For most of Survivor’s history, fans wanted to see the show bring together a group of former winners to compete for the top prize. However, for a long time that seemed like an impossibility since so many former Survivor winners have gone on to enjoy success in other avenues. Thankfully, the show shocked fans by giving fans what they wanted with its 40th season, Winners at War. As a result of that and the fact that the show went on hiatus after filming Winners at War due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of fans see the 40th season as the end of a chapter.
Now that Survivor’s undergone a rebirth of sorts with its 41st season starting to air, it is the perfect time to look back on the show’s history. Unsurprisingly, when most Survivor fans reminisce, they focus on the series’ best players. However, it is equally fascinating to think about the worst players in the shows’ more than twenty-year history. Thankfully, some Survivor fans have debated the show’s poorest players and there seems to be a consensus on which competitor is the worst of the worst.
Other Contenders
On the r/survivor subreddit, there have been several threads in which fans debated who Survivor’s worst player of all time is. Of course, it should go without saying that any topic that can be debated on the internet is bound to bring out people with wildly different opinions As a result, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that there have been several Survivor competitors that are considered to be in the running for the worst player of all time crown.
Considering how she fared in both of her seasons, it is amazing that Francesca Hogi isn’t considered the worst Survivor player of all time by more people. After all, Francesca was voted out first during her initial season after a highly memorable argument with Phillip Sheppard. Thankfully for her, it was so obvious that Francesca is a highly intelligent person who got a really bad break so she was allowed to return for another season alongside her former enemy Phillip. Amazingly enough, Francesca targeted Phillip a second time and she was once again voted out first. Since she is the only Survivor to be voted out first twice, that is a good reason to name Francesca the worst player ever. However, it is still entirely possible that Francesca would have performed much better if Phillip wasn’t on the beach during both of her seasons.
Of course, there are lots of other worst Survivor players of all time contenders including Colton Cumbie who seemingly quit two times, even though he blamed his first exit on illness. J’Tia Taylor also is in the running for sabotaging her tribe's food in anger, therefore, torpedoing any chance of staying in the game long term. Other Survivor strategy lowlight players include B.B. Anderson, Drew Christy, Garrett Adelstein, Jacob Derwin, and Zane Knight among others.
The Worst Player Of All
According to IMDb users, Survivor: Nicaragua is one of the worst seasons in the show’s history. If that wasn’t bad enough, the season’s winner, Jud “Fabio” Birza is often considered the worst in series history. After all, even though he seems like a perfectly nice guy, his grasp on the show’s strategy appears was weak, to say the very least. If that wasn’t bad enough, a lot of viewers consider someone from the same season, NaOnka Mixon, the most anger-inducing player of all time. With all of that in mind, it is far from surprising that season's first boot is often named the worst Survivor player in history.
From the moment that Wendy Jo DeSmidt-Kohlhoff appeared onscreen, it took no time at all for viewers to realize that she is a character. Obviously extremely talkative, Wendy Jo quickly states that her husband has predicted that she will be the first person voted out if she can’t control herself. For that reason, Wendy Jo DeSmidt-Kohlhoff does her best to fly under the radar which is obvious to viewers who see her enthusiastic confessionals. In an amazing turn of events, Wendy Jo’s attempts to seem subdued quickly backfire as her tribemates perceive her as weak. As a result, it is a big problem for Wendy Jo when she goes to the first tribal council.
Aware that she is on the chopping block, Wendy Jo opts to reverse her previous strategy by unleashing her true personality while singing her own praises in an attempt to stop her tribemates from voting her out. Sadly, this too somehow backfires as Wendy Jo’s passionate defense of herself rubs some of her tribemates the wrong way and they label her annoying on camera. In the end, Wendy Jo's tribemates unanimously vote to remove her from the game.
In all fairness to Wendy Jo DeSmidt-Kohlhoff, it should be noted that she seems like a perfectly nice person and it always is possible that she would have fared better in a different season. However, everything Wendy Jo did on the island seemed to backfire, she was the first one voted out in her season, and nobody in her tribe was willing to keep her around. For all of those reasons, it is easy to see why many fans agree that Wendy Jo is the worst Survivor player ever. In fact, a YouTuber even edited together a video chronicling the unfortunate nature of Wendy Jo’s short Survivor tenure.
