Tony Vlachos on Rob Mariano’s ‘uncalled for’ actions and whether they’ve spoken since ‘The Traitors’
Welcome to Episode 1 of Reality Derby, our weekly deep dive into all things reality TV, hosted by Gold Derby senior editors Marcus James Dixon and Denton Davidson.
Joining us this week is Tony Vlachos, the second person to be banished from the round table on The Traitors Season 3. (Our interview begins at the 4:37 mark in the video above.) The two-time Survivor winner revealed his thoughts on this season’s four Traitors — Bob the Drag Queen, Danielle Reyes, Carolyn Wiger, and Rob Mariano — and teased what he’d do differently if he were to be cast on the upcoming Survivor 50. But we started out with the viral moment in which Tony called Rob a “sellout” after his former Survivor ally threw him under the bus in the third episode.
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Rob’s strategy of piling on Tony in the round table to get him banished was “uncalled for,” Tony told us. “If you were gonna open your mouth for anything, you should open your mouth to defend me, because I’m one of your numbers. We’re family. It was us Survivor players there, [and] we’re here against these other players that we don’t know.” He added, “That was real emotion. I truly believed he was a sellout in the game. Outside, in real life? No beef whatsoever — none. But in the game, yeah, I was very upset with him. It just rubbed me the wrong way.”
Tony was “so happy” to see four Survivor players in the castle — himself, Rob, Carolyn, and Jeremy Collins — and believed that they were “gonna run this show.” As he explained, “It’s an unspoken rule that you’re gonna stick together, because we’re who we know. We’re family. It’s us against them. And it wasn’t the case with him, and I didn’t understand why.”
The New Jersey cop divulged that he still hasn’t talked to Rob since the show ended, but that’s not unusual for him. “I don’t really talk to people [from my shows],” he confessed. “You know, we play the game and then we go back to the reunion and then we talk there, and that’s it. I’m so busy with real-life stuff that the reality stuff just takes a back seat.”
Tony said it was “an honor” to compete on The Traitors, especially since the Peacock show reached out to him. “I’m a humble person,” he began. “Yeah, I won Survivor twice and people call me the King. I don’t think none of that. I went out there, I played a good game, I got lucky, and I won. So when people call me and say, ‘Tony, we would love to have you on my show,’ I’m like, ‘Wow! That’s crazy.'”
We also dive deep into the premiere of Deal or No Deal Island Season 2, the black jacket episode of Hell’s Kitchen Season 23, the finale of The Challenge Season 40, and the finale of House of Villains Season 2. Watch the first episode of Reality Derby above, and then be sure to join the discussion in our forums.
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