Survivor: 10 Biggest Controversies

Content Warning: This article deals with themes of sexual assault.

When twenty strangers are deserted on an island with nothing but the clothes on their back and the food that they catch, trouble is bound to ensue. Over the 20 years, that Survivor has been on the air, it has been praised for its depiction of reality and social predicaments that proves to always be interesting, no matter the location.

Survivor has led to on-screen showmances, off-screen romances, lifelong friendships, and decades-long rivalries. However, in a few instances, there have been legal controversies and outrage from the show, either due to mishandling of a situation by production or because of a castaway’s actions while competing on the show.

10 Stacey Stillman’s Lawsuit (Survivor: Borneo)

Coming off the legendary success of the show’s first season, Stacey Stillman, a 27-year-old attorney from California filed a lawsuit against Mark Burnett and CBS for allegedly rigging the popular reality show.

Stillman, who was voted off the island third, claimed that Burnett and producers interfered with the game and persuaded her tribemates Dirk Been and Sean Kenniff into casting their votes for her over Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch. The case was ultimately settled out of court, but Burnett and Kenniff both denied her accusations.

9 Colby Donaldson Breaking Australian Law (Survivor: Australia)

In Season 2, Texas native Colby Donaldson won a reward challenge that allowed him and rival Jerri Manthey to visit the Great Barrier Reef and enjoy a day of food and tourist activities.

It was later revealed that Donaldson broke off a piece of coral during the visit, and gave pieces to his cast-mates as souvenirs. Taking the coral from the reef is actually illegal. CBS was fined 100,000 dollars for the incident, and showrunner Mark Burnett apologized after the fact.

8 The Final Four Challenge (Survivor: Africa)

The final four challenge in Survivor’s third season was a competition to see who knew their fellow castaways the best, namely those who had been voted out by the four remaining contestants.

The question that propelled Kim Johnson to the immunity win was “which female contestant has no piercings?”. She answered Kelly Goldsmith, the correct answer, while Lex van der Berghe asked Lindsey Richter. Producers did not know that Richter also did not have any piercings, and had they awarded van den Berghe the point, there would’ve been a tie-breaker. Tom Buchanan, who was voted out that night, and van den Berghe were awarded the monetary prize of a typical runner-up for this mistake.

7 Jonny Fairplay’s Not-Dead Grandma (Survivor: Pearl Islands)

During the loved one’s visit on Season 7, 29-year-old Jonny ‘Fairplay’ Dalton constructed a brilliant lie as a surefire way to get sympathy from his tribe and hopefully win the reward challenge.

When his best friend Dan emerged on the beach and broke the news that Jonny’s grandmother had sadly passed away, he broke down crying. In a subsequent confessional, he revealed that his grandma was very much alive, and probably “at home, watching Jerry Springer”. His scheme worked, and Jonny Fairplay went down as one of the show’s most notorious villains.

6 Sue Hawk Alleges Improper Conduct By Richard Hatch  (Survivor: All-Stars)

Sue Hawk and Richard Hatch first played together on Survivor: Borneo, and came back to compete on the first all-star season of Survivor. Though on separate tribes, they interacted during challenges, and in one, in particular, a nude Hatch allegedly rubbed himself against Hawk. (Hatch denies that this happened.)

The incident stuck with her in the coming days, making her grow increasingly uncomfortable and emotional. At the next reward challenge, Sue broke down and announced that she needed to quit the game due to the turmoil caused by Rich’s actions. After her departure, Richard was not reprimanded for this incident, but his tribe did make the decision to vote him off next.

5 Tribes Divided By Race (Survivor: Cook Islands)

The 13th season of Survivor was by far the most diverse one the show has ever seen, but the way in which this diversity was handled raised a lot of eyebrows.

The cast was split into four tribes, each divided by race. It was a risky move on CBS’s part and allowed for a lot of racial stereotypes to be voiced and perpetuated. The theme was quickly scratched, and by the third episode, the tribes were redrawn so that there were no racial divisions.

4 Denise Martin Losing Her Job (Survivor: China)

Fourth-place finisher and former lunch lady Denise Martin gave an emotional speech at the Survivor: China reunion show, where she claimed she was fired from her job after her return from the island. Mark Burnett then awarded her 50,000 dollars as a means to get her on her feet again.

The school district that Denise worked for later combatted her statement, explaining she was actually promoted prior to her Survivor journey, and upon returning home had asked for her old job back. Her prior position was already filled, thus why she could not get it back. Denise apologized and donated the money she received from Burnett.

3 Alec Merlino’s Instagram Post (Survivor: David vs. Goliath)

Season 37 contestant Alec Merlino seemingly spoiled his season’s cast and his fate in the game when he posted an Instagram photo of him and fellow castmate Kara Kay shortly after they returned from filming.

The picture featured Alec and Kara together alongside a caption that read, “F*** it”, possibly referring to the NDA that prevents contestants from appearing together on social media until the airing of the show. Alec was banned from the reunion show and stripped of his monetary prize for his actions but has been positively received by the Survivor community.

2 Jeff Varner Outing Zeke Smith (Survivor: Game Changers)

On Season 34, which featured all returning players, Jeff Varner attempted to save his game – and himself – by accusing fellow castaway Zeke Smith of being a liar. One of his claims of defense was asking Zeke, in front of all of his tribemates, why he had not told them that he was transgender.

Zeke, who was not openly out to everyone in his life or his tribe, was blindsided by Jeff’s words. The rest of the tribe was shocked by Jeff’s outing of Zeke on national television, and they decided to verbally vote him out of the game. Jeff later apologized for his actions and any pain he caused Zeke, but was ultimately fired from his job following the airing of the episode.

1 Dan Spilo’s Removal From The Game (Survivor: Island of the Idols)

The merge episode of Season 39 featured a storyline in which MBA student Kellee Kim is apprehensive about being reunited with former tribemate Dan Spilo, due to his previous inappropriate touching of her and other female contestants on the show.

Kellee is shown as emotionally distraught in a confessional where a producer asks if she is okay. In the same episode, Kellee was eliminated from the game with two idols in her pocket, targeted for trying to vote out Dan. Despite Kellee’s vocalization of Dan’s abusive behavior, he was kept in the game and fellow contestant Janet Carbin was isolated for speaking out against him following Kellee’s elimination. On Day 36, Dan was removed from the game due to an additional inappropriate incident offscreen, and was subsequently banned from the show’s jury and reunion.

About The Author

Emily Proctor
(213 Articles Published)

Emily Proctor is an entertainment writer and avid television fan. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. In addition to writing for Screenrant, Emily frequently publishes personal essays on her Medium profile and personal blog SheWritesTV.com. She is also an aspiring actress and songwriter.

You can follow Emily on Twitter at @emproct for more of her opinions on pop culture, the latest TV and movies, and links to her work.

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