‘Survivor 50’ runners-up Joe Hunter and Jonathan Young speak out on jury's decision as Aubry Bracco wins
Fourth time's the charm! After three unsuccessful attempts in the past, Aubry Bracco was crowned the winner of the latest season of 'Survivor' during the live finale on May 20, which aired on CBS. Jonathan Young was declared the first runner-up after receiving three votes from the jury, while Joe Hunter became the second runner-up after he didn't pick up a single jury vote. Aubry received an impressive eight votes and lifted the trophy of 'Survivor 50.' She also took home a cash prize of $2 million. Aubry started her 'Survivor' journey in 2016 as an underdog, but her tenacity and ability to adapt under different circumstances impressed her fellow contestants. However, not everyone was happy with Aubry's success, as both Joe and Jonathan disagreed with the jury's decision.
A two-time player, Joe's earlier tryst on 'Survivor 48' also ended similarly, as he became the second runner-up after failing to secure enough votes from the jury. The firefighter spoke to Entertainment Weekly shortly after the finale and explained why he felt that the jury had already made up their mind about him before the final Tribal Council even began. He shared what was going through his mind as he faced the jury members to pitch himself as the winner. "The second before any word was said, I went: Oh, that one hates me, this one hates me… And I thought: Man, there's zero chance. I just felt it was very transparent based on the questions and responses that, before this thing started, I think it was a wrap."
"At the end of the day, it must have been something that I didn't do or something that I didn't say or didn't do in the game that didn't spark their results," he said, referring to the fact that not a single jury member voted for him. The 46-year-old also mentioned that he thought he had at least one person's vote in the bag, but refused to reveal their identity. Without making any direct claims, he went on to say, "If they already called the score before you shoot a basket, the game's hacked."
Jonathan also aired his grievances after finishing as the first runner-up of CBS' reality competition series. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the 32-year-old 'Survivor' contestant said, "It hurt me so bad because I know I did everything I could do. cause I had thought about Survivor for four years, and I don't think I could've played ... I don't know what I could've done different. I keep trying ... I keep going back to: What do I learn from this? God, what do you want me to learn? And I don't know yet. I don't know what I'm learning because I believe deep in my heart that I played the better game. I know I did."
He also felt that Aubry had an advantage with the jury since she's played the game more times than he and Joe. Furthermore, he cast doubt over Aubry's win by saying, "Because Aubry has played five times, it swayed a lot of jury votes. Is that fair? It's up to the fans and up to Survivor to decide. But what is even a jury? If that's a jury, then I'm confused." The series will return with Season 51 this fall only on CBS.
