Naseer Reveals He Was Almost First Voted out of ‘Survivor 41’

Luvu was a dominant tribe in the pre-merge portion of “Survivor 41.” Winning every single tribal immunity challenge, the six lucky Survivors, which included eventual winner Erika Casupanan, were able to avoid every Tribal Council until the merge, where Sydney Segal was promptly voted off.

However, who would have been voted off had Luvu lost the first immunity challenge, as they almost did? Turns out, the answer may have altered the course of the entire game going forward.

Here’s what you need to know:

Naseer Almost Got Voted off After Calling out Danny & Deshawn

YouTubeThe Luvu tribe in the “Survivor 41” premiere (2021).

In the “Survivor 41” premiere, Luvu came from behind on Day 3 to win the season’s first immunity challenge, sending Ua and Yase to Tribal Council. Thus began the tribe’s never-ending winning streak. However, who of the tribe’s six members – Sydney, Erika, Naseer Muttalif, Heather Aldret, Deshawn Radden, and Danny McCray – would have been sent packing had Luvu not narrowly achieved that impressive victory?

According to Naseer, in a January interview with season 39 contestant Lauren Ashley Beck, he would have been the first voted out had Luvu lost that challenge due to the dynamics of the tribe at that point. As viewers of the season will recall, Naseer was on the rocks with half the tribe before the immunity challenge after calling out Danny and Deshawn in front of his other tribemates for going out idol hunting. After Sydney reported this back to the two men, they turned against him. “We had a deal that we were not going to look for an idol until [Deshawn and Danny] came back,” Naseer said. “Then they went and looked for an idol … I came and told [Sydney, Heather, and Erika], so it backfired on me. So, on the first day I’ll be going home, I’m sure.”

He added that his only chance at salvation may have been uniting with Erika and Heather to force a 3-3 tie, though a tight pair siding with a lone wolf to force a tie on the first vote is virtually unheard of, and would have been a highly risky (and unlikely) move on Erika and Heather’s part.

“I felt [regret] immediately,” Naseer said of how he felt after calling his tribemates out. “I should have waited and … said, ‘Hey, I saw that you guys were trying to go on the other side of the beach, what was the reason’?”

Naseer Wanted to Form an Alliance With Erika and Heather, but They Wouldn’t Accept

YouTubeHeather Aldret, Erika Casupanan, and Naseer Muttalif in episode 9 of “Survivor 41.”

Naseer added that he tried to solidify an alliance with Erika and Heather “for 11 days” – virtually the entire pre-merge portion of the game – but Erika would not accept it until right before the tribes merged. Naseer explained:

Erika, she played a great game … [But] I was misreading how she wanted to play. So … I tried with Erika for almost eleven days … On the eleventh day, she came and said, ‘Okay I will vote with you and we can vote Danny out.’ I’m like, ‘No. Eleven days you didn’t talk to me, [now] you want to [join you]?’

Naseer added that Deshawn and Danny were not the only ones idol hunting. Apparently Heather, among others, also began searching for idols very shortly after arriving on the beach that first day. “The first 20 minutes [in] they were looking for an idol!” Naseer said. “And I saw Heather was looking for an idol too! She was all over. So I’m like, ‘wow, wow, wow.’ We are here just 30 minutes into the game immediately going to find an idol here, so let’s tell the truth.”

“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Be sure to catch season 42 when it premieres March 9, 2022.