‘Survivor’ Cast Left Reeling From Fallout Of Transgender Contestant’s Outing

If you’re still here, that’s chill, too. We can now tell you about the aftermath of contestant Zeke Smith’s unexpected outing as a transgender man by fellow contestant Jeff Varner. In short: the entire camp was shaken by the incident, and not without reason.

Tribe members who were present during the incident expressed their shock at the ordeal. There was a recognition that Jeff’s actions were patently off-limits, even for a show which prides itself on finding exactly where those personal limits are. 

Contestant Sarah Lacina faced a brief moment of tension with Tai Trang, after the latter appeared to express forgiveness to Varner. Sarah’s rationale was that Jeff’s decision, which eventually resulted in him being fired from his real-life job, went against Zeke’s right to live his own life, the way he wants to.

She explained “I come from a very conservative background, so it’s not very diverse,” giving context for the personal growth she’d made throughout the show, before saying “of course we want to come away with the million dollars, but the metamorphosis I’ve made as a person that I didn’t realise until this minute is invaluable.

Zeke himself continued to handle the unimaginably difficult experience with grace, telling the tribe “one of the reasons I didn’t tell people is I sort of wanted people to see me as myself,” and that he didn’t want his gender identity to define his entire character. Fair.

He went on to say the experience of being on Survivor itself had strengthened his resolve, enabling him to persevere through the ordeal.

“If metamorphosis is the word of the episode, I feel like I’ve seen such a metamorphosis of myself.” – Zeke #SurvivorGameChangers pic.twitter.com/k2vrne40JB

— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) April 13, 2017

Speaking of strength, the deadset trooper pivoted right back into game-mode, saying he was still 100% focused on winning that dosh. 

Of course, that was only his tribe, and a fair whack of the remaining competitors weren’t even at the ceremony when Varner said his piece. Zeke approached ’em, told them what went down, only to be faced with a group that seemed more stunned by Jeff’s connivery than by Zeke being transgender. 

Zeke then re-admitted to the cameras that he’s in it to win it, and he expects things to get rough in the lead up to the show’s finale. It appears he’s already overcome a massive, unexpected challenge with the utmost grace, though. 

13 are left, who will be voted out tonight? Watch back to back episodes of #SurvivorGameChangers starting at 8/7c: https://t.co/YG0WltGhdE pic.twitter.com/mR4dJuGEdd

— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) April 19, 2017

Source: news.com.au.
Photo: Survivor / Twitter.