CBS Kept A Lawsuit Of Fixing Survivor Eliminations Quiet

Summary

• Stacey Stillman claimed Survivor rigged her elimination, lawsuit settled out of court.
• Contestants face backlash for breaking NDA rules, like Alec Merlino spoiling cast.
• Dark moment in Survivor history: Sue's disturbing quit over incident with Richard Hatch.

CBS has a few things they'd rather not discuss about its reality TV gem, Survivor. Using body doubles is one of them, while the depressing truth of residuals on the show is also not a great look.

Speaking of bad looks, in the following, we're going to take a look back at season 1, and a lawsuit launched by Stacey Stillman. In her view, she was purposely eliminated in favor of a more popular Survivor. We'll reveal what took place, and why her argument might've been legitimate. In addition, we'll take a look at other controversial moments that took place in the past, like cast members breaking an NDA, and a horrible incident that even Jeff Probst himself regrets mishandling at the time.

Let's take a closer look.

Stacey Stillman Settled A Lawsuit With Survivor That Claims She Was Intentionally Voted Out By The Show

With 46 seasons and over 635 episodes aired, Survivor was bound to run into off-screen controversies over the years. However, this particular incident dates back to the inaugural season. In early 2001, Stacey Stillman launched a lawsuit against the show. She was the third Survivor voted out. However, she didn't take the elimination lightly, and went after Mark Burnett and CBS. Stillman felt as though her demise was orchestrated behind the scenes. Stillman revealed that two contestants, Dirk Been and Sean Keaniff were advised to take her out in favor of fan-favorite, Rudy Boesch.

As expected, CBS didn't agree with the allegations.

“We heard about Stacey Stillman’s allegations several months ago. They had no merit then; they have no merit now that she has packaged them into a frivolous and groundless lawsuit,” the network said. “Survivor has received more press and public scrutiny than any show in recent television history, and its creative integrity has remained intact throughout. We are therefore confident that the courts, as well as Survivor viewers, will see the case as utterly without foundation.”

The verdict of the lawsuit was never made public. According to Us Magazine, a decision was made between the two sides outside of court. The publication writes, "CBS and Stillman ultimately settled out of court for an undisclosed amount."

Over on Reddit, fans discussed Stillman's lawsuit. Opinions varied on the matter.

• "I'm not saying the result was manipulated, but Dirk casting a vote for her despite there being no foreshadowing of it was kinda weird. Obviously, it could just be that Stacey was a sore loser. Who knows? Details are scarce since the story was 22 years ago and the outcome wasn't made public."
• "I feel like she probably made more money than a winner generally would. However, this comes with a big caveat that I know nothing about lawsuit settlements and am just a season 1 stan who of course thinks that the more money she made the more interesting the story is," another Redditor wrote.
• "Mark Burnett also knew and recruited Rudy for the show, so there was motivation both there and from the older CBS demographic to make sure he stuck around."

Not the greatest look for Survivor, but it seems like the show may have learned a thing or two from the experience.

A Survivor Contestant Also Caused Drama In The Past By Breaking Their NDA

That was far from the only drama CBS and Survivor faced over the years. Contestants also have a strict NDA they need to follow. However, Alec Merlino was a little too enthusiastic ahead of Survivor: David vs Goliath. He spoiled the cast and posted a photo alongside Kara Kay. The result, Alec getting cut from the reunion, and not getting the extra appearance fee.

• Merlino shared, “The thing is, with social media, I feel things can be misconstrued, but I have nothing but the utmost respect for CBS, for Survivor, for Jeff. I went out there and I had the experience of a lifetime."
• “My biggest dream was to be on Survivor, so to go out there and have the experience, that’s what I’m going to hold close to my heart and that’s what I’m going to cherish.”

That particular season proved to be highly controversial as the eventual winner of David vs Goliath, Nick Wilson, was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2022. Nick supported controversial bills which included banning gender-affirming care for transgender children.

In a public statement, Wilson regretted his actions.

“During today’s session, I will withdraw HB 269 and refile a bill with the ‘first cousin’ language intact. The fact that I was able to file a bill, catch the mistake, withdraw the bill and refile within a 24-hour period shows that we have a good system.”

Despite these dark clouds, the Sue and Richard moment might've been among the very worst.

Fans On Reddit Called The Sue And Richard Incident Survivor's Darkest Moment

It was one of the most problematic moments in Survivor history. Sue quit the show after a disturbing incident with Richard Hatch during a challenge (we don't need a reminder as to what went down). Jeff Probst regretted how he handled the situation, while on Reddit, a massive debate took place, pointing at how other members of the tribe reacted to Sue's departure.

One Redditor wrote, "But I want to address how the other players reacted to it. To me this is what was so incredibly problematic and troubling to rewatch. It was victim shaming at its finest.Rob said how Sue was either looking to cash in on a lawsuit or she is emotionally distraught or using it as leverage to play the game."

"I get the gameplay mentality which comes with Survivor but the suspect of ulterior motives is reflective of the large problem with people assuming that someone embellishes a case for self gain, in spite of the fact that 4 out of 5 reported cases are legitimate cases. It was prevalent on IOI, and it was on All Stars too."

Another fan took issue at the way CBS tried to cover it up.

"My biggest thing (same thing with 5 and 39) is how disgustingly blatant CBS was about covering their own a**. All of these confessionals in a row felt like a hit piece on Sue. And, of course, not one person was shown saying "maybe this was a bad environment to let somebody be naked in!" Survivor also bred conflict in those early days around stuff like that. They did not need to play devil's advocate around this issue."

A controversial moment to say the least...