Tyson Apostol is one of the best Survivor players of all time, but apparently, he wasn't the right fit for one of the biggest Survivor seasons of all time.
In a new interview with The Wrap, Tyson revealed that he was actually supposed to play Survivor: Australia vs. the World, but he was one of the last players cut from the season. In fact, he already had a deal to play Australia vs. the World before the show backed out.
Here's what Tyson told the The Wrap:
"So I showed up, part out of spite for ‘Australian Survivor,’ because they made me an offer; they were excited to have me there, but then went in a different direction. ‘Casting is like a puzzle and the pieces have to all fit together.’ That’s what they told me. Spare me the analogy. That’s the most insulting part, not that you decided to go in a different direction, but that you gave me the puzzle analogy 20 years into my reality TV career. Like I haven’t heard that a million times.”
And, apparently, Tyson agreed to play House of Villains season 3 after he was one of the final cuts for Australia vs. the World.
It's wild to me that Survivor Australia didn't want Tyson to be part of such a legendary season. He was ready to play Survivor again for the first time since Winners at War, but instead, he was left at home while Parvati Shallow, Cirie Fields, and Tony Vlachos were chosen for Australia vs. the World.
To me, Tyson would have fit perfectly in that season. That's no knock to Parvati, Cirie, and Tony, either. Those three Survivor players are legends, and probably three of the top five Survivor players of all time. Well, Tyson's probably the sixth-best player in Survivor history, so it makes no sense to leave him out over some of the other "World" players for Australia vs. the World.
There were rumors that Australia vs. the World was actually going to be Australia vs. US, but at some point in the process, that was scrapped. It's unclear if that's when Tyson got the call that he wouldn't be part of the new season or not, but it's definitely a bummer.
As I've said before, Tyson is one of my favorite Survivor players of all time, and it's a bummer that he didn't get to play along with Parvati, Tony, and Cirie one more time. He also isn't part of the Survivor 50 cast, which features no winners from the first 44 seasons of the show. Parvati is done with Survivor now. We know Cirie is part of the Survivor 50 cast, and she's already revealed that this will be her last time playing Survivor. We know Tony will play again. Hopefully, Tyson gets that opportunity if he wants it in the future. I have a feeling he's probably done with the US version of the show.
I don't know about you, but it really feels like Australia vs. the World missed an opportunity by leaving Tyson out. Hopefully, he'll get another chance to play in the future!