Survivor: Game Changers (Season 34)

[purple skates]

That was.....yeah.

I just became a bigger Zeke fan than I already was. His grace in that situation was inspiring.

 

[Fridge_Break]

HOLY SHIT.

Varner.

Zeke is wonderful in so many ways.

 

[smurfy]

Varner - what an ass. I had like him, but he is dead to me.

Everyone else's reaction - they care for Zeke which was lovely to see and all I cared about.
Except for Varner - they all 'left' the game for the moment and knew what was done was wrong.
Probst - who seems to love the alpha males - looked truly concerned for Zeke and then very proud -like a parent.
(or the cynic in me - he was thinking this would be tv gold).
The nice moments with Culpepper, the word in the challenge and the TC - serendipidity?

In his previous season Zeke was in the Millenial tribe - I had to remind myself what tribe he was on. He doesn't look older, but seemed more mature for his years. He is a true grownup - and even if he wanted to be quiet about it - he strikes me as a very intelligent and aware person - and knew the risks being on a tv show like this.
Zeke's reaction - such grace, something I will truly remember for a long time.
I always liked Zeke - he is playing a game, views it as a game, which is all I want from a player.

In the spoilers I read on previously.tv - it was said that last season when Bret confided he was gay to Zeke - viewers noticed Zeke's scars - and that is how some people have known.
In some ways - he has a bigger target on him now - as at least his current tribe are aware of the inner strength he possesses - which is why he is such a threat in the game.
I hope this does not derail his game.

Other game... certain scenes shown so far - I think are key to who goes far:
Culpepper - and his various alliances! jmho.

 

[smurfy]

http://people.com/tv/survivor-transgender-zeke-smith-not-forgiving-jeff-varner/

 

[Chemistry66]

...In his previous season Zeke was in the Millenial tribe - I had to remind myself what tribe he was on. He doesn't look older, but seemed more mature for his years. He is a true grownup - and even if he wanted to be quiet about it - he strikes me as a very inbetelligent and aware person - and knew the risks being on a tv show like this.
Zeke's reaction - such grace, something I will truly remember for a long time.
I always liked Zeke - he is playing a game, views it as a game, which is all I want from a player.

In the spoilers I read on previously.tv - it was said that last season when Bret confided he was gay to Zeke - viewers noticed Zeke's scars - and that is how some people have known.
In some ways - he has a bigger target on him now - as at least his current tribe are aware of the inner strength he possesses - which is why he is such a threat in the game.
I hope this does not derail his game.

There was also some article that Zeke had written from his college days that I had seen posted a few times on Reddit, but people didn't bring it up a lot since he was only publicly out as a gay man, nothing else.

In the confessional before TC, Varner said something about Zeke being deceptive and I was like "Varner wouldn't be THAT stupid, would he?" My jaw dropped when he actually said went there, though. Even Jeff Probst couldn't believe it. Given that tribal was happening with at least 20 minutes left in the episode, something big was going to go down but I had no idea until it happened that this was going to be what it was.

Part of me wonders what went down behind the scenes in regards to actually airing this stuff, if they gave Zeke any say in what they aired, because while Varner did out him to those at Tribal, CBS was airing this nationwide. That would have been some masterful editing to cut all of that out, given how there was no actual paper vote.

 

[BaileyCatts]

And I was actually starting to like Varner. Geez, why in the world would you do that to someone just for a freaking TV game show, which is basically all Survivor is! Was his logic really "oh Zeke never told everyone this so he is deceitful?" And he thought people would be okay with that? THAT was Varner's logic? What an ass. Keeping things in perspective of the "game", he might have been able to convince the girls to vote out Ozzy on purely strategic reasoning .... Zeke and Ozzy are tight so gotta bust them up, and Ozzy is an Immunity Challenge beast. No other explanation necessary. Yeah, like someone said above, Varner is dead to me.

 

[jamesy]

Wow. I don't even know what to say. That was stunning and I truly did not believe anyone would go that far to win.

I love the instant support Zeke got from the rest of the tribe and from Jeff.

 

[purple skates]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...mith-outed-as-transgender-guest-column-991514

Zeke's own words about what happened.

 

[PeterG]

I figure that Varner knew he was going to be voted out, so on the way to tribal council, he was thinking, "what can I do tonight that would warrant me getting a fourth try at a million dollars? Maybe they'll do another Heroes Vs. Villains season.... Hmm, what could I do??"

But what Varner doesn't realize is that the season will have 17 heroes and then at the other end of the beach....just him.

 

[FiveRinger]

I was actually rooting for Varner until until this point. I don't hate him, but he really disappointed me with his twisted logic and hypocrisy.

As a gay man, he knew better. He knows that outing someone is cruel and just unacceptable. That wasn't just bad game play, that was a below-the-belt personal attack that was unwarranted and unjustified. Wanting to win and prove someone's "deceitfulness" is no excuse.

Speaking of which, deceit, if Varner is going to use that weak non-excuse, is embedded in Survivor and part of the game. Isn't the goal to outwit, outsmart, and outlast? Your opponents are supposed to be deceitful, or they aren't playing! WTF was Varner even talking about with that dumb sh*t?

I am proud of Zeke. He is a better person than I think I would have been in the same circumstances. As much as I hate that this happened, people need to see this and understand how difficult and cruel people can be. People need to know how important acceptance and not just tolerance is. This goes way beyond the game (as much as I love it).

Life at the Ponderosa had to be dreadful for Varner as people who know what he did arrive. And it would serve him right.

 

[sk8pics]

I was very impressed with how Zeke handled this. Tons of class.

 

[Jenny]

I figure that Varner knew he was going to be voted out, so on the way to tribal council, he was thinking, "what can I do tonight that would warrant me getting a fourth try at a million dollars? Maybe they'll do another Heroes Vs. Villains season.... Hmm, what could I do??"

But it wasn't a decision made on the way to TC, or a spur of the moment Hail Mary once there. From his confessionals, it was a planned move.

Zeke says it best in the link below: While I can reconcile the personal slight of him outing me, I continue to be troubled by his willingness to deploy such a dangerous stereotype on a global platform.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...mith-outed-as-transgender-guest-column-991514

Zeke's own words about what happened.

Thank you so much for sharing this. Just read the entire thing, and I wish I could somehow make it required reading for every person on the planet.

(And aside from the very human story, Survivor fans will love the backstory on how he got on the show twice, how he prepared and other interesting details )

But back to the show. I wonder now how this will play out - when they merge, I'm assuming the other tribe will learn what happened, and I also wonder if everyone is considering how they can possibly vote him out now, because he's surely on track to win the entire thing.

 

[Prancer]

Varner is still peddling the line that he thought everyone knew.

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertain...rner-apologizes-for-outing-zeke-smith-w476533

C'mon, Varner, as Jeff pointed out, you can't argue that Zeke was being deceitful by not telling anyone he is transgender AND argue that you thought everyone knew.

Life at the Ponderosa had to be dreadful for Varner as people who know what he did arrive. And it would serve him right.

Pre-jury boots don't go to Ponderosa. They usually go on pre-arranged vacations with other boots. At most, Varner will be followed by one other person (depending on how many are on the jury) and that person may or may not go on a little vacation with Varner. They have choices about what they do.

 

[skatesindreams]

I have the utmost respect for Zeke.

Varner will have to live with the consequences of his choices/actions.
They may continue long after "Survivor" ends.

 

[Jayar]

FWIW, I called it episode one of Millenials. And yall didn't believe me. It confused me as to why it was never part of the story, but after last night, I understand. Thinking about the game-- Sarah just proved to me that she could win this. And Zeke is going to be thrusted into the spotlight as an advocate.

 

[Habs]

As much as I'm troubled by what Varner did, I'm equally as troubled the CBS opted to air it. I know it was a big part of the episode, but they had a choice to not broadcast what happened.

 

[Jenny]

I remember @Jayar

@Habs I thought about that too - they could have cut it up to that point, talked about it off camera, had them do the vote and Varner would be gone with no further explanation needed as he was already a target.

However, what happens when it comes out that something big went down and they didn't air it? In addition to the cast, hundreds of people involved in the production would have known about it, some perhaps with their own strong opinions, and CBS could have been accused of censorship on an important issue, or sociopolitical bias.

From what we know of Zeke's relationship with the showrunners, including Jeff, I expect they went ahead with his blessing anyway.

Here's the full text of Varner's apology - he's definitely not there yet on understanding what he's really done.

 

[Kasey]

I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that there was a story of something personal being exposed during the game once before, and I thought that the person involved was given the option of whether it was broadcast or cut, and opted for it to be cut (this was many seasons ago, like around China time frame? some time many years ago). So I would like to hope that the reason we saw the tribal council was because Zeke agreed to allow it to be shown.

 

[skatesindreams]

From what we know of Zeke's relationship with the showrunners, including Jeff, I expect they went ahead with his blessing anyway.

I'm aware that the contestants likely sign contracts "protecting" CBS from liability.
However, in this instance, I'm sure that they wouldn't want the "backlash" that would ensue if they didn't consult Zeke about what would be aired.

 

[purple skates]

I was a bit confused about why Varner used the "everyone knows" line, in that it wasn't something that I had heard before. (Granted, I don't go to the serious Survivor sites, but I follow it fairly well on a casual basis.)

When I googled Zeke last night and found the article I posted, I also was directed to "Ezekiel Smith Harvard" by Google. There were links there to his very public experiences as a lesbian and then transgender student. Plus Fishbach shared some blog in October.

So apparently the info was out there if someone cared to look. I assume Survivor producers knew ahead of time, as well as at least some other contestants. Not that that excuses what Varner did.

ETA: Probst's take on yesterday's episode: https://www.google.com/amp/ew.com/t...jeff-probst-zeke-transgender-jeff-varner/amp/

 

[Kultakissu]

Just watched the episode. Made both myself and husband tear up. It was a horrible thing to do, but the reaction of the other tribe members was amazing. I read news from the US every day about people trying their hardest to limit LGBTQ rights (to put it mildly) so it was so wonderful to see that every single member - apart from Varner - realised how wrong he was to do what he did and stood up for Zeke.

 

[PeterG]

I agree with those who have stated that CBS would not have presented the episode that we saw without Zeke's approval.

But it wasn't a decision made on the way to TC, or a spur of the moment Hail Mary once there. From his confessionals, it was a planned move.

So I guess you also feel that there will NOT be a Heroes Vs. Villains season with the first immunity challenge being 17 heroes battling a solo Varner?

 

[Tinami Amori]

I don’t like the twist that being transgender is something to hide. I would not concentrate on “transgender being shameful to admit” but more on “indecency of disclosing very private personal information”.

It’s understandable why people may not want to announce it, especially on national TV. But once it happened, i would expect an “editorial” from Jeff P. on the subject, something like “we support personal choice of gender, and do not require our contestants to keep it a secret, but we also support a personal choice when and how to share this information”.

Also, Jeff P. and/or producers should have ASKED Zeke if he wants this part of the episode cut, before airing it. It would have been just fine, if at the end of the show Jeff P. came out and said “in an effort to protect one of our contestant’s vital personal information accidentally disclosed during TC, we will only announce that the contestant Jeff V. was eliminated”…. and cut to Jeff V’s torch getting put out and him saying “he is sorry etc.”.

First slaying of the goats attempt, and now this…

 

[Fridge_Break]

Also, Jeff P. and/or producers should have ASKED Zeke if he wants this part of the episode cut, before airing it.

Where did you read that Zeke wasn't asked or informed about how this would be edited before the airing of the episode? In some of the interviews with Jeff about last night, he talks very highly of Zeke and I would find it hard to believe the producers not having a conversation with him about the incident after the season wrapped up.

 

[Prancer]

I don’t like the twist that being transgender is something to hide. I would not concentrate on “transgender being shameful to admit” but more on “indecency of disclosing very private personal information”.

I thought that was exactly the issue .

 

[Tinami Amori]

Where did you read that Zeke wasn't asked or informed about how this would be edited before the airing of the episode? In some of the interviews with Jeff about last night, he talks very highly of Zeke and I would find it hard to believe the producers not having a conversation with him about the incident after the season wrapped up.

Where did you read that he was asked?

I thought that was exactly the issue .

Not exactly. One of the reasons to hide such fact, is that the person may have "consequences" because being transgender is not yet uniformly accepted in society/ies. Also, Jeff V's point was that Zeke is not to be trusted because he is "hiding it". I would hope that Zeke would stand up and say "I have nothing to hide. I just don't think my gender is relevant to the rules of the game and my performance"... hello "meritocracy".

 

[Fridge_Break]

Where did you read that he was asked?

http://m.eonline.com/news/843428/ze...dented-autonomy-in-how-his-outing-was-handled

From the article:

"I've been granted unprecedented autonomy in how I want to tell my story," he assured everyone. "We started having conversations all the way back in Fiji nine months ago about the care with which this episode was going to be handled...I was really proud of how I responded...I also thought that by showing what happened maybe it wouldn't happen to someone else and something good could come of it."

 

[Tinami Amori]

http://m.eonline.com/news/843428/ze...dented-autonomy-in-how-his-outing-was-handled

From the article:

Thanks! Good! Was not mentioned on CBS last night. now we know Jeff P. did the right thing and Zeke wanted it this way. that is all that matters.

 

[Chemistry66]

Varner is still peddling the line that he thought everyone knew.

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertain...rner-apologizes-for-outing-zeke-smith-w476533

C'mon, Varner, as Jeff pointed out, you can't argue that Zeke was being deceitful by not telling anyone he is transgender AND argue that you thought everyone knew.

Pre-jury boots don't go to Ponderosa. They usually go on pre-arranged vacations with other boots. At most, Varner will be followed by one other person (depending on how many are on the jury) and that person may or may not go on a little vacation with Varner. They have choices about what they do.

I agree that Varner's statements are still incredibly contradictory. Makes no sense.

Regarding the Ponderosa thing, as far as I'm aware, pre-jury boots do go to Ponderosa or something like it, and then the whole group goes on the prejury trip to clear out the resort for the jury boots. Maybe minus a few people.

http://m.eonline.com/news/843428/ze...dented-autonomy-in-how-his-outing-was-handled

Thanks for linking to this. Was wondering if they'd actually ask Zeke how he wanted it handled.

 

[Prancer]

Regarding the Ponderosa thing, as far as I'm aware, pre-jury boots do go to Ponderosa or something like it, and then the whole group goes on the prejury trip to clear out the resort for the jury boots. Maybe minus a few people.

Whether they use Pondersosa or not depends on what they have available, but unless they've changed policies very recently, they never send the boots off as a whole group. They split them up into small groups or sometimes into individuals; there's less chance of the smaller groups being spotted by spoilers. They're not as hyper about avoiding spoilers as they once were, but I believe they have mostly maintained this one.