“Wonder Why?” ’Survivor’s Jeff Probst Gets a Reality Check From Show Legend

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Few reality shows have revolutionized the genre as much as CBS’ Survivor. Created by Charlie Parsons, for more than two decades this program has re-defined the medium with its stories of contestants facing intense challenges, harsh elements, and one another for the grand prize of one million dollars. Yet even beyond that, the show is revolutionary for its representation; for a bulk of its airing (before season 40), the show had been called out for allowing contestants to be blatantly homophobic, racist, and misogynistic to others, creating an unequal setting where a person’s identity could cost them the win.

Survivor recognized this and made an active effort to combat it in recent years, finally working to create a game where truly anyone can thrive…which is what makes host Jeff Probst’s recent comments so disheartening. Because on a podcast, the reality star (who once apologized for fostering a misogynistic environment on the show) commented that he feels that the series’ greatest characters have been mostly men. It’s an alarming comment that revealed a bias in how he sees his castaways — but audiences shouldn’t worry. Because Probst did the one thing nobody ever wanted to, and earned himself a digital takedown in the process: he made an enemy of the Black Widow herself, Parvati Shallow.

Jeff Probst Is Facing His Own Online Tribal Council

Jeff on the beach during the premiere of 'Survivor 48.' — Image via CBS

While being the host of Survivor gives Probst a unique insight into the series, his recent comments have left viewers shocked, not only because of what they represent, but how they contradict what he’s said in the past. This all started when Probst appeared on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show podcast and, during a conversation about how there are more male winners than women, shared that, ‘When you list all the greatest quote unquote characters of Survivor, a majority of them are men.’ This belief is particularly shocking because of previous statements from Probst; when the series had just begun its attempt to be more inclusive, Probst himself acknowledged that he was partially to blame for creating a sexist environment, apologizing for the often patronizing way he spoke to women in the early seasons which made male contestants feel they could do the same.

Until these comments, players thought that Probst had understood that the reason there were so many more male winners was because a lack of equity made women bigger targets. A fact that is backed up by the knowledge that once the series became more inclusive, there was an overwhelming number of women winners. It was an unfortunate statement that fans think revealed a bias in how Probst interacts and judges the people he’s supposed to support, with his most vocal proponent being one of the series’ most famous cast members, Parvati Shallow.

Whether it be her many iconic turns on the flagship Survivor, dominating in The Traitors’ castle, or killing it on the current season of Deal or No Deal Island, few franchise alumni are as accomplished as Shallow. It has earned her a huge online following, all of whom were tuned in when the star posted Probst’s comment on her Instagram story with the comment, ‘Grrrrr…When your team is primarily made of men and your bias shows that…wonder why women don’t become bigger characters?’ This follows months of online sleuths counting the confessionals of women from earlier seasons and clocking how much less they received than the men, with multiple fans doing the hard work of counting every character’s confessionals and discovering that even women who’ve won their installment almost always receive fewer confessionals their entire season than some men get in just a few episodes.

Parvati Shallow Shows How Important Women Are to ‘Survivor’

This is one of the deluge of stats that fans have begun pulling out since this podcast aired, with many questioning whether Probst is really committed to ensuring that anyone, no matter their gender, has an equal chance of winning the show. It’s a sentiment that Shallow herself has continued to support, with the woman posting on her story once more responding to a comment Probst once made about how he isn’t a big supporter of Survivor alumni going on other programs: ‘Maybe us girls just needed a different platform to become bigger characters #traitorsUS’

While the Survivor host’s recent comments have made many fans upset, it’d be wrong to completely ignore the many years of Jeff Probst saying how committed he is to making his show equitable for all. Those statements don’t disappear in the face of his recent ones. While he should be evaluated as a whole, many viewers can’t get over how dangerous his words on the podcast could be for women who want to go on the program and thrive. As Shallow pointed out, it’s this kind of ignorance of how much women have brought to Survivor that allows them to be under-edited and targeted in the competition. Probst hasn’t offered a response on the backlash to his words, but viewers are hoping that this is a learning moment from the host that will come with a renewed recognition of how much women have brought to this franchise — and how many Survivor legends like Shallow exist!