Summary
- Jeff Probst takes responsibility for mishandling #MeToo controversy on Survivor, apologizing to Kellee Kim publicly.
- Survivor host admits bias against female contestants, working to understand and address systemic issues.
- Probst acknowledges Survivor's gender imbalance, attributing it to early ejection of female players. Suggestions to level the playing field.
A constant thing about the American reality competition show Survivor is that show host (and Executive Producer) Jeff Probst is always involved in every detail. Since the long-running show debuted on CBS in 2000, Jeff Probst has hosted some of the best seasons of Survivor, along with the not-so-great ones. Some of the worst moments of Survivor often lead to controversial moments for the show. And Probst, as show host, has to do damage control for some of the issues.
Likewise, on his part, Probst does not shy away from taking responsibility for one of the darkest moments on Survivor. While he apologized for not handling Kellee Kim and Dan Spilo's #MeToo controversy during Survivor: Island of Idols, the host could have done it better. However, the problem lies in Probst to his bias against women, gradually.
Why Jeff Probst Thinks Playing 'Survivor' Can Be Scarring
Trusting others can forever change once you leave the show, and some former contestants can definitely agree to it
Jeff Probst Apologized For Not Handling Dan Spilo's #MeToo Allegations Well
Survivor: Island of Idols was one of the most controversial seasons of the reality show. The 39th season had its castaway, Dan Spilo, accused of sexual misconduct, where Kellee Kim and some other female contestants accused Spilo of inappropriately touching them.
Kim had made her complaints known while shooting the season but claimed nothing was done. Although Spilo was ejected from the show due to an off-camera incident with a production crew member—after Kellee Kim was voted out—Kim did not receive a public apology from Probst or Spilo until the season's end.
Months after filming the season, Probst, production, and contestants apologized to Kim for not taking her concerns and complaints seriously, citing that she was a bigger threat than Spilo.
Jeff Probst apologized to Kim publicly at the reunion at the CBS studio. He said: "Before we begin, I want to say to you, you were right," Probst said. "You were right to speak up. You were right to step forward … and to speak your truth. And I want to acknowledge and apologize for your pain. You didn’t ask for it, and you didn’t deserve it."
Kim was not impressed with how the studio and Probst handled the situation, given how the issue was not treated accordingly when she spoke up about Spilo's harassment.
This would be one of Probst's many shady things Survivor fans often ignore. The issue had blown up with the #MeToo movement, and Probst had apologized for his behavior to the viewers.
Jeff Probst Lied To Become The Host Of Survivor
Probst admitted that the demo tape didn't get him the job and that he was forced into telling a lie to get on 'Survivor's' map.
Notwithstanding, taking responsibility while not understanding the gravity of the full situation can be applauded.
"There are so many layers to this story," Probst wrote in a statement to The Times. "The biggest question centered around whether or not Dan’s unwanted touching, that made some of the women uncomfortable, was enough to warrant pulling him from the game. From our point of view, there was no clear answer," he wrote.
"I accept my own responsibility in the situation,” Probst said in his statement. “We did what we thought was right in issuing Dan a warning, but I certainly respect anyone who feels we should have removed Dan from the game."
Despite Probst apologizing and taking responsibility for not believing Kellee Kim or investigating properly to find out the truth, it did not help that Probst waited until the end of the controversial season, when the final votes were in, to make clarifications and apologize to Kim for the first time.
Jeff Probst Also Brushed Off Another Misconduct On Survivor
What happened to Kellee Kim during her time as a contestant on Survivors dug up many more past incidents where female contestants raised complaints about being harassed by the male contestants.
Survivor: Borneo and All-Stars competitor Sue Hawk claimed that pilot season winner and fellow competitor in the All-Stars season Richard Hatch sexually violated her.
During their tribal immunity challenge, a very naked Hatch had brushed on Sue as they passed by each other on the balance beam. Hatch, fond of taking on challenges naked, found this funny, saying "You want some of this?" Hawk pushed past Hatch, and Probst, watching the exchange, did not say anything.
However, Sue said she had had enough of her run-ins with Hatch and decided to opt out of the game.
"I was sexually violated, humiliated, dehumanized and totally spent," Sue said in rage. "There's no way I can continue with my emotions pushed to the ground that much."
Sue mentioned Probst not saying anything (but he admonished lightly) about what was happening. However, she did not fault him completely because he was not positioned to clearly see what happened between competitors. The host also remained silent while Sue went on her rant. Probst did not object to Sue leaving and saw her off.
Despite Jeff Probst and CBS updating the nudity rule to no nudity on the show, it took too long to make that policy and the incident could have been handled better.
Former Survivor Contestants Weren't Thrilled With The Show's Strict Wardrobe Policies
Jeff Probst has put contestants on the spot off-camera for their wardrobes in the past.
Jeff Probst Admitted His Bias Against Female Contestants On Survivor
Jeff didn't deny he had a gender bias against female contestants on Survivor. In 2020, on Survivor: Winners at War, Jeff and the fourth place contestant, Sarah Lacina, had an open conversation about the bias women faced in the game. While Lacina was familiar with the dynamics of gender bias, Jeff was just starting to understand the systemic bias against women he didn't realize early enough.
- "Let me own my part. I am certain if I look back at all of the comments I have made over 20 years, I would find the exact same bias in me — who I call by last names. Guys have different relationships with each other, and I might not know how to have that relationship with a woman," he expressed.
- "So, I'll definitely own that I don't think I saw it when Survivor started, and I don't think I even knew I was supposed to look for it. But I'm very aware of it now, and I'm grateful that we can open up and investigate, even though it comes with crisis or hardship, or it comes with some tears. Whatever it is, it's out there, and it's being talked about," Jeff said.
Although Probst and the production team have tried to reduce the imbalance on Survivor by implementing even distribution for the tribe system, it still isn't enough.
Probst attributes the gender imbalance on Survivor due to the early ejection of female contestants. Women are not given enough chances to settle into the game, and this may cause an imbalance.
"There is still a gender imbalance when it comes to who is getting voted out in the early stages," Probst said.
"Because it's a crazy assumption to say that it's always going to be a woman who is the weakest player in a game which has so many layers to it like Survivor," he continued.
Probst's best advice beat this notion: "Anyone who applies to be on the show should figure out how that's an opportunity."
