'Survivor' contestant accused of unwanted touching — and his accuser was voted off
Warning: Spoilers from Wednesday’s double-length episode of “Survivor: Island of the Idols” follow.
Time’s up for CBS’ long-running reality show “Survivor.”
In Wednesday night’s controversial episode, TV producer and talent manager Dan Spilo (who reps “The Act’s” Joey King and “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki), a contestant on Season 39, was accused of inappropriately touching fellow contestants — and was not kicked off the island. In a shocking move, one of his accusers was voted off instead.
Here’s what happened: Contestants Kellee Kim and Missy Byrd met and discussed their discomfort around Spilo, who they alleged touched them inappropriately and didn’t heed warnings to stop. In a rare occurrence, production intervened, spoke with the cast, and issued a warning to Spilo.
A title card on-screen informed the audience: “The following morning the producers met with all the players, both as a group and individually. They were cautioned about personal boundaries and reminded that producers are available to them at all times. Based on the outcome of those discussions, the game continued. In addition, producers met privately with Dan, at which time he was issued a warning for his behavior. Producers continue to monitor the situation.”
At the episode’s first Tribal Council — in which a contestant is voted off — several contestants tried to vote off Spilo, but it backfired. Instead, Kim was voted off. The show got ugly, with personal trainer Aaron Meredith accusing a fellow contestant of exaggerating their account of Spilo’s behavior in order to play a “victim role.”
Contestant Jamal Shipman countered by saying, “This whole idea of ‘If this was actually an issue, then I would have heard about it, and he would have heard about it,’ that’s exactly what happens in the real world, guys. That’s exactly what happens in the real world when a woman brings up a charge and people want to negate whether or not it’s legitimate.”
“Survivor” host Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly about the incident, “On one hand, it’s very clear that Dan’s touching was making some of the women uncomfortable, and we saw many of those moments on camera. There is no denying that it happened. But … Now the story has taken on a life of its own with several conflicting perspectives … And because no individual player has all the information, rumors now hold as much weight as truth. This is a precise microcosm of what happens in the workplace. We must use this as an opportunity to examine ourselves and how we handle these types of situations.”
Two female contestants (Missy Byrd and Elizabeth Beisel) played up how uncomfortable Spilo made them as a strategy, which makes the situation even messier, as Probst pointed out.
Former “Survivor” contestant Eliza Orlins expressed her disgust on Twitter, and said this marks her last straw with the show.
“I’ve loved #survivor for so many years. Almost 20, in fact,” she wrote. “And, for the first time ever, I think I’m going to stop watching the show. I’m done with this season. I have friends on season 40 so I’ll pick it back then, but honestly, I’m out after tonight. This felt . . . really gross.”
CBS and MGM provided the following joint statement to The Post Thursday:
“In the episode broadcast last night, several female castaways discussed the behavior of a male castaway that made them uncomfortable. During the filming of this episode, producers spoke off-camera to all the contestants still in the game, both as a group and individually, to hear any concerns and advise about appropriate boundaries. A formal warning was also given to the male castaway in question. On ‘Survivor,’ producers provide the castaways a wide berth to play the game. At the same time, all castaways are monitored and supervised at all times. They have full access to producers and doctors, and the production will intervene in situations where warranted.”