Jeff Probst Wanted These Survivor Winners To Lose, Including Survivor Hall Of Famers

Every year, there are new Survivor fans who find themselves figuring out which seasons they should watch first. Many of those new fans and longtime ones ignore the risks of having to be medically evacuated as they dream of playing on Jeff Probst's beloved reality show. When fans envision playing Survivor, they instead imagine playing in one of the great seasons with fantastic players and becoming one of the best winners.

In an ideal world, every Survivor winner would get to enjoy spending their $1 million prize with the full support of Jeff Probst. However, Jeff once revealed a list of winners that he hoped would lose that even included some Survivor Hall of Famers.

Jeff Probst Once Listed Several Survivor Hall Of Famers He Wouldn't Have Wanted To Win

As Survivor's host and executive producer, it seems like Jeff Probst should try to be as unbiased as possible. That said, it doesn't seem realistic at all that anyone would expect Jeff not to like or dislike some Survivor players since he spends long hours around them.

As a result, there have long been discussions about which Survivor players Jeff Probst has hated. However, most discussions about Survivor players that Jeff can't stand are based on conjecture and theories.

Amazingly enough, however, Jeff once revealed a shocking truth about several former Survivor winners. Several years ago, Jeff wrote about which Sole Survivors he would have wanted to lose by that time in the show's history.

In December 2008, a season of Survivor was so toxic that it made Jeff Probst quit the show was airing, Survivor: Gabon. At that time, Jeff was penning a blog for Entertainment Weekly that would be released alongside episodes of the season.

During a blog that was published on December 12th, 2008, Jeff listed several winners that he wouldn't have wanted to be the Sole Survivor. Those winners were Tina Wesson, Vecepia Towery, Brian Heidik, Jenna Morasca, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Amber Brkich-Marano, Earl Cole, and Parvati Shallow.

For longtime fans of Survivor, this list of winners Jeff didn't embrace is both shocking and wholly predictable.

When Jeff Probst was writing his Survivor blog for Entertainment Weekly in December 2008, he had a very different persona than he does now. Back then, Jeff was a lot edgier. For proof of that, all you have to look at is what Jeff wrote about fans who don't like the loved ones visit during the aforementioned blog post. "Regarding loved ones – there is clearly no right or wrong answer. Those of you who hate the loved ones episodes have miserable lives. Those of us who cry and enjoy the loved ones episodes for their outpouring of emotion are beautiful, loving, wonderful human beings without whom the world would be a dark and dreary place." While Jeff was clearly joking, he wouldn't be that confrontational today.

On the shocking side of things, it is surprising that Jeff wrote about not supporting some celebrated winners. For example, as a post on the Survivor wiki shows, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Parvati Shallow, and Tina Wesson were all inducted into the Survivor Hall of Fame. Amber Brkich-Mariano has also been celebrated by Survivor, with her even being chosen to play again.

On the other hand, Jeff not supporting some of those winners seems entirely predictable. After all, it has always seemed like Jeff would prefer it if Survivor fans would forget about some of the winners he listed.

In December 2024, Collider updated their list of the best Survivor winners. That list included Earl Cole in the 19th spot, Tina Wesson in 11th place, and Parvati Shallow in 7th place. Furthermore, Collider's list named Sandra Diaz-Twine as the best Survivor winner ever.

Since they won Survivor, it has seemed like Jeff wanted to ignore Vecepia Towery, Brian Heidik, or Earl Cole. Similarly, the show Survivor has never shone a spotlight on Jenna Morasca after she quit during Survivor: All-Stars.

On top of learning which Survivor winners Jeff wrote about not wanting to prevail, there is more to the story that fans should know. Jeff didn't write about the above-listed Survivor winners in his Entertainment Weekly blog for no reason. In the blog, Jeff wrote about them while addressing people who believe that Survivor's producers rig the show so their favorite players win.

"I have to comment on the assertions... that we manipulate the game so that our favorites can win. Is the medication you’re currently taking prescribed or do you buy it on the streets?"

Jeff listed the winners he clearly didn't want at the time to prove Survivor wasn't rigged.

"If we could dictate who would win each season, then the following people never would have won: Tina in Australia, Vecepia in Marquesas, that soft-core porno dude in Thailand, Jenna in the Amazon, Sandra in Pearl Islands, Amber in All-Stars, Earl in Fiji, and Parvati in Fans vs Favorites!"

While the fact that Jeff wrote that is pretty stunning, it is important to note what Jeff wrote next in his Entertainment Weekly blog post. Jeff wrote that each of the winners he didn't want to prevail deserved to win. "All of those just listed people definitely deserved to win because they played the best game, but that doesn’t mean they would have been our first choice to win. We would have picked more 'colorful' winners. Plain and simple. I’m kind of stumped that people still believe this stuff."

Jeff Probst Once Called Russell Hantz His Least Favorite Survivor Player Ever

On top of writing about Survivor winners he wouldn't have chosen, Jeff has occasionally spoken about players he doesn't like. On one occasion, Jeff even answered a question that he would usually avoid, who his least favorite player was.

During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael, as can be seen on TikTok, Jeff revealed that Russell Hantz was his least favorite player.

"The least favorite is probably one of the most popular. It'd probably be Russell Hantz. This guy who really is, I think, a bad guy. Russell, I think you are a bad guy... I don't want him knowing where I live."

What Jeff said next during the talk show appearance shows why he is a great host. Jeff went on to tell the hosts that he still wanted Russell to compete on Survivor again despite disliking him.

I hope [Russell will] come do the show again because [he's] riveting to watch.

The fact that Jeff talked about wanting a player he didn't like to return to Survivor since they would entertain fans says everything about what kind of host he is.