Sue Hawk

Susan (Sue) Hawk (born August 17, 1961 in Waukesha, Wisconsin) was a contestant on Survivor: Borneo (season one) and Survivor: All-Stars (season eight). During the original Survivor season she was a fan favorite and even celebrities, such as Rosie O'Donnell, were rooting for the working-class, midwestern truck driver, who presented herself as outgoing, open, and opinionated. Hawk seemed to get far in the game by using her secret alliance with Richard and Rudy during a time when other cast members did not yet use alliances, and several even considered allied voting to be "cheating". Hawk liked being viewed as a stupid redneck during the game, and kept her intelligence hidden in order to throw off her opponents.

Hawk's popularity fell rapidly during the season one finale, when, as the fourth-place finished, she launched into her now-infamous "rats and snakes" tirade against the top two, Richard and Kelly Wiglesworth. In her speech, she said there are only two things on the entire island: rats and snakes. Richard was a snake and Kelly a rat, and Hawk told the Jury members that they should obey the laws of nature by letting the snake eat the rat. She also told Kelly that if she ever saw her in a desert, dying of thirst, she would not stop to give her a sip of water and that she'd like to see the vultures get her.

The "rats and snakes" moment is arguably the most remembered moment in Survivor history, as the season one finale was the highest rated episode of Survivor to date and it was the first (but not the last) time in Survivor that anyone ever expressed such bitterness and anger.

During the All-Stars season of Survivor in the spring of this year, Hawk also directed a very angry speech at host, Jeff Probst, when she felt he was making light of something that Hawk viewed as harassment. Naked Richard Hatch had rubbed up on Hawk during an immunity challenge, and during the entire subsequent episode of the show Hawk seemed to become more and more angered and upset over the incident. Due to the nature of the show, Hawk's competitors were unsure how much of Hawk's emotion was real and how much was part of the game.

However, after her emotional explaination to Probst, Hawk decided to remove herself from the stress of the game in order to be with her husband again.

Hawk spoofed her "rats and snakes" speech in her plea for the audience to vote to award her the second million dollar prize that was handed out after All-Stars. Rupert won that additional million, with a reported 85% of the audience's vote.