Survivor legend Cirie Fields has responded to Boston Rob Mariano questioning if she used "excuses" to "justify" voting for Aubry Bracco to win Season 50.
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"I'll be 56 years old in July," Cirie, 55, told People at Tribeca Festival's Survivor 50th Season Anniversary Panel on Saturday, June 6.
"I don't need excuses to justify anything I do or say. Never have, never will. Period."
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Cirie was reacting to Rob's criticism in a June 4 interview with Parade that her and Ozzy Lusth's explanations for voting for Aubry during the Survivor 50 finale were "excuses."
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Survivor returnees Aubry, Jonathan Young and Joe Hunter made it to the Final 3 of Survivor 50, which aired its finale on May 20 on CBS.
Aubry ultimately won Survivor 50 in an 8-3-0 jury vote against Jonathan and Joe, respectively, taking home the season's $2 million prize.
Jonathan -- who essentially trained under Boston Rob, a Survivor icon and strategic mastermind, for years prior to filming Survivor 50 -- seemed devastated about his loss, and he told Entertainment Weekly last month that he believes the jury was "bitter" and he had played a "better game" than Aubry.
Rob even recently said that Jonathan "butchered" his Survivor post-finale press.
But when Rob spoke to Parade about the outcome of Survivor 50, he said he found it "interesting" that Cirie and other jury members applauded Aubry for playing "the middle" most of the season.
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"Years ago, that would be considered being called a coattail rider. She rode someone's coattails, and that was looked down upon, and now it's being revered," Rob shared.
"So, I wonder, is that something they actually revere, or is that the excuse they're giving to be able to justify their vote?"
Rob wondered if the majority of the jury claimed Aubry had played "the middle really well" simply because they "didn't want to vote for" Jonathan or Joe.
"So they wanted to vote for Aubry. [Were they thinking], 'What's the excuse we can use for Aubry?'" Rob said.
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Rob, however, clarified that he didn't want to "take away from Aubry's win" by trying to get to the bottom of things.
"I do believe she should have won. But it's interesting," Rob noted.
"I think [it's] a lesson in psychology, how everybody tells themselves the stories they want to hear and that's always been the way. And I think in the moment, I think you don't have to say anything."
Rob pointed out how jury member can "can say whatever" they want.
"But I think in their mind sometimes they feel that justifying it makes it logical," Rob reasoned.
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Although Cirie finished Survivor 50 in sixth place, fans voted for her to win Sia's $100,000 fan-favorite award.
Cirie -- now a five-time Survivor castaway, not counting her stint on Australian Survivor -- called her stint on Survivor's milestone season "an amazing ride" overall.
"So it's kind of like you get happy and sad feelings because it came so quickly even though we filmed a year ago and it's over," she told People.
"Wow, that was amazing. And there are lots of memories, so I find myself frequently remembering things from the island, things from the finale -- all pleasant though."
Cirie previously said she won't be competing on Survivor again, but she teased that "there's so much" still ahead for her.
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"This has been the best year and continues to be one of the best years of my life," Cirie gushed.
"So please just stay tuned... There may be other shows, there may be some commercials. There's a lot going on."
Rob is a five-time Survivor castaway who won Survivor: Redemption Island.