SurvivorwinnerParvati Shallowisn't stoked about Jeff Probst's comments about the "greatest characters" inSurvivorhistory during a recent stop onElvis Duran and the Morning Showwhile promotingSurvivor 48.
According to a report fromUs Weekly, Jeff was asked a question about an all-female season ofSurvivor.He said it was an interesting idea before adding, "When you list all of the greatest ‘characters’ ofSurvivor,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 herInstagram Stories. According to aReddit 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" ofSurvivor.
So, yeah, this is not a great look for Jeff andmanyas 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, trueSurvivorlegends, is not the way.
While I usually agree with Jeff's opinions about the new seasons ofSurvivor,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 likeSurvivor.The game does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects reality. And, instead of implying that we could never see an all-femaleSurvivorseason 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 atSurvivor,but I also think that Jeff is just wrong about most of the "greatest characters" ofSurvivorbeing men.
Many men fromSurvivorare iconic players, even "characters." It's no secret that more men have wonSurvivorthan women. But, if you were putting together a list of the 50 most entertainingSurvivorplayers 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 withSurvivor 50casting already underway. I think everyone is expecting Parvati will be part of the cast. She's one of the most iconicSurvivorplayers 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 thecast. There are just too many players from 48 seasons (so far) to include in theSurvivor 50cast, which will be, max, 20 players.
We'll share more updates about theSurvivor 50cast when we find out!
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