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Survivor: Game Changers: Jeff Varner’s Social Media Statement

By Cheryl Wassenaar

"What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile" - Jeff Varner and his tribe attempts to solve the Immunity Puzzle on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 12 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jeffrey Neira/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile" - Jeff Varner and his tribe attempts to solve the Immunity Puzzle on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 12 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jeffrey Neira/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /
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After tonight’s episode of Survivor: Game Changers aired, Jeff Varner posted a statement to social media about what had happened.

Warning: This contains spoilers for Survivor: Game Changers’ April 12 episode, “What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile.” 

By now, Survivor: Game Changers has aired its seventh episode in a good portion of the continental United States. (And if you haven’t seen it, but want to know what we’re going to talk about, here’s our recap.) About 40 minutes in, Tribal Council had already begun, and Jeff Varner asked a single question of fellow player Zeke Smith, one about why Zeke hadn’t been open about his being transgender.

Even by the time he was voted out, it seemed as though Jeff had learned that what he’d done was not a good thing, especially considering the reactions of his fellow tribemates on Nuku as well as host Jeff Probst himself. His final words, as well, saw him in tears.

He then posted this to his Twitter account about 10 minutes after the episode:

Here’s a partial transcription:

"“I offer my deepest, most heart-felt apologies to Zeke Smith […] I recklessly revealed something I mistakenly believed everyone knew.”"

During the episode, Zeke had said he hadn’t told anyone on either season of Survivor that he’s played. Indeed, Jeff also apologized multiple times and the two hugged before Jeff left the game. There wasn’t a vote after Jeff Probst asked everyone on Nuku.

To continue from Jeff’s Twitter statement:

"“Let me be clear, outing someone is assault. […] We cisgender Americans live with an enormous amount of privilege and should spend time pondering how we can use that for greater good.”"

Zeke himself has shared a link to a GLAAD article detailing how to be a better ally on Twitter.

As we previously noted, Jeff’s Twitter account had also changed a bit in the past few days, and it seems to have culminated in this statement.

Next: Game Changers Episode 7 Recap: Changes

Survivor: Game Changers will continue next week Wednesday, April 19.

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