You simply cannot outwit the rules of Survivor.
Just ask Jeff Probst, who recently detailed what really led to the decision to remove two players from season 49 just 12 hours before filming.
“In the days leading up to the beginning of the game, all the players are together,” he explained on the Sept. 24 episode of his On Fire with Jeff Probst podcast. “They’re at a place we call Ponderosa. So you have all of your competitors, but you’re not allowed to talk.”
“That’s why we have so many handlers there to make sure nobody’s talking,” he continued. “You can obviously look at each other, you can try to make eye contact. That might work for you, it might not.”
Jeff noted that while castaways can’t speak to each other, they are allowed to write down “assessments of their players,” like who they may align with when the game begins.
“The only thing is, we have rules,” the 63-year-old explained. “The rules are you cannot talk to each other, for obvious reasons. And in this season, season 49, we had two players who were disrespecting that rule. They just kept talking.”
In fact, it had escalated enough for him to receive a call that, he explained, there was “a level of concern” with the two contestants, who were then given a “stern warning” not to talk to each other.
“I went and met with our executive team and said, ‘Look, we might have a situation,'” Probst shared. “Before we could even finish our discussion, I got a second phone call saying that the level of disrespect had reached an even more blatant level.'”
“That was all it took,” he continued. “Candidly, the decision was made in that moment to immediately remove those two players from the game and replace them with our alternates.”
Enter Jason Treul and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu. Probst added that the decision “sent shockwaves through the rest of the players, as it was very clear that something was happening with those players.”
It turns out that the 16 other contestants appreciated the shakeup.
“What really happened was the players, once they were able to talk, they thanked our producers,” Probst revealed, “because they said, ‘We were all aware that this was happening. And it felt like cheating. Like there was an advantage being had.’ And now they’re in the situation of: Should I do that as well?”
Although the Emmy winner noted that this was the “first time in history” that the show made the move, they aren’t afraid to do again if needed.
“It should be clear to future players, although I doubt this will ever happen again, to just know we will not hesitate to pull you from the game,” he added. “It doesn’t matter how much time or money we’ve invested in you.”
As he simply put it, “We value the integrity of the game more than anything.”
Now, keep reading to see the entire cast of Survivor season 49.
Kimberly “Annie” Davis
Age: 49
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
Current Residence: Austin, Texas
Occupation: Musician
Steven Ramm
Age: 35
Hometown: Littleton, Colo.
Current Residence: Denver, Colo.
Occupation: Rocket scientist
Kristina Mills
Age: 36
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Current Residence: Edmond, Okla.
Occupation: MBA career coach
Nicole Mazullo
Age: 26
Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.
Current Residence: Philadelphia, Pa.
Occupation: Financial crime consultant
Jawan Pitts
Age: 28
Hometown: Salem, N.J.
Current Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.
Occupation: Video editor
Sophie Segreti
Age: 31
Hometown: Darnestown, Md.
Current Residence: New York City, N.Y.
Occupation: Strategy associate
Jeremiah Ing
Age: 39
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
Current Residence: Toronto, Ontario
Occupation: Global events manager
Matt Williams
Age: 52
Hometown: Farmington, Utah
Current Residence: St. George, Utah
Occupation: Airport ramp agent
Shannon Fairweather
Age: 28
Hometown: Wakefield, Mass.
Current Residence: Boston, Mass.
Occupation: Wellness specialist
Jake Latimer
Age: 36
Hometown: Regina, Saskatchewan
Current Residence: St. Albert, Alberta
Occupation: Correctional officer
Jason Treul
Age: 32
Hometown: Anaheim, Calif.
Current Residence: Santa Ana, Calif.
Occupation: Law clerk
Savannah Louie
Age: 31
Hometown: Walnut Creek, Calif.
Current Residence: Atlanta, Ga.
Occupation: Former reporter
Nate Moore
Age: 47
Hometown: Clovis, Calif.
Current Residence: Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Occupation: Film producer
Sophi Balerdi
Age: 27
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Current Residence: Miami, Fla.
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu
Age: 29
Hometown: Sachse, Texas
Current Residence: San Diego, Calif.
Occupation: Fitness trainer
Sage Ahrens-Nichols
Age: 30
Hometown: Roxboro, N.C.
Current Residence: Olympia, Wash.
Occupation: Clinical social worker
Alex Moore
Age: 27
Hometown: Evanston, Ill.
Current Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Political comms director
Rizo Velovic
Age: 25
Hometown: Yonkers, N.Y.
Current Residence: Yonkers, N.Y.
Occupation: Tech sales
