I Interview after interview, I poured my heart out in For the first time in 39 seasons, Survivors reunion will be pretaped four hours before it airs on Wednesday, December 18, Entertainment Weekly reports, due to the sensitive material of this season and security concerns. The best thing to do is to pay off those mortgages and be secure., Survivor, 2-Hour Season 42 Premiere, Wednesday, March 9, 8/7c, CBS. Whats great is that nobody bought it., Its important people see he lost that fight, he added. ET. The production team gave Spilo a formal warning on day 22. Smith, who is still in the game, told PEOPLE he was shell-shocked by Varners decision and struggles with forgiving him. Its so painful to see what is happening with this show. (Robert Voets/CBS via Getty. I just wanted to be known for my game., FROM COINAGE: Ask Yourself These Questions Before You Buy A Home. safe and have our needs met. to dig myself out of this self-inflicted prison. I am not a bad person. December 31, 2023 Email: jvarnerin@bhtwp.com About Jeff Jeff and his wife Debbie have lived in town since 2007. Now, his former . weeks since, Zeke has told ET Survivor contestant Jeff Varner says he was "devastated" to lose his job as a North Carolina real estate agent following outrage and backlash for outing fellow tribemate Zeke Smith as. me. Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. He was given a formal warning from production at day 22. I know what happened. no interest in traveling back there ever again. He and Oskooi became friends on the Ta Keo tribe during Cambodia Second Chance, but when Varner returned for Survivor: Game Changers, he was unanimously voted out of the show after outing Zeke Smith as transgender. A colossal mistake Tribal Council on Survivor is a setting that has been home to some of the craziest twists imaginable, but the most shocking thing to ever happen there may have taken place on this week's . I know that he has a lot of people in his ear. Im proud of him. So pissed. this planet in shame. Pride events now have mostly fetishism and kink on display, no? didnt you tell everyone youre transgender?, like he somehow had an My curiosity got the MORE: Jeff Varner Tearfully Admits to Being in Therapy Since Outing Zeke Smith on 'Survivor'. Smith explained that he "was checked out for about 45 minutes to an hour" after Jeff outed him. A post shared by Boston Rob Mariano (@bostonrobmariano). Two lives that would be rocked forever now I have met with and spoken to several LGBT organizations - Ive joined the board of a couple of them this has changed me drastically.. Everyone was horrified at what he did Andrea Boehlke started crying, Tai Trang and Debbie Wanner started yelling at Varner, and even Jeff Probst was visibly upset at what had happened. pure and genuine regret and support for Zeke. to lift away. Survivor alum Jeff Varner aired his grievances with CBS on social media on Wednesday, December 11, following the network's announcement that the reunion for Survivor: Island of the Idols will. Theyre going down a hill rolling fast, and now theyre not gonna be able to stop until its over. Theyre ruining the show by bringing political issues into the show that people love. He seemed to understand the situation The message should be clear that hate will always lose.. "Survivor" contestant Jeff Varner reacted to Dan Spilo's departure on Wednesday, claiming that he does not believe the allegations mounting against his co-star. will always call motives into question. While we all focus on the victim, circling him in support and love, I take comfort in seeing Zeke thrive while I struggle with some serious demons that wont let me move forward peacefully. & 2023 CBS Studios Inc. and CBS Interactive Inc., Paramount companies. The slow methodic tick, tock, tick, tock of an aqua blue alarm clock cuts She was replaced on Nuku by the recently-exiled Debbie Wanner. Probst didnt even have them go off and vote in secret. Varner was trying to convince everyone to vote out Ozzy Lusth instead of himself and his tactic was to say that Lusth and Smith were being deceitful with everyone. And hes calling me a bigot and full of hate and all kinds of stuff. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Dan Spilo competes on SURVIVOR: Island of the Idols.. When you know what really goes on then you can tell me your opinion. Varner, a three-time former Survivor castaway, went on a tirade on social media after watching Dan's removal from the game on Wednesday night's episode and learning CBS will air Survivor's Season 39 three-hour finale event on tape delay on December 18 due to alleged "sensitive material" and "security concerns" for the cast. apology and pain, I offered the few words I could find. Everyone - including Jeff Probst - attacked Jeff for his highly insensitive and . With all the dirt on Bayon now . was I going to say? Zeke Varner talks to Zeke, Tribal Council S34E06 (2 of 4) Survivor: Game Changers, Jeff Varner outs Zeke, 'Survivor' castoff Shirin Oskooi lets loose on 'condescending' Terry, 'psycopath' Abi-Maria, Subscribe to Gold Derby's YouTube Channel youtube.com/subscribe_widget?p=GoldDerby GoldDerby.com offers celebrity interviews and expert predictions to track who's ahead to win the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, "American Idol," "The Voice," "Survivor," "Amazing Race," "Dancing with the Stars" and more. Watch PEN Fan Forum: Survivor, on the new PEOPLE/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN) here, or download the free app on your Smart TV, mobile and web devices. Survivor player Jeff Varner was fired from his job as a real estate agent at Allen Tate Realtors on Thursday due to backlash from an episode of the CBS show in which he outed fellow player Zeke. The castaways colored in the books and signed their autographs in it, and after the show, he sold the pictures on eBay to raise money for charities.[4]. As a superfan, playing in two seasons was a dream come true. So pissed. Former Survivor player Jeff Varner aired his grievances with CBS on social media on Wednesday after the network announced that the reunion show for Survivor: Island of the Idols will be pre-taped for the first time in the series' history. Varner lost his job from Allen Tate Realtors after he outed Zeke Smith as transgender during an episode of Survivor: Game Changers, but a year later, he told the News & Record that hed gotten a job as a realtor with Keller Williams Realty. inside fueling defensiveness, stirring up anxiety and sowing the seeds of low It keeps us stuck. MORE: 'Survivor' Contestant Zeke Smith Is 'Excited' to Speak With Jeff Varner at Reunion. Doesn't that also signify something about the movement's evolution or the people involved high up nowadays? He attended Southern Guilford High School, where he was active in student government and theatre arts and editor of the school's yearbook; he later went on to earn a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[2]. That's what Jeff Varner kept telling us when we spoke with him in Fiji before the start of Survivor: Game Changers. Jeff Varner was born on April 16, 1966 in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. I do not have hate in my heart. storm that hit the Fiji shore the moment I turned to Zeke Smith and asked, Why More recently, she started a soup company, got a job as a private chef, and started hosting a podcast called Hit the Ground Running With Jerri Manthey. through each second as Dr. Whitney Akers, a petite young LGBT therapist stares As I did hours of press the next day, I opened my heart and I bounced from feeling OK and comfortable to deep sadness game. For the first time in months I was No one is going to beat me up worse than I have myself., - Jeff Varner (@JEFFVARNER) April 13, 2017. [citation needed], Varner began his career in communications as a public relations assistant and corporate communications manager for Citicorp in New York City. told my friends and family what I had done. It was just a year ago when he returned after a 15-year absence to play. After outing his friend and fellow contestant Zeke Smith as being transgender on. Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. did I do that?, I deserve to be shot and other shards of self-abuse thrashed Deceptions on levels, Jeff, Contempt is one of those. After another Twitter user told Jeff he shouldnt get to weigh in on this scandal, the former contestant went off once again. producers would choose to get me there. wondering if they were even worthy of one. the one who did that, and even more difficult to receive their lectures, their According to News & Record Greensboro, Varner was fired from his job as a real estate agent on Thursday his now-former employer Allen Tate Realtors saying Varner was in the middle of a news story that we dont want anything to do with.. The secret to shedding your shame is to night firmly seared into my memory. [10], University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Jeff Varner of 'Survivor Australia' auctioning coloring book pages for children's charity", Survivor: CambodiaSecond Chance cast (and logo) revealed, "Survivor Second Chance: Episode 1 - Ghost Town", "Survivor's Zeke Smith on Jeff Varner Outing Him as Transgender on TV: 'I Really Struggle with Forgiving Him', "Greensboro's Jeff Varner faces backlash after outing fellow 'Survivor' player", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Varner&oldid=1142386473, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 03:10. The openly gay North Carolina native, who previously worked as news anchor for CBS and Fox affiliates, said he looked forward to working for a firm that would support him during hard times. After all, I deserved it. Now that I can officially talk about it, let the healing begin." . Survivor airs Wednesdays (at 8 p.m. first steps toward true healing. I was standing before the people who Greensboros Lotus Center is a place Id find myself many times over the next spoke in the truth Id worked so hard since Fiji to embrace and own. didnt choose. I stay in touch with a smattering of players, including Tai Trang, Stephen Fishbach, Reiman Spencer Bledsoe, Rob Cesternino, and Kelley Wentworth (shoutout Lauren OConnell!). It is a mess of my own making I know what really happened and leaving the viewer with the impression Dan has molested someone on production is bullsht, he wrote. I wont go into the detail of that conversation, but after One of the closest friends I made from [Cambodia Second Chance] went on to do one of the cruelest things ever done to another contestant in the shows now multi-decade history, she said. As tough as its been for him, Varner recognizes that Smith, 29, is the real victim here. Varner also admitted to the newspaper that outing Smith was wrong and a horrible thing to do, but he objected to the editing of his Survivor moment of infamy. I recklessly revealed something I mistakenly believed everyone already knew. And I ET) on CBS. We dont need to vote, hostJeff Probstsaid at the time. This season of Survivor, dubbed Game Changers for its 34th installment, had been filmed 10 months ago in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji - though Varner couldnt discuss what happened until the episodes airing. Thousands of words on shame and how one might be able to But you dont know the narrative producers will choose for When we were in pain and we are in fair, we are dangerous people. Jeff Varner Outing Zeke. Varner was a contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback, 2001. My closest friends range from across a bunch of different seasons and include non-players who are also a formative part of the experience. I wasnt even given the chance to explain or right the wrong, Varner said. He is known for USA's Cannonball Run 2001 (2001), Survivor (2000) and Hollywood Squares (1998). Keep up with your favorite shows delivered to your inbox! A Twitter user responded to Varners tweet saying he shouldnt get to weigh in on the controversy, and Varner went off once again about the scandal. Zeke would be exposed to everyone and The cast has rallied behind Dan and few to no one is behind Kellee, Varner wrote about the reunion shows change. I wasnt even given the chance to explain or right the wrong, Varner said. Empathy. with Dr. Whitney, digging through shame, amassing a small library of books and videos along the way. I have apologized to him - weve spoken several times on the phone. soon I would stop abusing myself and start to forgive. many a day in that eucalyptus-scented room full of tick tocks reviving my are deceptive. Stephanie Petit is a Royals Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE. Tonight, on CBSSurvivor, Dan Spilo was kicked off the show for, once again, inappropriate touching. It blames and convinces us that were not I was not OK. For days, I sat in my shame, finding it very difficult to This season of Survivor, dubbed Game Changers for its 34th installment, had been filmed 10 months ago in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji though Varner couldnt discuss what happened until the episodes airing. Youre saying by him not revealing it that hes capable of deception. It was over. GREENSBORO Jeff Varner intentionally stayed away from social media on Thursday, a day after he outed a fellow "Survivor" castmate as transgender before millions of viewers. I have been through, I dont know how much therapy. me, I will never lose sight of the fact this situation will always be about what The news of the sudden change came after the show removed contestant Dan Spilo from the show for an off-camera incident.. What would he say? 7+ years of experience in traditional and social media, communication strategy, defining messages,. respect Zeke Smith, hoping that hes OK and about to start thriving like never This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com, Tom Sizemore, star of 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'Heat,' dies at 61 after brain aneurysm, Josh Hartnett is done talking about his break from Hollywood but ready to make fun of actors: 'We're the worst', Michael B. Jordan admits muscle gain for 'Creed' has been harder as he's gotten older, Billy Bush suggests Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes start their own show after ABC exit: 'They've got something that works', How to watch every Oscars 2023 Best Picture nominee. decades building, revealing every drop of shame Id stored inside for 51 years I dissected all those emotions every week Entertainment Weeklyreported the decision was made due to the sensitive subject matter and security concerns. It was an ugly day., Varner said he was dismissed in what I felt was an ugly, knee-jerk reaction kind of way., I was devastated, he added. sleep at all. And in a defeated state, I That reasoning is infinitely worse than him outing me because its the same one used to discriminate against, attack and murder trans people. I love looked at me in disappointment. She also has friends from outside her seasons. Prior, he worked as a general assignment reporter for WPIX-11, the CW's flagship station in New York City. As Im spending hours doing press [on Thursday], I discover I cant access my email. the last one. I know what happened. And hes calling me a bigot and full of hate and all kinds of stuff. For now., Jeff also took to Twitter let out his frustrations with the situation writing, 100% horse st! Join now to see all activity Experience . This is about Zeke, Varner said. more and more, getting stronger every time. Threats of boycotts. Im the perfect person to weigh in. This is about Zeke, Varner said. He continually forgives me. I temporarily lost my mind. These days, his website shows hes still affiliated with that company and working in central North Carolina. fears. I am profoundly sorry. Manthey told Entertainment Weekly last year that she left Los Angeles after Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and moved to Napa Valley, where she worked as the general manager of a winery, the general manager of a restaurant, a wine tour guide, a wine salesperson. The unprecedented decision will mark the first time in Survivor's near . Dr. Liza, who kept me occupied with therapy sessions, writing assignments, Most Memorable Moment: Stepping down from Immunity Challenge for peanut butter. seemed to organically embrace the first sense of relief I had felt in 10 During that time, he said hes done a lot of growing. the producers would choose to portray that moment. I know that he has a lot of people in his ear. I have had several reach out [and] Im confident Ill find a better home., FROM COINAGE: Outed as Transgender on Reality TV: Survivors Zeke Smith. That reasoning is infinitely worse than him outing me because its the same one used to discriminate against, attack and murder trans people. CBS andSurvivorwere on notice of Dans behavior from the very first days of the game. And, asSurvivorfans know, shortly after I spoke up on camera, I was voted off the show, she continued. immediately rebuked by fellow cast mates, who sent the three-time contestant which did not go well. These 20 castaways were voted by the fans to return to Survivor for another chance to play the game and win the million dollar prize on the new season of Survivor: Cambodia: Second Chance. Zeke and I did But nothing gave me more hope But in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Oskooi opens up maintaining friendships with the cast. Shame teaches us that we have to be good to get love, to feel All of the other tribemates disregarded their alliances for the evening to admonish Varner and support Smith. When you know what really goes on then you can tell me your opinion., Varner then responded to another Twitter users response repeating his right to weigh in on the news. #Survivor.. [6] Early in the game, Varner was seen as a crucial player in the season: He and Peih-Gee Law from Survivor: China were the swing votes who ultimately decided the elimination of Vytas Baskauskas on Day Three, and Varner himself organized the elimination of Shirin Oskooi on Day Six. What transpired next is a blur. A move of reckless abandon that ignited a What just happened onSurvivortonight is 100% bull st. I heard their voices screaming at me. But had the. We Jeff Varner was raised on a tobacco farm in Greensboro, North Carolina. My cast was against me. That prepared reunion is cowardice. Since then, Ive accepted genuine, heartfelt apologies from fellow castaways, but Ive continued to feel disappointed by how this pattern of behavior was allowed to occur for so long.. Not only was Jeff I am amazed and moved at his ability to do that. The grace and compassion he seemed to share helped open the door to my Ugh. moment would be broadcast for all to see. struggle with guilt for having a good day. Ive worked hard every day to understand why it happened and how I could ever make it right.