The thing fans love most about Survivor is the combination of subjectivity and objectivity that the game provides. Objectively, there are certain moves that can be made to build up a resume and earn players higher status in the history books. But subjectively, we’re watching real people live out a social experiment and—as humans ourselves—we will connect to some more than others.
So everyone has different favorites and everyone has different opinions on who is a terrible player. But Rob Cesternino held nothing back when Parade Magazine asked him who the worst player in Survivor history is.
While he did admit it’s a tough question because it depends on how you look at it—are players first out worse than players who get taken to the end because no one will vote for them?—he had absolutely no problem declaring, “Wendy Jo [DeSmidt-Kohlhoff] from Survivor: Nicaragua.” He goes on to note that being the first player voted out, “in a tribe that could have had a lot of people that would have been the first to go,” categorizes her as probably the worst player in history.
However, after stating, “worst person in Survivor history as a player,” he kindly adds, “but number one in our hearts.”
And while Rob is known for having a keen eye for the game, I personally can think of at least two other players from that season alone that I would consider worse than Wendy Jo. While she was unlucky in getting voted out first, 25 days later, two players opted to quit the game despite the fact that they’d made it all the way to the Final Nine in the game.
Sorry, Rob... Wendy Jo is not the worst player in Survivor history...
Just looking at Survivor: Nicaragua, NaOnka Mixon and Kelly Shinn are the worst players in Survivor history. Heck, anyone who quits the game is a worse player than someone who was voted out properly because they refused to play the game. Wendy Jo might have been voted out first, but she went the way you’re supposed to go. Quitters are the absolute bottom of the barrel for Survivor players with very few exceptions—Jenna Morasca in Survivor: All-Stars who left to be with her dying mother (who passed away only 8 days after she returned home).
And then if you look at the players who didn’t quit, it’s interesting that Rob didn’t mention the only player in Survivor history who has been voted out first, twice. I’m not saying Francesca Hogi is the worst player in history, but based on Rob’s criteria, she was voted out first in both Survivor: Redemption Island and (only four seasons later) Survivor: Caramoan.
So while, again, the “worst” is absolutely subjective and different for each fan, I have to say objectively there are a lot of people who played worse games than Wendy Jo. Sorry, Rob… You’re wrong…
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