‘Survivor’: Shambo’s poofy mullet, jogger bra, win over fans

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I have a crush, and her name is Shannon ‘Shambo’ Waters.

Of course, her hair is incredible: the puffy gray curls mopped on top of her head, all tied off by a dirty old rolled-up bandanna.

She used to be a marine, and she’s not into appearances: when the team gets a whole bag full of new skimpy bikinis (complete with animal print!), Shambo stays put in her sweaty old jogger’s bra. As she goes fishing with the new snorkeling gear, she somehow manages to lose an integral mouthpiece in the murky pond and not have her tribe mates hate her for it as a result.

And when office manager Laura Morett led three tribe members through a peaceful morning yoga session, she quickly deemed their exercise frivolous.

‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ the mega-mulleted one said. ‘I’m kind of alienated from my tribe because I’m not in the ‘90210’ clique. I’m not doing the warm and fuzzy stuff. I’m doing the Rambo Shambo provider role.’

She seems a likely vote for America’s Favorite, but I can already see her securing the support of other contestants as well. When she was sent over to observe the Foa Foa tribe after Galu took home its third-straight immunity win, she instantly launched into smooth-talking mode.

‘We call you ‘Mick-Dreamy’ over at our tribe,’ she told Mick Trimming, grinning widely. Noted: Mick, the hunky doctor, is just as impeccable looking this week as he was last.

‘Look at you, you’re a real piece of meat,’ she said, patting Ben Browning’s biceps.

That was about all of the love ol’ Benny Boy got this episode as he came under well-deserved heat from his tribe members for the racist remarks he made towards Yasmin Giles during her visit to the Foa Foa tribe last week. After Yasmin accused Ben of roughing her up during an earlier challenge, Ben flew off the handle, deriding her by calling her ‘ghetto trash’ and announcing she should go back to eating ‘ketchup sandwiches and drinking Kool-Aid.’

Ben, a Missouri-raised bar manager, continued to run his mouth this week. When he tried to teach Mick how to use a flint but failed (Gasp! There’s something the Adonis can’t do?), his ego quickly surfaced and proved gag worthy.

‘Without my help, these people will die,’ Ben said to camera during an interview, rolling his eyes. Ugh. Who says stuff like that?

Such attitude did not sit well with Jaison Robinson, who wasted no time in hiding his dislike for Ben at tribal council, saying he’d opt to trade Ben for Shambo if he could. An obvious choice, clearly.

He then took Ben to task for his slur against Yasmin. Ben responded poorly, his face reddening as he tried to explain himself.

‘She’s from the ghetto and she’s trashy,’ he stumbled. ‘She’s ghetto trashy. That’s not racial at all, that’s how she’s acting.’

Riiight.

‘You should have sensitivity to history,’ Jaison said, shaking his head.

Clearly, Ben had overstepped his boundaries and was sent home for it. And good riddance. He couldn’t handle himself under pressure, and failed physically when trying to tackle anyone during the immunity/reward challenge -- proving he wasn’t as much of a hot shot as he believed himself to be.

Meanwhile, the mischievous Russell Hantz -- that jerk who told the lie about saving his dog from Hurricane Katrina -- didn’t do much this week but sit back and watch Foa Foa begin to implode.

‘This might be the worst group in history and I might be the best,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna have them in control like zombies walking around.’

OK. But Russell H.’s true leadership qualities have yet to be put to the test. Fearing a takeover via girl power at the next vote, he tried to convince his tribe to vote out spa saleswoman Ashley Trainer this week but failed when Jaison insisted upon axing Ben.

Still, ‘this is what God made me for,’ he insists.

So, will Russell H. stack up to be God’s gift to the game of ‘Survivor,’ or is he all talk and no game? What did you think of Ben’s comments? Did he deserve to go home? And just how freaking awesome is Shambo? Duke it out in the comments.

-- Amy Kaufman (follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA)