After the finale of Survivor 49, we were officially bestowed the first look trailer at the upcoming anniversary season, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. And while it started off with the drama the show is well known for, by the time it wrapped up, some fans were feeling less than enthusiastic of what's to come this February.
And fans weren't the only ones commenting on the trailer. One Survivor player known for her ability to claw her way out of the bottom by turning an advantage into a formidable weapon had quite a few notes for Jeff Probst and the whole team after watching the trailer for the first time.
Kelley Wentworth doesn't like the celebrity involvement in Survivor 50
In an Instagram post (below), the three-time Survivor alum shared her thoughts on the trailer, beginning with an expletive question and calling out the celebrity highlights as corny.
She even goes as far to remind us of the last time a celebrity had a major impact on the game with the "Tyler Perry Super Idol" back in Survivor: Cagayan when the multi-hyphenate mogul convinced Jeff to implement a Super Idol that could be used to grant a player immunity after the votes had been read.
The only problem with this was that it already existed. After immunity idols were first introduced into the game and production was still figuring out exactly how they wanted to utilize them, they opted to make them playable after the vote starting in season 12. But after two seasons of this, they quickly learned the advantage held too much power and changed the rule to what we know now: idols must be played before the vote.
Of course, that didn't stop the twist from coming back after a celebrity super fan suggested it. And it's not the only time a celebrity has quietly influenced the game. Jeff previously told Entertainment Weekly that Mike White—even before he was on the show—influenced the decision to not bring Redemption Island back for season 29.
And in an episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst, the host admitted that Jimmy Fallon came to him with the idea to have Sandra Diaz-Twine and Rob Mariano sit in on Tribal Council during Survivor: Island of the Idols.
All of those are still fairly minor compared to the blatant name dropping taking place in the upcoming season. What was previously announced as "In the Hands of the Fans" is starting to look more like "In the Hands of the (Super) Fans."
However, we'll have to wait until February to see just how much of an influence these celebrities will have on the game and try to stay positive, like Wentworth, until then.
Survivor 50 premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026.