Survivor: The 10 Most Embarrassing Challenge Fails

Challenges are an important aspect of Survivor. It not only rewards tribes with food, creature comforts, and immunity, but they also allow individual players to dominate the post-merge part of the game. Some of the most prolific individual immunity winners went far into the game – and some of them even won.

Unfortunately, challenges aren’t for everyone. Some people are extraordinarily athletic and perform exceptionally well during challenges, whereas others find their strengths in the social aspect of the game. Unfortunately, this often results in embarrassing performances – some of which have become iconic pieces of Survivor lore.

10 Tiffany Seely Can’t Get Across The Beam

Survivor 41 is only a couple of weeks into its airing, but it’s already given fans a number of memorable challenge fails. One of them comes from Tiffany Seely of the Yase tribe. One challenge saw the tribes traversing a thin balance beam, and poor Tiffany just couldn’t do it.

She continuously fell off the beam and into the water, and she was still on it long after the other tribes had completed their puzzles. Jeff even went hoarse by screaming at her so much. It is equal parts hilarious and pitiful.

9 Heather Aldret Can’t Run Through Ropes

There are some surprising comp beasts, and then there is Heather Aldret. Heather is one of those players who sits out every single challenge, so seeing her in one could have provided viewers with a moment of surprising competence. But she wasn’t competent.

The challenge saw players tossing a ball onto a slide and running through a rope maze before catching the ball on the other side. Unfortunately, Heather just couldn’t figure out the rope maze, and her ball continuously fell without her making it to the other side. Thankfully, her entire tribe was very supportive.

8 Kat Edorsson Keeps Jumping Into The Water

Following basic instructions is fundamental to a team’s success in challenges. One World contestant Kat Edorsson proved this firsthand. During the season’s second immunity challenge, Kat continuously jumped into the water, despite having no reason for doing so.

It held the tribe up and lost them the game, and Salani contemplated voting Kat out for her incompetence. Luckily for her, she had a strong alliance and managed to flip the script on Nina Acosta.

7 Courtney Yates Can’t Cut The Rope

First competing on China, Courtney Yates started off as one of the smallest players in the season. Many viewers assumed that she would do poorly in challenges as a result of her petite size. And while she wasn’t horrible, the rope-cutting challenge did indeed prove to be her downfall.

Yates simply couldn’t cut the rope with her machete, as she just didn’t have the muscle to make it happen. It was a horrible and embarrassing performance, but Yates would rebound and eventually place third.

6 Basically Everything J’Tia Taylor Did

J’Tia Taylor from Cagayan is one of the most notorious Survivor villains. Not only did she pour the tribe’s rice supply into the fire (and then lie about it), but she performed horribly in nearly all of the challenges that she competed in.

J’Tia was grossly incompetent at nearly everything she tried, like failing to put together puzzles and continuously bumbling the balls tossed by Spencer and Tasha. It was embarrassing for her, but hilarious for viewers.

5 The Worlds Apart Word Scramble

In the penultimate episode of Worlds Apart, the contestants were tasked with unscrambling a word puzzle. The phrase was “a reward with all the fixins”), but the contestants just couldn’t figure it out. It took them hours to complete the puzzle, and Jeff was forced to give them multiple clues.

Even with the helpful hints, the two teams were woefully horrible at unscrambling the puzzle. They eventually figured it out, but it was painful while it lasted.

4 Crystal Cox Lasts One Second

Like J’Tia Taylor, Crystal Cox of Gabon was hopeless at challenges. Watching her perform in challenges made for great TV, if not frustrating Survivor. She was like a sitcom character who is hopelessly bad at sports, as nearly everything she tried ended in disaster.

Perhaps the funniest instance came in a challenge that saw the contestants holding tall bars. Crystal immediately fumbles hers, prompting Jeff to hilariously state, “And after one second, Crystal is out.”

3 The Infamous Thailand Attack Zone

Thailand is one of the most disastrous seasons of Survivor, filled with horrible contestants and a boring climax. It also contains what could very well be the most disastrous challenge in the history of Survivor. The infamous “attack zone” challenge was a mess from the start.

People didn’t listen to Jeff’s instructions and completely forwent any semblance of sportsmanship. Rules were flagrantly broken, attacks were constant, and in one case, Robb Zbacnik choked Clay Jordan for no good reason. Jeff’s frustration was obvious.

2 The Cook Islands Fire Making Challenge

Cook Islands is a middling season of Survivor, but it contains an unforgettable climax. Sundra Oakley and Becky Lee were forced to compete in a fire-making challenge, and the results couldn’t have been more embarrassing. They were both woefully incompetent at starting their fires, even with the help of flint.

To make matters even more hilarious, Jeff brought in matches – and they still couldn’t figure it out. The challenge lasted an inordinate amount of time, the jury was clearly bored, and Jeff was done with everything.

1 Dan Foley Blows The Slide Challenge

Dan Foley of Worlds Apart was a contentious figure, but those who hated him found catharsis in laughter. One individual immunity challenge saw the contestants competing in a slide puzzle that read “outwit,” “outlast,” and “outplay.” Dan called for Jeff twice, believing that he had cracked the puzzle.

However, the camera continuously revealed the hilarious truth, as his words were jumbled to the point of illegibility. No one really knew what he was thinking, as those clearly were not words.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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