Charity Nelms tried to make a move against Eva Erickson on Survivor 48 but couldn’t rally support from her fellow tribemates.
“To be honest, it kind of felt like everybody understood that and would want to [vote Erickson out,]” Nelms, 34, claimed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Thursday, April 3. “But because of Eva getting to share her story, I think a lot of people were just scared to do that — to look bad when that was a very real moment that transcended the game.”
Nelms was referring to the moment shown in last week’s episode where Erickson, 24, had an emotional moment where she told the remaining players she struggles with autism. While Nelms knew that situation was a “human moment,” she believed it had an impact on the game once the tribes reached the merge.
“We are also playing the game now,” she said. “And to treat her differently because of that, I personally don’t think is fair.”
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Nelms added that the reason she wanted to target Erickson was because she was such a savvy Survivor player. When approaching others to form a plan, Nelms claimed that she was hit with resistance.
“She is incredible, brave, smart, and that’s why I want her out of the game. She also has an idol in her bag that wasn’t really hers,” the flight attendant said of Erickson. “So the reception to that was like, ‘We think you’re right. And yeah, we kind of want to do that too, but we’re scared.’”
Nelms shared that the only two people who were not afraid of going after Erickson were herself and Sai Hughley. Nelms and Hughley, 30, raced for an advantage in the immunity challenge before they were both on the chopping block at Tribal Council. Ultimately Nelms was voted out over Hughley.
Not only has Erickson made an impactful impression on her tribe, she’s also won over the hearts of fans and Jeff Probst himself. During Erickson’s emotional moment with ally Joe Hunter, Probst, 63, was brought to tears — a first for the host in the past 48 seasons.
“When I said the words ‘mom and dad,’ it triggered the parent in me and something cracked open,” Probst admitted in a March interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It wasn’t just about Eva anymore — it was about every young person searching for the words to express who they are, and every parent trying to understand, support, and protect their child through it.”