survivor: All-Stars (season eight). She is one of only four people in the history of the show to resign from the game voluntarily (she quit season 8
Survivor: All-Stars), something she did in her latter appearance. Among the Survivor records set by her include:
*The 3rd Survivor to quit since Survivor's start in 2000 (only 4 players have done this; the other 3 were
Osten Taylor,
Jenna Morasca, and
Janu Tornell)
*The 2nd female player to quit the game since Survivor's start in 2000
*The 2nd player to quit at a location other than Tribal Council since Survivor's start in 2000 (the first was
Jenna Morasca)
*The 5th player to be eliminated without being voted out since Survivor's start in 2000
*The 1st (and so far, the only) player to be voted out in one season and quit in another season.
During the original
Survivor season she was a fan favorite and even celebrities, such as
Rosie O'Donnell, were rooting for the working-class, midwestern truck driver, who presented herself as outgoing, open, and opinionated. Hawk seemed to get far in the game by using her secret alliance with
Richard and
Rudy during a time when other cast members did not yet use alliances, and several even considered allied voting to be "cheating". Hawk liked being viewed as a stupid redneck during the game, and kept her intelligence hidden in order to throw off her opponents.
Hawk's popularity fell rapidly during the season one finale, when, as the fourth-place finisher, she launched into her now-infamous "rats and snakes" tirade against the top two, Richard and
Kelly Wiglesworth. In her speech, she said there are only two things on the entire island: rats and snakes. Richard was a snake and Kelly a rat, and Hawk told the Jury members that they should obey the laws of nature by letting the snake eat the rat. She also told Kelly that if she ever saw her in a desert, dying of thirst, she would not stop to give her a sip of water and that she'd like to see the vultures get her.
The "rats and snakes" moment is arguably the most remembered moment in Survivor history, as the season one finale was the highest rated episode of Survivor to date and it was the first (but not the last) time in Survivor that anyone ever expressed such bitterness and anger.
Hawk returned to Survivor in
2004, for the special
Survivor: All-Stars competition.
She did reasonably well in the game until an awkward incident prompted her to leave. During an immunity challenge a naked
Richard Hatch rubbed up against her, and during the entire subsequent episode Hawk seemed to become more and more angered, embarrassed, and upset over the incident. At the next challenge Survivor Host
Jeff Probst made a passing reference to the incident, which prompted Hawk to respond with a very angry speech, accusing Probst of making light of something that Hawk viewed as harassment.
Due to the nature of the show, Hawk's competitors were unsure how much of Hawk's emotion was real and how much was part of the game.
However, after her emotional outburst to Probst, Hawk decided to remove herself from the stress of the game in order to be with her husband again.
Hawk spoofed her "rats and snakes" speech in her plea for the audience to vote to award her the second million dollar prize that was handed out after
All-Stars.
Rupert Boneham won that additional million, with a reported 85% of the audience's vote.
Tribal Council Voting History
=Survivor: Borneo
=
=Survivor: All-Stars
=
| Episode | Voted For | Votes From |
|---|
| 801 |
| 802 |
| 803 |
| 804 | Rob Cestranino |
| 805 |
| 806 | Quit the game |
