When the cast for Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans was announced, many of the reality show's biggest fans were shocked for a variety of reasons. One of the things that took many fans by surprise was when they learned that the iconic player Jerri Manthey had been excluded from the season's cast. After all, Jerri was one of the show's biggest villains at one point, and she was even inducted into the Survivor Hall of Fame.
After Jerri was left out of the upcoming landmark season, she stated that she is done with Survivor. Not only that, she also stated that when he thought she was going to be part of Survivor 50, like he wound up being, Colby Donaldson tried to pregame with Jerri. Sadly, fans will never know what would have happened if Jerri had wound up being part of the cast, and she could have reacted to Colby's pregame strategy. That is a shame since, according to one of Survivor's most remarkable "new era" players, Gabe Ortis, Jerri should be part of the upcoming season since he believes she was owed a place on the cast.
Gabe Ortis believes Jerri Manthey was owed getting to compete during Survivor 50
In October 2025, Survivor 47's Gabe Ortis was interviewed for FanSided's Surviving Tribal. During the resulting conversation, Gabe was asked who he thought should have been included as a part of Survivor 50: In the Hand of the Fan's cast but wasn't. In response, Gabe brought up why he believed that leaving Jerri out of the season was a huge mistake because it has been so long since viewers last saw her compete.
"I think Jerri was probably a pretty big miss. Just because it's been so long since we've seen Jerri. I mean, Heroes vs Villains was her last season, and that aired what, like 10, 15 years ago now at this point."
At that point in the interview, Gabe compared Jerri to other Survivor icons that fans have gotten to see grow and mature as they've continued to compete on reality TV through the years. After Gabe spoke about how much viewers have seen players like "Boston" Rob Mariano, Cirie Fields, and Sanda Diaz-Twine, he expressed his desire for fans to have experienced that with Jerri as well.
"We got to see Jerri like through her 20s and then we never saw her again. And I feel like she's somebody who's very deserving of that opportunity to go out and show the world and the Survivor world, like, you know, ‘Look at who I am now, like I've grown now and look at how I can apply this to this game that we all love, that I love.’"
Throughout Gabe's comments about Jerri, the respect he has for her was always clear. However, it was when Gabe described why he believes that Jerri was owed a spot on Survivor 50's cast that his desire to see the Survivor icon get to put a period on her journey became palpable.
"I think that she more than anybody really deserved that opportunity. And especially because for two reasons, A, Jerri was somebody who has done a lot for the Survivor community. Like, before it was cool to do watch parties, before it was cool to do these charity events, like Jerri was showing up to them and she was organizing them and she was supporting them.
"And also like she got a lot of stick for her time on Survivor. Like, I mean, she was a villain when it was not fun to be a villain. Nowadays, it's fun to be a villain. It's cool to be a villain. Back then, people were like calling Jerri names on the sidewalk when she was walking to and from her home. You know, people would stop in traffic to put their window down and say nasty things. She got booed out of Madison Square Garden for doing something that everybody in 2025 would be like, ‘She’s the only person who was right in that situation.’ In one of the biggest stadiums in the world.
"So I think that for a season like 50, which has been marketed as this celebration of Survivor, of all Survivor. Jerri is somebody who I don’t think just deserves to be there, but, was kind of owed it to be honest. And I think there were a lot of people coming out of the woodwork who are saying, ‘I’m owed a spot on 50.’ And I think that like, 99 percent of that is complete BS and is entitlement. I think Jerri is one of the very few people who can justifiably stand up and say, ‘I think I deserve this. I think you guys kind of owe me one and putting me on 50 would be a very respectable way of giving me what I think I’m owed.’ And I think Jerri is justified in saying that."
Watch the full interview with Survivor 47 star Gabe Ortis:
Survivor 50 premieres on CBS and Paramount+ in February 2026. Stay tuned for more information for the upcoming season.