Survivor Witch Still Wicked

Jerri Manthey's first shot at post-Survivor redemption has been an unqualified disaster. The Outbacker — dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West by her fellow castaways — appeared on CBS's The Early Show Friday morning and did nothing to dispel the public's perception that she's, well, evil incarnate. Consider:

Regarding Kel Gleason and the now-infamous beef jerky scandal, Manthey is holding fast to her controversial and oft-disputed theory that the 32-year-old Army intelligence officer was packing meat. "I am 99 percent sure he had beef jerky," she insisted, noting that Gleason was a goner long before she made her charges public. "[While] hiking to our camp, Kel, because he's in the military... was literally barking orders at us and telling us when to stop and when to drink water. And everybody was looking at him like, 'Who is this guy?' None of that made the show. So when the beef jerky thing came up, [it] was immediately assumed by [viewers] to be the reason [he was voted out]."

On professional chef Keith Famie's not-so-gourmet rice: "It was horrible... horrible," she groaned. "But what he was doing was making it in his paella pan, and I understand that he was probably doing that to create some sort of need for him to be there."

On her tussle with Tina Wesson over picking partners in last Thursday's episode: "To hear the word 'fair' come out of Tina's mouth really set me off, because she's the one who backstabbed our alliance first," Manthey scowled. "She's the one who voted off her best friend [Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey], and then... the word 'fair' comes out of her mouth? It just took me... whew, I went off."

Even Colby Donaldson, whom she was not-so-secretly crushing on during her Australian adventure, was not spared Manthey's venom. When asked how she felt when the hunky 26-year-old returned from their barrier reef rendezvous with special gifts for all the Barramundis left behind, the vixen alleged that his Santa act was nothing more than a ploy to gain popularity. "And funny enough, he's the one who asked me not to talk about the game, not to talk about the people [and] you know, just take the day off."

Later, Manthey offered some insight into the origins of her foot-in-mouth disease. "That's just the kind of person I am," she explained to Early Show host Jane Clayson. "If I have issues with someone, I don't have any qualms about bringing it to the surface."