Coby Archa: Better Not Bitter

Ousted To The Juror Bench, He Shares What Went Wrong At Palau

(CBS)  He provided the comic relief on "Survivor: Palau," but Thursday night, the Koror tribe plus Stephenie LaGrossa decided it was time for Coby Archa to play the game only from the bench. He became the first member of the jury.

"I wasn't very funny anymore," Coby tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "There is nothing fun about a bitter old queen. That's what I turned into."

It seemed that things were going for him, winning a few games, and even being approached by Gregg Carey to join him in an alliance to get rid of fireman Tom Westman. But then, all of a sudden, he snapped.

"I was sick of them. I was sick of every last one of them. I couldn't stand it anymore," Coby explains. "What made me sick was the fact that no matter how hard I worked; no matter what I had done at camp; no matter how good I was; nobody would play with me. I finally turned into a bitter little kid on the playground who stormed off."

It seemed that it all started when he was left on shore with the women while the other men went fishing but Coby tells The Early Show viewers his rivalry with Tom started way before that.

"Tom was just a dictator," Coby says. "Everything had to be his way or the highway. What I hated most is he acted like he cared about everything else, and he didn't. It was just his way or no way."

He points out the Home Depot challenge as an example, he says, "When we had to pick a representative, he insisted on Ian [Rosenberger]. Tom has had his thumb on every decision that's happened in this tribe, and it's usually his decision."

So it was time for Coby to decide. He, along with Janu Tornell, was the first to jump in the water during the endurance challenge for individual immunity. But it wasn't the doughnut reward that enticed him to end his game. Coby says, "I knew I was going to jump because I was calling their bluff. To me it was like a poker game. At that point, I was like, 'Look, you're either going to play with me, or you're not.'"

Asked if the doughnut was worth the $1 million, he says, "To me, it really wasn't about the doughnut. It was about a statement, play with me or don't play with me. They didn't play with me. Wonder why?"