Any Survivor fan who is no longer worried about which seasons to watch first should know that the popular reality TV show has featured hundreds of players. That fact is impressive, since people continue to apply even though players get medically evacuated and the seasons can vary widely in quality. On top of that, there is no denying that Survivor has featured some ridiculous twists too.

Based on what Jeff Probst has said in the past, he is very thankful to the people who've played Survivor over the years. Despite that, there is one former winner who made Jeff so annoyed that he went out of his way to call him out publicly.

Survivor's Jeff Probst Called Out Adam Klein For His Reality TV Audition Business

Since Survivor is one of the most popular reality TV shows in the world, there are lots of people who dream of competing on the show. However, the fact is that each season of Survivor has at most 20 players.

Given the sheer numbers, the odds are against anyone who wants to audition for Survivor. However, the former Survivor winner Adam Klein has created a business to help those people. For a fee, Adam advises people who want to audition for Survivor or other reality shows on the best ways to potentially be cast.

Unfortunately for Adam, it later became clear that Jeff Probst wasn't a fan of his business. After all, Jeff once made a point of calling Adam's business out, without actually naming the former Survivor winner by name.

In 2023, Jeff Probst launched a podcast he co-hosts called On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast. A great podcast for fans, episodes of the show have revealed many fascinating facts about what it is like to host and produce Survivor.

The first full episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast premiered in March 2023. The episode was released after the premiere of Survivor 44.

On September 27, 2023, an episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast titled "The Game Is On" was published. After Jeff's co-hosts spoke at length, Jeff joined them, and he brought up Adam's business almost immediately at around the 27-minute mark of the episode.

The Survivor host then proceeded to speak about why he disliked Adam's business for roughly seven minutes.

While talking about Adam's business, Jeff did a preamble about how happy he is when former players create podcasts about the show or do speaking engagements. Jeff then addressed Adam's business and cautioned fans against becoming a customer.

"This business is very specific. Former players are charging money to potential future players with advice about how to get on the show, how to get us to notice you, what you should do or say on your video, things like that. Here's the headline, to anyone who's thinking about doing this. If you need the coaching of a former player to help you get on the show, you're not gonna get on the show."

That last comment from Jeff was interesting because of a fact about the season of Survivor that was airing at the time.

When the episode of Jeff's podcast in which he called out Adam's business was released, Survivor 45 was airing. Survivor 45 featured Kaleb Gebrewold, Brando Meyer, and Brandon Donlon. In September 2023, Adam posted on Instagram about how proud he was that he coached Kaleb, Brando, and Brandon and they all got on Survivor.

"Super excited to root for my casting coaching clients on #Survivor45!!! These guys worked so hard to make this dream a reality and no matter how they do in the game I am so proud that they made it happen."

While some people may think that the fact that three of Adam's customers got on Survivor may validate his business, Jeff disagreed with that idea.

While talking about Adam's business during the aforementioned podcast episode, Jeff addressed the fact that three of Adam's customers were cast on Survivor. More specifically, Jeff argued that Adam played no role in Kaleb, Brando, and Brandon getting cast to play Survivor. In fact, Jeff implied being coached by Adam would be detrimental.

"If you go to these websites or see posts from these coaches, they may name a player who they coached, and that player did get on Survivor. So the conclusion you could draw is, 'Oh, so it does work. You get coaching, you get on the show.' But it's not true. In fact, it's more likely that it's the opposite that despite getting coaching on how to be their most authentic self, they still got on the show."

Jeff then brought up Kaleb, Brando, and Brandon each individually.

While talking about Adam's business, Jeff Probst spoke about how magnetic Kaleb Gebrewold's personality is. "Let me tell you something. I could have been talking to Kaleb in the express checkout line at a supermarket with just 2 items. And before they scanned the second item, I would already know Kaleb was gonna be on Survivor. That's how dynamic he was."

Jeff stated that Kaleb, Brando, and Brandon didn't need any help from any former players to get on Survivor.

The fact that Jeff spoke about Adam's business for so long should be enough proof that he really didn't like what the former Survivor winner was doing. However, if that isn't definitive enough, The Survivor host explained during the same podcast episode why Jeff was so bothered by what Adam was doing.

"The reason I am so passionate about this is I don't want anyone to feel there is a barrier to entry on Survivor. It shouldn't cost money to get on Survivor, and it doesn't."

After making that comment, Jeff finished speaking about Adam's business.

While discussing Adam's business, Jeff Probst stated that hiring the former Survivor winner wouldn't disqualify fans from appearing on the show. "You can, you can pay for coaching and still get on Survivor... All I'm trying to say is you don't need to."

Jeff's final comment was about anyone who would still use Adam's business after everything he just said. "Just take note of what this stubbornness says about your personality. I'm being genuine here. It says that you're skeptical. You don't listen to experts. In this case, I'd be the expert."

Adam Klein Defended His Business And Responded To Jeff Probst

A little over a month after the podcast episode with Jeff Probst discussing Adam Klein's business was published, the former Survivor winner responded. Based on the words Adam used, it seemed clear he was upset about being at odds with Jeff in the situation.

On November 10, 2023, Adam posted an X/Twitter thread with his response to the criticism he received. Adam began by bemoaning the fact that Jeff was mad at him and addressed why he created his business.

"For weeks, I have resisted the temptation to defend myself, hoping this would blow over. I have no interest in any kind of battle with my favorite show, and one of my childhood heroes, who has done so much for me and my family. My business was born out of love."

Adam finished his X/Twitter thread by arguing why his business was valuable and why his efforts didn't work against Survivor's casting department.

"I believe strongly that the work I do is valuable, and not at odds with the casting team for any show. I am not your enemy. I am a storytelling coach above all, and I believe that my clients that end up on your shows will bring heart, passion, and compelling confessionals. Does anyone 'need' a coach to get on reality tv? Of course not. Can anyone benefit from guided introspection and storytelling coaching? I believe, yes."

As of the time of this writing, the website for Adam's business still exists, which likely indicates it is still in operation. In fact, the website even includes a statement about how many customers Adam has. "As this is my 'busy' season, I am currently booking about three weeks in advance at the moment."