Survivor's Richard: The Ultimate Interview Part 2

It's been five days since Richard Hatch ? dubbed Darth Gaydar by fellow castaway Sean Kenniff ? shocked all of America by becoming Survivor's first $1 million winner. And although you can't seem to go anywhere without seeing the "fat gay guy," questions about the 39-year-old corporate trainer remain. For instance, who on the island was he most attracted to? What's the status of his legal battle with Rhode Island police? What did he really think about Sue's blistering 11th-hour verbal assault on Kelly? And will he pose nude in Playgirl? Just hours after his big win was revealed before an Oscar-size audience, Hatch spoke to a select group of TV reporters and answered those nagging questions. ? Michael Ausiello

Would you like to be friends with Rudy down the line?

Well, you know, Rudy is an amazing man whom I respect tremendously and I believe I'll always be interested in his health and well-being and I think he feels the same about me. We're from two different generations and we have two very, very different lives... but the word "friends" is an interesting word for me. It's a closeness that requires day-to-day interaction and years of development and Rudy and I aren't likely to do that. But I'll always respect him and probably touch base every now and then.

If you hadn't jumped off the pole and won that [last immunity] competition, would you have kept your word to Rudy?

I like to believe I would have. If it came down to it and I had to decide who to vote off, it's a tough one because if I won the immunity and voted Kelly off I would have lost the game... I would have lost the million. But I like to believe that's what I would have done. Game or not, I really did commit to him and I grew to respect him in ways that are important to me.

Now that's something that might surprise a lot of viewers who seem to think you were without ethics. Do you think the show portrayed you fairly? And if not, what are the sides of you that people didn't get to see on the show?

You know, there isn't any chance of my helping you understand who I am as a person on this telephone interview. But I can say that I am very, very comfortable with who I am and consider myself to be one of the most loyal and ethical people I've ever met in my entire life. I feel good about who I am and I believe that that's the way I would have acted. I don't believe I was ever mean in this game or nasty or some of the things that people have attributed to me. I think I played a game and that's certainly what it was and I wasn't there to make friends by any stretch.

Are you glad you picked the right number?

Phew! That was luck. If that's how [Greg] actually decided, well, obviously I'm thrilled that I picked the right number.

Have you been asked to pose naked in any magazines? And if so, are you entertaining any of those ideas?

Not yet. Is that an offer? (Laughter)

Do you have any further comment or reaction about your ongoing battle with Rhode Island police? (Hatch was accused of pulling the ear of his 10-year-old son during a 4:30 am jog.)

It's really sad what happened and it was potentially irreparably damaging to my son. It happened and we're doing the best that we can to hold people accountable for their actions. I've sued the Department of Children Youth and Families and the Middletown (RI) Police Department and now they're going to have to accept responsibility for acting as unethically and irresponsibly as they did. The judge in the civil proceedings throughout ordered an internal investigation of the Middletown Police Department and the criminal proceeding never took place. I've never actually been formerly charged I guess. The attorney general is, again, I think really unethically and irresponsibly kind of just sitting back and not deciding yet whether of not they are going to press charges and it's absurd because it was thrown out of the civil court, which in a probable cause hearing has the lowest requirement for finding fault as any of the systems. So it's nothing but irresponsible of our attorney general and Rhode Island not to have worked more effectively to get this handled and to dismiss it ? as it will be dismissed any day now I imagine.

Now that you can flaunt your million what are you going to do?

You know, I don't believe my lifestyle is going to change any way. Flaunt certainly isn't something I would consider a characteristic that would be attributed to me. I don't think anything will change in my life... in the long-run I feel that I'm really a well-grounded guy and I hope to maintain that.

Were you at any time attracted to any of the guys on the island, contestants or crew?

Oh, good question. Umm... I don't think there was a guy on the crew that I wasn't attracted to. But [as far as the contestants], certainly Sean was a handsome, handsome fella and we had some fun.

What was it like not having sex for 39 days?

[I've] gone a lot longer. It wasn't an issue, let's put it that way. (Laughing)

It's been reported that you have a $1 million contract with Reebok that they had set up for the winner.

That's interesting. I'm not aware of it. I hear that that's reported in the Boston Herald [but] I haven't read it. There are a number of things that are being considered at this point.

You mentioned your weight being up around 360 pounds for a long time and as we come to see your image over the past few weeks, you have a nice way of accommodating criticism by being a good sport about it and playing along, appearing naked in the Top 10 [on The Late Show With David Letterman] for example. Is that a way of living that you have come to develop by being a gay youngster and being a man with a weight problem?

No question. Imagine in New England growing up gay and overweight. You either go inside and never kind of relax with who you are, or you actually learn that it just doesn't matter what people think and you're just who you are and that's the direction that I went in. I'm very, very comfortable with who I am. I think of myself as a kind and considerate person to other people and I do take into account their feelings, but who I am and how I feel is something that I'm very, very comfortable with.

Is being a celebrity what you imagined?

You know, I haven't really given it much of a thought. Celebrity and fame aren't goals of mine. It is certainly something I am aware came with what I did. I'm happy to be involved in it. But it's not something that I'm driven toward like some of the other contestants might be. I'd be happy to be an unknown tomorrow having had this experience and won, just as I am now. Although it is going to open up opportunities that I think are going to be really exciting for me.

What did you actually do for a diet?

There are a number of things that changed in my life. When I started with the personal trainer and made that commitment to three times a week no matter what, getting to that gym and doing what he said... I started thinking more about what I ate because I didn't want to waste time. I don't know if this works for everybody, I'm not a doctor, but I limited potatoes and pasta and bread and those kind of carbohydrates that seemed to be problematic for me. And I ate lots and lots of salads. I never cut back on the quantity of food, I just increased what I consider to be the quality and it's really paid off for me.

Who was your favorite on the island?

Besides me you mean? That's the ego again you know. Who was my favorite? Well, for many reasons I could go on about most of the contestants and in different ways they were my favorite for different things and I'm not trying to be the politician here. Certainly Sean was playful and loving and had a great heart and he lives close to me. And Rudy [was] probably one of the most interesting, important people there in how much I respect him and how open-minded at 72 years old he can be. Gretchen is just an extraordinary woman, an extraordinary amazing woman who I really think I'll get to know even better. I could go on.

What did you think of Sue's attack on Kelly during the final tribal council?

Sue is an emotional woman who says what she's thinking. Sometimes those emotions are raw and edgy. I think she thinks it was a bit harsh. If she had more time to think about what she was saying, I think she would have tempered it some. She's a well-intentioned person.

Did you ever at any point, accidentally even, come close to spilling the secret?

You know, I really didn't. I didn't want anybody to be denied the kind of fun that they had. My mom probably could have had a heart attack [during the finale]. She literally had no idea and she kept flipping and flopping back and forth, thinking, Gosh [he] could be, but oh no he wouldn't be... would he? And my sister, my son, I lied to both of them. Blatantly, outright lied to them ? told them both that I wasn't the winner just to stop the continuous probing and let them enjoy watching the show and that was just really fun because they both thought I hadn't [won].