Things hadn’t even started on “Survivor” season 49, and the chaos had already begun. With two castaways being removed before the cameras even started to roll, “Survivor” host Jeff Probst explains the reasoning behind this last-minute change.
Strict Rules on ‘Survivor’
As was mentioned in the “Survivor” 49 premiere, two alternates joined the cast at the very last minute. No explanation was given, but now Probst is opening up about it on a recent episode of his “On Fire with Jeff Probst” podcast.
Probst explains that all of the players are together at the Ponderosa before the season starts. However, the players are not allowed to talk while at the Ponderosa.
“That’s why we have so many handlers there to make sure nobody’s talking,” Probst explained. “You can obviously look at each other, you can try to make eye contact. That might work for you, it might not.”
This also gives the castaways a chance to make some early “assessments” of their competition. They can even write down any notes they might have about the other players. However, actual conversation is completely forbidden.
“The only thing is, we have rules,” Probst said. “The rules are you cannot talk to each other, for obvious reasons. And in this season, season 49, we had two players who were disrespecting that rule. They just kept talking.”
Things Escalated Quickly
Probst went on to explain that the situation escalated quickly. He said he received a call noting “a level of concern” regarding the contestants’ behavior. This prompted producers to give the pair a “stern warning.”
However, that didn’t seem to help the situation. Instead, it made things worse.
“I went and met with our executive team and said, ‘Look, we might have a situation,’” Probst stated. “Before we could even finish our discussion, I got a second phone call saying that the level of disrespect had reached an even more blatant level.”
At that point in the game, they decided to remove these players from the game and replace them with alternates.
Integrity of the ‘Survivor’ Game
With the change in the “Survivor” 49 cast, we saw alternates Jason Treul and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu join. As shocking as the change was, it seems like the rest of the cast supported the decision.
“What really happened was the players, once they were able to talk, they thanked our producers,” Probst said. “Because they said, ‘We were all aware that this was happening. And it felt like cheating. Like there was an advantage being had.’ And now they’re in the situation of: Should I do that as well?”
Probst warned any future players, “It should be clear to future players, although I doubt this will ever happen again, to just know we will not hesitate to pull you from the game. It doesn’t matter how much time or money we’ve invested in you.”
When it comes to “Survivor,” Probst said they “value the integrity of the game more than anything.”
