Last month, during a discussion on the “On Fire with Jeff Probst” podcast, the longtime “Survivor” host accidentally set off a heated debate amongst fans and former players alike when he asked his co-host – “Survivor: Second Chance” winner Jeremy Collins – if Parvati Shallow’s recent “Australian Survivor” victory qualified her as a two-time winner.
Now, following weeks of backlash, Collins has finally broken his silence on the topic, taking to Instagram to not only defend his position, but also to call on fans and alumni to “lay off.”
Collins Causes Controversy After Calling Parvati a ‘1.5x Winner’
Prior to Parvati’s domination of the international spin-off season this September, only two former castaways had held the honor of having won the game of “Survivor” twice: Sandra Diaz-Twine and Tony Vlachos.
While Shallow’s victory was celebrated by “Survivor” fans worldwide this September, Collins’ made it clear on the “On Fire” podcast that he does not consider the infamous “Black Widow” a two-time winner, but instead a “one and a half time winner.”
“In my ‘Survivor’ world, I say she has one and a half wins,” Collins said. “It’s a good win. ‘Australian Survivor’s a good win, but it’s not the same as ‘Survivor’ U.S. It’s not the same.”
The comment led to uproar amongst fans, as well as alumni from the Emmy-winning series, including Shallow herself, who referred to Jeremy’s “hot take” as misogynistic, accusing her “Winners at War” co-star of “trying to discredit a woman.”
Shallow’s status as a two-time winner was later supported by a number of female “Survivor” stars like Kelley Wentworth, Eliza Orlins and Carolyn Wiger. Even the series’ original two-time champion Sandra Diaz-Twine, who has similarly competed on a season of “Australian Survivor,” said, “At the end of the day, a ‘Survivor’ win is a ‘Survivor’ win.”
Jeremy Defends His Position in New Instagram Video
In the days after his controversial comments made reality TV headlines, Collins remained silent, but all of that changed on November 5 when the three-time player took to Instagram to clarify and double down on his position.
“All right, I let it go long enough,” began Collins in the Instagram video addressing the scandal.
Jeremy continued, explaining that while Parvati clearly dominated and deserved to win the Australian series, its format – namely the fact that the season consisted of only 16 days of competition – wasn’t comparable to a typical season of the show based in the U.S..
CBSWhile both Collins and Shallow won the U.S. version of the series during the time when it hosted 39-day seasons, “Survivor” has since shortened its seasons to just 26 days for its “new era,” leading fans to question whether if, in Collins’ view, any winner from Seasons 41 to 48 technically qualify as full “Survivor” winners.
“[Fans] throw out math problems about, oh, so is this a 2.3 time winner because it’s only 26 days?” added Collins, responding to the outcry. “And I said, I didn’t even give any days. I didn’t even say, my reasoning isn’t even because of the days. You know what I mean? I mean, that’s part of it, but I didn’t even say anything about it. So the internet just went wild with it.”
Jeremy Explains Why ‘Survivor’ and ‘Australian Survivor’ Aren’t the Same
Despite clarifying that his original comments mentioned nothing about the length of Parvati’s “Australian Survivor” season, Collins doubled-down on his opinion that the two franchises aren’t equivalent.
“It’s just a different game. That’s all I’m saying. It’s a different game. So relax with that. All right,” he said. “She did her thing. I’m not taking anything away from [Parvati]. She did her thing. Fine. I think the game is different.”
“I lost 30 pounds on ‘Survivor.’ You know what I mean? 30 pounds each time,” Collins continued. “I’m not losing 30 pounds on ‘Australian Survivor’ in the 16 days when you’re getting food and you’re getting rice, you’re getting beans, you’re getting fruit. That’s not happening. You know what I’m saying? So it’s a whole different game. Yeah, sure. The ‘Survivor’ part of it is the mental and strategy part. Yeah, that’s ‘Survivor.’ But the whole thing, it’s a different game. So that’s all I’m saying. It’s a different game.”
Tony Vlachos Reportedly Agrees with Jeremy’s Stance
Collins additionally backed up his opinion with an anecdote from Tony Vlachos, who not only competed alongside Parvati on “Australia vs. the World” this fall, but similarly made history as the second two-time “Survivor” winner after taking home the “Sole Survivor” title on both “Survivor: Cagayan” and “Survivor: Winners at War.”
CBS/Getty“I talked to Tony about this,” he shared. “I said, ‘Tony, what do you think? Cuz, in my opinion, if you had won, I would be like, that didn’t count… You wouldn’t be a three-time winner.’”
According to Collins, Vlachos said he “understands” and agrees with his view-point.
‘Survivor’ Alumni Defend Parvati’s Victory – Again
Despite having Tony’s support, other “Survivor” alumni have once again come out in hoards to support Parvati’s status as a two-time victor after Collins’ latest update on the controversy.
“I just watched .5 of that reel,” wrote “Survivor: Africa” winner Ethan Zohn, who similarly competed alongside Jeremy, Parvati, Tony and Sandra on “Winners at War” in 2020.
“I’m dead,” added Collins’ “Survivor: San Juan del Sur” co-star Kelley Wentworth. “Jeff [Probst] set you up J.”
Meanwhile, Parvati herself shared Jeremy’s video to her Instagram story with the caption, “Loving all this free publicity. Keep it coming fellas! Can’t wait to see Jeff’s video next.”
Jeremy Calls on ‘Survivor’ Fans to ‘Lay Off’
Despite the ongoing controversy, Collins concluded his Instagram video with a message to fans, particularly those calling his comment “misogynistic” and suggesting that he didn’t deserve to win “Survivor: Second Chance,” telling them to “lay off.”
“Lay off me. Leave me alone. Or don’t. I don’t care,” he said. “Listen, I’ve played ‘Survivor’ and won, and people say I should have lost. I’ve played ‘Survivor’ and lost, and people say I should have won. Listen, I really like the winner, and peaople say I lost a lot more than the other way around. So say what you want. You know what I mean? But I’m just telling you my opinion in my ‘Survivor’ world is that. All right. So does that clear it up for everybody? I hope it does.”
Check out Jeremy Collins full video response to the ongoing drama below.
