Biggest Shockers In Survivor History That Are Hard To Believe
At this point, Survivor has been around for 34 seasons, and almost 20 years — it debuted way back in 2000. It may just seem like yet another reality television show now, but back when it kicked off, it was one of the very first in the genre — and used to cause quite the stir around the water cooler.
Now, there are contestants who have appeared on the show not just once, not twice, but three or four times. There are crazy challenges and twists, and the producers are always trying to find a new angle to keep things fresh and interesting. And, the fact that viewers keep tuning in season after season shows that they’re obviously doing something right.
Season 35 — Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers — is set to debut on September 27, so why not take a look back at some of the most shocking and scandalous moments in seasons past. Seriously, some of this stuff is so insane you have yourself thinking it has to be scripted. When you stick a bunch of regular people out in the wilderness, put them through physical challenges and mess with their minds through the paranoia of being voted out, plus dangle a million dollar prize up for grabs? A lot of crazy stuff is bound to happen.
#1 Erik Reichenbach giving his immunity to someone else — and getting voted out immediately after
Oh, Erik. Poor, sweet, naive Erik. He was the odd man out in one of the show’s rare all-female alliances, and he actually managed to snag immunity for a crucial tribal council. He was set to advance, everything was looking great for him, and then somehow the women got in his head. They managed to convince him that he was totally safe, he didn’t need to worry about getting voted out, and in fact Natalie was the one in danger. So, Erik stepped up, tried to be the good guy, and gave her his immunity necklace — and they voted him out literally minutes after. While he was taking that necklace off of himself, we’re pretty sure every viewer was screaming at him to not be an idiot — and yet, he went through with it.
#2 Zeke Smith being viciously outed as transgender at tribal council
When it comes to reality television, even on competition shows, little bits of your personal life are often revealed. Perhaps you mention your spouse a few times, or your career, or even just little things like where you grew up or what your hobbies are. However, there are certain personal details that people have a right to keep to themselves. During one tribal council, Zeke’s fellow contestant Jeff was discussing deception in the game, and finished his speech by asking Zeke “why haven’t you told anyone that you’re transgender?” The other contestants were absolutely horrified and upset with Jeff, as was basically everyone watching — and the moment will probably always remain one of the most brutal and shocking in the show’s history now. I mean… you just don’t do that. There is no world in which that is okay.
#3 Michael Skupin falling into the fire
Okay, we’re going way, way back for this one. In the second season of the show, when the contestants were in the Australian outback, fans saw the first ever contestant medical evacuation. Michael Skupin, who had been a pretty strong leader in the game until that point, was tending the fire and ended up falling into it. His hands got majorly burned, and though he dove into the river, you could tell from the skin on his hands alone that he was seriously, seriously burned. The show quickly swooped in and evacuated him so that he could get his burns tended to in a hospital rather than risk having something happen while he’s out in the wild — but what a crazy way to go! It was one of the first scenes that drove home the fact that contestants could actually get hurt out there.
#4 Parvati Shallow playing two Idols and giving her sassy speech
Parvati is a bit of a polarizing contestant — some absolutely adore her, others thing she’s way overhyped — but one thing is for sure — her move in the Heroes vs. Villains season where she played two Idols was kind of amazing. For those who can’t recall, Shallow ended up finding an idol herself — and she was also given one by Russell, a member of her alliance. She wanted to ensure that the people who were aligned with her would remain in the game. She gave her first idol to an alliance member that people going against Parvati wanted her to believe they voted for. Then, as they congratulated themselves for fooling her and making her waste an idol, she gave the second idol to the true target — and saved her alliance. And, of course, she delivered the iconic line — “I think it would be downright depressing to sit and watch green bananas turn yellow without my debaucherous little villains.”
#5 Johnny Fairplay lying about the death of his grandmother
The moment during the season where contestants are visited by their loved ones is always one of the most touching because you get to see the contestants’ vulnerable side a little bit — plus, who doesn’t love a reunion between family members? During Johnny Fairplay’s first season, he made a comment about expecting his grandmother to come out, but knowing that if she didn’t, it wouldn’t be a good sign, as she was ill. Sure enough, his friend came out, and delivered some devastating news — that his grandmother had passed away. The other contestants were devastated on his behalf, the moment tugged at everyone’s heartstrings — and it was later revealed that it was all a lie Fairplay had set up beforehand. There are just some things that you don’t lie about.
#6 Sandra Diaz-Twine tossing Russell Hantz’ hat in the fire as a power move
Honestly, we’re kind of surprised Sandra managed to go as far as she did in her first two seasons, because the woman definitely has a bit of a fiery temper. She’s absolutely unafraid to speak her mind and tell you exactly what she’s thinking, and she doesn’t always manage to hide her emotions. So, when contestant Russell Hantz was getting on her nerves and getting a little too big for his britches, she decided to show him who the true boss was — by throwing his hat in the fire. It’s a bit of a petty move, sure, but it just proved how she wasn’t the type of take any garbage from anyone. And, considering that Russell had no issue with destroying other things around camp, it was kind of retaliation.
#7 Jenna Morasca and Heidi Strobel did anything in order to win the peanut butter
This is something that’s a little easier in recent seasons, as there seems to be more bountiful rewards and food rewards in particular, but in the earlier seasons, those contestants were really, really hungry. They would do just about anything for some snacks. And so, during a gruelling endurance challenge, the season’s two bombshells, Jenna Morasca and Heidi Strobel, responded to a proposition from Jeff — to strip off their clothes in order to be given a big old slab of chocolate with peanut butter. Jeff agreed — the man knows what makes good television, after all — and the two ladies shimmied out of their bathing suits. Hey, who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter, right? Particularly after days and days of rice and similarly uninspiring foods, we can see how they’d be tempted.
#8 Jason Siska thinking a literal stick was an idol — and using it
There have been quite a few times throughout the show’s history where someone either constructs a fake idol or even just tries to hint that they have an idol when they don’t. And some, such as the one Bob made in Gabon with beads and a lot of effort, are convincing enough that you could totally see someone being fooled by it. And then, there was the stick. Fellow contestant Ozzy crafted an ‘idol’ — by which we mean, literally a stick — and wrapped it up and gave it to Jason, telling him it was a real idol. Jason for some reason believed him, used the idol as a way to make a huge move, but when he revealed the idol to his alliance member Eliza, she said what the rest of the fans were thinking — “it’s a f*%$ing stick!”
#9 Richard Hatch rubbing himself against Sue Hawk during a challenge — a line you just don’t cross
Now, there are some moments that are shocking because of what a curveball they present, and some that are shocking because they’re just plain wrong — this is the latter. As fans of the show know, the very first winner, Richard Hatch, had a habit of just hanging out without any swim trunks on. And so during a challenge on Survivor: All Stars, he competed totally stark naked. The problem is, the challenge involved passing your fellow contestant on the balance beam — and Richard ended up, well, rubbing his stuff against fellow contestant Sue. She was obviously upset, and got increasingly upset as time went on. She commented on how she felt “violated, humiliated, dehumanized, and totally spent” as a result of the challenge confrontation, and actually quit over it.
#10 Basically any moment Colton Cumbie was on screen making racist comments
Now, there are many Survivor contestants who are polarizing, and who have their fair share of haters because of their over the top personalities or aggressive style of game play. However, we’re betting there’s basically no one with as many haters as Colton Cumbie — and for good reason. He was known for making comments that would make any human being cringe because of how awful they were — such as when he called his fellow contestant Bill “ghetto trash” simply because he was African-American, and when he tried to defend his comments in tribal by saying that he had someone of a different race in his life — his housekeeper. And then, of course, there was the footage captured of him making fun of an Asian contestant — shown in the gif here. Fans wanted him off their screens, and fast.
#11 Caleb Reynolds being evacuated for serious heatstroke
When it comes to Survivor, contestants have been medically eliminated for a variety of reasons, from emergencies such as a bowel obstruction and serious burns, to things like a wound looking frightening and the contestant being eliminated for fear of infection. However, one of the most shocking was Caleb’s evacuation. There was a particular challenge during his season that was incredibly taxing on the contestants, and many ended up requiring a bit of medical attention. However, Caleb got such insane heat stroke that he was utterly unresponsive and ended up having to be evacuated. In a later interview, he commented that “my body temperature hit 107 at the worst. It was really dangerous, I’m lucky to be alive. I was in the ICU for five days.” Yikes! I mean, did the producers not get how hot it was out there?
#12 Sue Hawk’s final speech about snakes and rats
The Final Tribal Council is one of every fan’s favourite parts of the show, simply because you get to see the finalists trying to explain their actions and answer questions from jurors that are often incredibly bitter and angry. It’s often high drama, with people calling one another out and challenging one another, which makes for good television. However, we’re not sure anyone will ever be able to hold a candle to Sue Hawk’s speech in season one — it’s absolutely legendary. She talked about snakes and rats and confronted her fellow contestant Kelly for betraying her, before delivering this scathing line that is so juicy we can barely believe it was unscripted — “if I were to ever pass you along in life again, and you were laying there dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water.” Yikes!
#13 When Boston Rob finally — finally — won after four seasons
When Rob Mariano — better known as “Boston Rob” — first appeared on Survivor, he was just a regular construction worker taking on a cool adventure. He charmed the audience enough that he was asked to come back for Survivor: All Stars, where he met his eventual wife, Amber. His third time on the show was for the Heroes vs. Villains season, and then the fourth time — Redemption Island — was when he finally, finally won the money. Many people argue that he’s one of the best players to appear on the show, so the fact that he had three shots at the title and still didn’t win was pretty insane. Finally, the stars aligned for his fourth appearance, and he snagged the title of sole survivor. Honestly, we’re pretty sure they would have kept inviting him back until he won, so it’s luck he didn’t have to show up for another four seasons.
#14 Sandra Diaz-Twine somehow winning for the second time
There’s no rule against a contestant winning more than once on Survivor. However, when the producers started thinking up twists and unique angles that would involve inviting former contestants back for another shot at the title, it was basically assumed that no one would win twice. After all, the winner is crowned by votes — even if they manage to snag enough immunity wins to get to the finals, no one is going to vote for them to win when they already brought home a million dollars, right? Well, not in Sandra Diaz-Twine’s case. The sassy contestant managed to win the season she made her first appearance on, and when she was invited back for another season, she won that one too. She now holds the record of being the only contestant in 35 seasons to win twice, which is pretty incredible.
#15 Stephenie LaGrossa becoming a tribe of one because her tribe was so bad
There have been tribes before that go on total winning streaks, snagging challenge after challenge and getting showered with immunity and reward and all that. Then, there are tribes that just seem to do everything wrong, and find themselves trekking to tribal time and time again. However, we’re pretty sure there’s never been a tribe as awful as Ulong. On the Palau season, the Ulong tribe managed to lose every single immunity challenge, and they just shrunk and shrunk. Finally, Stephenie had to go up against her fellow tribe member, Bobby Jon, in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be voted out — and she won. So, Stephenie returned to the Ulong camp totally alone, spending the night solo before finally being asked to join another tribe. Honestly, we’re just shocked they didn’t decide to make the merge happen earlier, considering how awful Ulong was doing.
