Jeff Probst said in an interview last week that the sexual harassment situation on Survivor was "unprecedented," which is blatantly false. This has happened before on the show, multiple times, and Jeff not acknowledging this is one of many troubling things about how CBS has handled this whole debacle.
The events that took place between survivor Kellee Kim and perpetrator Dan Spilo were not the first occurrence of sexual harassment on Survivor. In Survivor: Thailand, Ghandia Johnson accused Ted Rogers of grinding on her at night. In Survivor All:Stars, Sue Hawk was emotionally distraught after a naked Richard Hatch made contact with her on a narrow balance beam during a challenge. In both these instances, the women were portrayed in a negative light, and their stories weren't treated with the gravitas they deserved. Sue quit and Ghandia was voted out a couple episodes later. In the case of Kellee, she was not only voted out in the same episode she decided to speak out; she wasn't allowed to talk in the following tribal council when this issue was discussed in an open forum.
In an interview with EW, Jeff said, falsely, "It's an unprecedented and unfortunate situation that is still very raw for a lot of the players and fans. We are all trying to learn from it." He didn't acknowledge that women have spoken out in the past about this in other Survivor seasons, thus discounting their personal experiences and traumas they went endured while on the island. He then calls it an unfortunate situation, one which was made even more so because of production's mismanagement of the entire episode.
In the aftermath of this awful event, the episodes have run without so much as a mention to Dan's actions. In some aspects, this makes sense, because the people remaining in the game have apparently decided to not talk about it. But for viewers still grappling with the fact that Dan remains in the game - and the disconcerting fact that he will reunite with a family member in next week's loved ones visit - it's inappropriate that Survivor has avoided the topic altogether.
We shouldn't be surprised. This is always how Survivor has handled issues like these. After Sue quit in All-Stars and even before Ghandia was voted out in Thailand, the conversation around the harassment stopped. When harassing comments were made about women in Survivor: China, Jeff never denounced it. This season, at the tribal council in which Jamal Shipman was eliminated, Jeff showed that he has learned from past mistakes by grilling Dan, the perpetrator. But where was the follow-up? Where was the apology from Jeff? The show has moved forward. Not everyone has.
Here are some resources for anyone who has gone through something similar, or feels compelled to donate to help those who feel silenced or unsafe: RAINN, PCAR, Relief Fund for Sexual Assault Victims.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
Source: EW