'Survivor: Island of the Idols' Season 39: Fans outraged as Dan plays victim after being accused of wrongly touching women
'Survivor: Island of the Idols' season 39 returned on Wednesday night. Fans and viewers witnessed the two-hour episode dive into a touchy situation and misconduct accusations against Dan Spilo. Fans claim they have had enough of this season and how Janet is the only true contestant on the show this season.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen this season of 'Survivor' delve into issues like race, gender, and now, #MeToo. This week, the contestants made it to the merge and Dan found himself in the midst of accusations under misconduct and inappropriate touching.
After Kellee breaks down in front of the camera during an interview, the fourth wall gets broken and the producer who was there asked Kellee if she wants action to be taken against Dan. Kellee denies and says the contestants will see to it. But the following day, the producers meet up with the contestants and address the seriousness of personal boundaries and Dan was issued a warning.
Elizabeth and Missy plan gameplay around this situation and lie about feeling being attacked by Dan to Janet. They claim to be voting for Dan, but in return, they vote Kellee out during tribal council. During the next tribal council, Jeff Probst addresses this issue and questions Dan about it, who then plays the victim claiming he is from the same industry the #MeToo movement rose from, and now he being accused of the same.
"Most of my clients are women. Most of the people I work with are women. I work in an industry in which the #MeToo movement was formed and allowed, thank god, to blossom and become powerful and strong. My personal feeling is if anyone ever felt for a second uncomfortable about anything I've ever done, I'm horrified about that and I'm terribly sorry. If that person was Kellee, if Kellee ever felt that in the freezing cold rain, or in tight shelters... or in all the ways we have to crawl around and through each other in this game — if I ever did anything that ever even remotely made her feel uncomfortable — it horrifies me and I am terribly sorry", Dan starts off.
Adding to that he said, "True, untrue, it doesn't matter what I feel. It doesn't matter whether I'm aware of it. It doesn't matter whether I ever sensed it. It doesn't matter whether I knew it happened or it didn't happen. If someone feels it, it's their truth. I couldn't be more sorry. I couldn't be more confident in that I'm one of the kindest, gentlest people I know. I have a wife, I have been married for 21 years, I have two boys, I have a big business, I have lots of employees. I think what upset everybody here is that this has somehow turned into gameplay."
In the end, Aaron tries to blame Janet saying she is playing the victim, and that if the women were really feeling that way they would have told him or he would have figured it out. But Jamal stops him and addresses it by saying, "You can't ignore this issue. I think this issue is a lot bigger than the game of Survivor... We have a responsibility to hear women, listen to women and believe women when they are ready to tell their stories."
After Jamal stood up for the women as a voice of reason, fans took to Twitter to share how disgusted they were with this episode. Apart from that they also shared that the only reason they will continue to watch the series is for Janet because she stood for what was right.
"This was a disgusting night. Janet, I am so sorry those women lied to you. I am really ashamed those women sugarcoated. Dan's behavior for gameplay. #Survivor," shared a fan. Adding to that another said, "I still have a very bad taste in my mouth over what went down with Dan & how the girls flipped it on Janet."
"All the remaining cast members bar Janet are just... so unlikeable now, Dan the most... yuck but especially Aaron, Missy, and Elizabeth. Who does this on actual tv in the year of our lord 2019. At least pretend to be decent. #Survivor", shared a fan.
Adding to that another said, "This episode of #survivor is abhorrent. Dan's behavior was gross, but these women are even worse. They had a platform and used it to set women's rights back. It's hard enough for victims of sexual assault to be believed. Vote them ALL out. JANET should win. She's the real hero."
"#Survivor this season is complete bullshit. You let Dan’s inappropriate behavior ruin people’s games. He should have been removed. Janet is the only honorable player left in the game. The rest are garbage", wrote a fan.
'Survivor: Island of the Idols' season 39 airs every Wednesday night only on CBS. Check your local listings for more information.