In honor of the upcoming 40th season of the beloved reality series, which premiered in 2000, here are some of the most shocking moments of the last 20 years of “Survivor” — from full-frontal nudity on national television to Dan Spilo getting kicked off the show last season. Season 40 premieres Feb. 12 at 8/7c on CBS.
Dan Spilo Gets Kicked Off the Show
The Hollywood talent manager was ejected from “Survivor: Island of the Idols” in 2019 following accusations of inappropriate touching. He has since said he is “deeply sorry.”
Season 1 Winner Richard Hatch Jailed for Tax Evasion
He was known as somewhat of a villain during his 2 stints on the show, but even more drama plagued Hatch after his time on “Survivor.” He ended up having to serve time in federal prison for tax evasion. Forbes has a good explainer of what happened there.
Sandra Diaz-Twine Wins Two Seasons
This champion is the first and only person ever to win two separate seasons — “Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.”
“Boston Rob” Plays a Sneaky Trick
“Boston Rob” Mariano convinced fellow contestant Lex van den Berghe to vote to keep his lady friend, Amber Brkich, safe on “Survivor: All-Stars” — and then immediately turned around and proceeded to get her voted off as a thank you.
Erik Cardona’s Jury Speech
On “Survivor: Samoa,” Cardona’s jury speech made for a very “lively and interesting” tribal council, according to host Jeff Probst — and it moved some people to tears.
Colby Donaldson Steels Coral From the Great Barrier Reef
The “Survivor: Australian Outback” contestant did this highly illegal move, which required an apology to be made on his behalf by producers. Oops!
Michael Skupin Gets Third-Degree Burns
This man inhaled a mouthful of smoke while competing on “Survivor: Australian Outback” and passed out, landing directly in a fire pit and sustaining third-degree burns. He was later arrested for possession of child pornography in 2016. He served jail time.
Candice Woodcock and Adam Gentry Make Out
After Woodcock got eliminated, she made out with fellow contestant Gentry in front of everyone. That’s when Probst quipped, “Well, a kiss is nice. Maybe if it were love he would have given you the Immunity necklace.” Sick burn, Jeff.
Tribes Are Divided By Race
Not “Survivor’s” finest hour. In 2006 for the Cook Islands season, they actually decided to divide the tribes by race — African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Caucasian. When the public was not amused, Probst chalked it to a well-intentioned but mislead attempt at diversity.
Full-Frontal Male Nudity!
On Season 17, audiences were flashed a full-frontal shot of Marcus Lehman’s private parts for a brief moment on national television. Whoops!
The ‘Most Frightened’ Probst Has Ever Felt on ‘Survivor’
In what host Jeff Probst says was “the most frightened I’ve been in all my time” on “Survivor,” contestant Russell Swan passed out with his eyes open due to sheer physical exhaustion and is forced to go home, despite desperately trying to make it through the Samoa-set season.
