When are players removed from Survivor?

Survivoris famously a game where you must adapt and thrive in a new environment in a very short amount of time. But not everyone who lands on the beach on Day 1 will make it to the end, let alone get the honor of getting their torch snuffed if they don’t.

From quitters and medical evacuations, there are a few different ways a player might leave the game without having theirname written downat Tribal Council—some of them completely against their will. And while there’s only ever been one huge removal scandal inSurvivor’s26-year history, the last few years have seen a few more players joining the ranks of those taken out of the game for breaking the rules.

Medical Evacuations

Being removed due to medical reasons often goes completely against the player’s wishes. It’s a health issue so drastic that theSurvivormedical team makes the call that they would possibly risk life or limb if they stayed in the game. Over the years, we’ve seen 22 players evacuated from the game due to medical reasons, and yes, I’m including Terry Deitz inSurvivor: Cambodiaas a medical evacuation, because it was. But I’m not counting Matthew Grinstead-Mayle inSurvivor 44since he “self-evacuated” after hurting his arm at his tribe’s beach—if the medical team didn’t decide you had to leave, it’s called quitting…

Quitting

I personally hate giving the people who quitSurvivora spotlight moment, but here we go… In 50 seasons there've been 14 players whoquit the gameand only one of them—in my opinion—left for a good reason. After Jenna Morasca wonSurvivor: The Amazon, she returned two seasons later and left the game after nine days. In coming to play again, she was leaving her terminally ill mother at home and once on the island, she just knew she had to be back home with her Mom. And she was right, her mom passed away eight days after Jenna left the game.

Production Removal

The first time we have a record of this happening was back inSurvivor: Island of the Idols. Kellee Kim spoke up against one of hermale tribe mates, feeling uncomfortable with the way he physically interacted with her. While these reports were down with the mindset of someone outside of the game, her tribe mates felt she was causing drama and voted her out on Day 22. Then on Day 36, hostJeff Probstinformed the remaining castaways that the player in question had been removed from the game due to an incident with a member of the crew.

Jeff went on to apologize to Kellee at the post-season reunion show and inform fans at home thatSurvivorwould be making policy changes to ensure this never happened again. And as far as we know, it hasn’t. But production has removed two players—that we’re aware of—before a season even began filming due topre-game mingling, which is explicitly against the rules. With that instance, it seems the show is determined to uphold the rules they have put in place.

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