Survivor winner Parvati Shallow isn't stoked about Jeff Probst's comments about the "greatest characters" in Survivor history during a recent stop on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show while promoting Survivor 48.
According to a report from Us Weekly, Jeff was asked a question about an all-female season of Survivor. He said it was an interesting idea before adding, "When you list all of the greatest ‘characters’ of Survivor, a majority of them are men."
And, of course, that didn't sit right with one of the most accomplished women to have played the game. Shallow commented, "Dude. This guy." on an Instagram post with the video of Jeff making that comment. She followed up that comment with another in the same thread about the "editing bias" that exists in the game, according to the report.
Parvati wasn't done, though. She continued to make her point in her Instagram Stories. According to a Reddit thread, Parvati posted several other comments:
"Grrrrr...When your team is primarily made of men and your bias shows that... Wonder why women don't become bigger characters??"
Parvati also commented: "Maybe us girls just need a bigger platform to become bigger characters #traitorsus."
And, even more recently, Parvati shared in her Instagram Stories an old clip of herself speaking on the Drop Your Buffs podcast about the "predominantly male culture" of Survivor.
So, yeah, this is not a great look for Jeff and many as a whole. This show has never been perfect, and they've made many mistakes in the 24 years this show has been on the air, but alienating some of your biggest and best players, true Survivor legends, is not the way.
While I usually agree with Jeff's opinions about the new seasons of Survivor, I have to say that his take is wrong for two seasons. For a time, I thought Jeff's comments may have been taken out of context. I understand the point he was trying to make, but I don't think he considered the societal norms and inherent bias that play into why players behave the way they do in a social game or experiment like Survivor. The game does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects reality. And, instead of implying that we could never see an all-female Survivor season because we'd miss all the male characters, there was a better way to handle that question.
So, I believe Parvati is completely correct in her assessment of bias over the years at Survivor, but I also think that Jeff is just wrong about most of the "greatest characters" of Survivor being men.
Many men from Survivor are iconic players, even "characters." It's no secret that more men have won Survivor than women. But, if you were putting together a list of the 50 most entertaining Survivor players of all time, there has to be at least a 50-50 split of men and women, and Parvati is one of them. Sandra Diaz-Twine, Stephenie LaGrossa, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Cirie Fields, Aubry Bracco, Sophie Clarke, Rachel LaMont, Tina Wesson, Amanda Kimmel, Sarah Lacina, and Natalie Anderson are just a few who come to mind.
It will be really interesting to see what happens from here on out with Survivor 50 casting already underway. I think everyone is expecting Parvati will be part of the cast. She's one of the most iconic Survivor players in history, and it would be a shame if she wasn't included in the Survivor 50 cast.
Unfortunately, we know that some of the biggest names in the game's history will be left off the cast. There are just too many players from 48 seasons (so far) to include in the Survivor 50 cast, which will be, max, 20 players.
We'll share more updates about the Survivor 50 cast when we find out!