Not only was the attack on Zeke Smith’s privacy by Jeff Varner devastatingly personal, it also ruined his chances of winning Survivor Game Changers.
This article discusses the entire gameplay of Zeke Smith in Survivor Game Changers, up to episode 11.
When it was revealed that Jeff Varner would out Zeke Smith as transgender, the world immediately showed an unbridled support for Zeke in a way that few trans people will ever get to experience today. Still, though, in that moment Varner had also directly destroyed Zeke’s chances of winning Survivor Game Changers, and a couple of episodes later, he would be voted out in 10th place.
Speaking publicly about his vote-off, “The Episode” and everything pertaining to Survivor Game Changers as part of his Survivor exit interviews, Zeke told Entertainment Weekly he knew he had no shot of winning the season because he had such a great story to use at the final tribal council.
"After what went down with Varner, I had no shot to win. I knew that. I knew that nobody wanted to take me anywhere near the end and that wasn’t a secret. I was the decoy vote against Hali and I knew it and I knew the reason why. You heard it in that episode that I had a compelling story. People were unwilling to get me deep into the game because people weren’t willing to sit next to me. So I didn’t just make that move against Andrea out of nowhere."
He also goes on to argue that he wanted CBS to air that moment because of just how well CBS, Jeff Probst and the Survivor Game Changers castaways rebuffed Varner almost immediately. It shows a positive turn on a very dark, but important, moment in the show’s history, and Zeke is happier that the feedback was swift that it’s not okay to out someone like that.
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- Survivor Awards 2017: Best episode of the year
- Jeff Probst defends Survivor Game Changers’ outlandish idol count
- Big Brother 19’s handling of transphobia makes me proud of Survivor
- Survivor Game Changers: 5 Players we most want to play again
Over at Rob Has A Podcast, host and two-time Survivor player Rob Cesternino sat down and discussed the season and a bit about “The Episode” with Zeke Smith, who was shocked when she cried over voting him out in his last tribal council. He revealed that he was always cordial with Michaela, and that they were both sharing an experience where nobody else saw Millennials vs. Gen X on television, but that they weren’t particularly close.
This season’s edit has given a lot to shake our heads at, especially when it comes down to the manipulating of events over time. I had thought there was a whole layer to their dynamic that was left on the cutting room floor, but if even Zeke’s surprised over the waterworks, it must be just a Michaela moment.
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Finally, The Hollywood Reporter has given Zeke a distinctive platform for Zeke Smith to talk about Survivor Game Changers. Not only did Josh Wigler sit down to interview him in a lengthy chat, but Zeke Smith offered up his take in an op-ed of his own.
"I remain at a loss to fully explain the reaction, but I am grateful and humbled. I am optimistic that this moment — both the example set by Survivor and “The Episode’s” response — will serve as a model for how trans people will be treated by the media in the future.To the trans person who enters the spotlight next, I hope you get it as good as I did. To the person after, I hope you are met with utter indifference."
Truer words were never spoken.
Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season
Survivor Game Changers returns next Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. ET.