On Saturday, May 23, “Survivor” season 50 player Jenna Lewis Dougherty shared a video clip on her Instagram account that gave insight into how the season 50 cast felt about a major spoiler from Probst during the finale live show.
Lewis Dougherty was the first player voted out in “Survivor” season 50, “In the Hands of the Fans,” following a rough start for her tribe. Because of her early departure, she wasn’t able to stay on as a member of the jury, but she did get to come back for the live show finale that aired May 20, and the full special is now available on Paramount+.
The live show, which started with the final five of season 50, covered the vote in which Tiffany Nicole Ervin’s torch was snuffed. Afterwards, Ervin joined the jury, leaving Jonathan Young, Joe Hunter, Rizo Velvoic, and Aubry Bracco as the final four.
However, “Survivor” host Jeff Probst accidentally revealed the final three on the live show stage before the video footage from the episode could air, leaving the players, audience, and finalists stunned as the slip caused the special to cut to a commercial break.
Survivor Cast Reacts to Probst Spoiling Final Three
Following the commercial break, the special episode restarted with an explanation from Probst about the error. Probst stated, “Alright, so, I love doing live television. So, in case you’re confused, this is what happened. We were going to show you firemaking and then have the loser of firemaking, Rizo, come out and talk about how charming he is, and if he had practiced fire-making, maybe he would have won. Instead, we did a Survivor twist, the last twist of the season, we called it a ‘peek into the future.’ So now, we’re going to watch Rizo lose in fire to Jonathan.”
At the time, none of the cast from “Survivor” season 50 were present on stage. As revealed in Jenna Lewis Dougherty’s Instagram video, the cast watched the breakdown from a television backstage. The room was filled with cast members, including Genevieve Mushaluk, Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth, Christian Hubicki, Rizo Velovic, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, and most of the other players from the season.
As Probst explained what had happened and tried to smooth over the major spoiler that had been revealed prematurely, Lewis Dougherty can be heard saying “Oooh, oh no,” when Jeff reaches the point where he says the audience will “watch Rizo lose in fire to Jonathan.”
Velovic was caught on camera, lips pressed together while sitting on a sofa. He did not initially say anything about the “peek into the future” twist.
Charlie Davis Stands up For Rizo Velovic in New Finale Footage
GettyAfter the “Survivor” season 50 cast’s initial reaction to Probst’s explanation, the audio became distorted. Several players began speaking to Velovic, acknowledging how frustrating the situation was. Charlie Davis spoke from the sofa in front of Velovic, stating, “And you were up on it too, you were like (waving hands no). I saw you, I saw you! You were like ‘No!'” Referring to Velovic’s attempt to stop Probst before the spoiler could be revealed while they were still on set.
Velovic’s response to Davis was a soft, “Yeah,” before the video ended. His expression remained flat, but he didn’t address any other thoughts throughout the video’s duration.
Following the mistake, the video detailing Velovic’s loss to Jonathan during the firemaking challenge aired. While the outcome was already known, the segment was a nail-biter, and the loss was a hard hit for the “Survivor” super-fan, who had played in Season 49 before immediately returning to Fiji for season 50. Hopefully, Velovic will find his way back to the island in future seasons of “Survivor.”
