CBS did the outing much more than Jeff Varner did

Great Debates
41

Once having outed Zeke there was no unringing that bell. It would have been somewhat awkward to film around why Varner had to leave, and someone would have talked to the press afterwards anyhow. That being said, it’s a good point that any transgender person who seeks the public eye in any way has to know that the likelihood of their being outed increases by orders of magnitude, by accident or malevolence.

What got me angry was the accusation that Zeke was deceptive or I think as Varner out it “capable of deception” because of his hiding his transgender status. That’s absolute unmitigated bullshit, and no different than accusing a woman who keeps a past rape secret of being “deceptive” if she doesn’t out herself to everyone - because neither had anything to do with the program. It just shows that despite Varner claiming to be part of the LBGT community, he’s really just part of the G community and has no concept of what transgender persons go through - he just assumes, because…reasons. And his whole “hey, I fought for trans rights in North Carolina” makes me wonder…how, exactly? He shared posts on Facebook or something? It sounds just like a “some of my best friends are…” excuse.

Should he have lost his job? Hell I don’t know. I know he’s going to end up being a pariah within the broader LGBT community. And if I remember correctly he threw out something along the lines of “I’m just grabbing at anything to survive being voted out.” That sounds like he has fairly low moral fiber in his diet.

42

How is a “Reality TV game show” being compared to rape? :rolleyes::dubious:

43

It’s not. But your post is definitely in the running for the most errors made with the fewest number of words.

The reality show is being compared to a frat party.

The outing is being compared to sexual assault. I purposely didn’t say “rape”.

44

Just as a thought experiment, if Varner had merely outed Zeke as a gay man, would that have proved Varner wasn’t really a member of the G community?

45

The way I heard it has only one of the producers (either Mark Burnett or Jeff Probst) knowing and telling Zeke that this information would be kept quiet (audio here). Which prompts the question: how did anyone else find out?

46

A more appropriate analogy would be “if a woman competed to go to a frat party, signed a release that anything she did could be filmed, then it was revealed during the party in a drunken confession that she wasn’t a woman” then it is logical to assume that the odds of being discovered are much higher if she goes to the party compared to not going.

To me it’s pretty simple: if you want to keep a secret, don’t put yourself in a position where people will want to dig into your background and find your secrets.

47

… and then after being discovered was Ok with the release of the film.

48

I’m not going to play dueling analogies with you.

Varner revealed something very personal about Zeke without Zeke’s permission to do so. Sure, Zeke put himself at elevated risk by going on Survivor, but Varner is the guy who did the deed. No one compelled him to do it.

49

No, by his own identity he’s always part of the G as long as he is G. The semantic distinction I’m making is that to truly represent for the broader community you kinda have to make an attempt to understand the broader community and its core issues.

50

Sure, blame Varner. But not CBS.

51

I didn’t say CBS was blameless. I objected to listing Zeke as the person primarily to blame. I think Varner was primarily to blame. CBS’s role is complicated, and while I don’t think they are blameless*, it’s hard to put much blame on them. Once the Ginnie is out of the bottle, it’s hard to put it back in.

*I already said they might be considered to be coconspirators with Varner.

52

No, and truth told I didn’t even know of this consultation when I posted the OP.

But my question would be just that: did he have veto power? Because there’s a huge difference between:

(A) Zeke, there’s no stopping this; we both know that. So that said, how would you like us to frame it?

(B) Zeke, this is your life, and it’s an issue way more important than our game. SO you tell us: how do you want this handled? We’re willing to do whatever you need.

53

To convince everyone the destruction of Jerusalem was at hand, I thought, but if it turned out he wasn’t actually transgender but only dropped certain hints to manipulate Varner into embarrassing himself, I’d say “well-played!”

54

This happened in the most recent episode, and everybody involved has signed NDA’s such that if they breathe a word before it airs, they don’t get a dime, even if they’re the winner, so they all have a pretty vested interest in not talking.

Zeke said he just wanted to be Zeke, that guy on Survivor. He didn’t say “that guy who won Survivor,” but that’s what they’re all there for, anyway.

Also, not getting voted off was pretty cool, too, since Varner was trying to throw Zeke under the bus but kind of slipped and threw himself there instead.

55

He had discussed it in advance with the producers and knew it could happen. And altho it doesnt state he had veto power, he clearly states he had no issue with it being broadcast.

56

I agree with Bricker. While Varner is the one who said it, CBS is the one that shared it and I find their clucking about Varner’s bad behavior rather disingenuous.

57

Why shouldnt they? Zeke has no issues with them doing so. He said as much.

58

So let us go over this.

Prior to the show:

Zeke: Hey CBS guys,Ii just want you to know I am Transsexual, but my plan is not to reveal it.

CBS:Interesting. But you do understand that if it gets revealed during the filming we have the right to broadcast it?

Zeke: Of course, i understand.

CBS: Ok, sign here here and here, Initial here here, here and here.

Later:

CBS: Well it got out in a very dramatic way, Zeke. Here’s how we want to show it, what do you think?

Zeke: Yes, I agree. Thank you for being considerate.
And, you still want to say CBS is the bad guy?:confused::dubious:

59

There’s still the question of how anyone other than the producer, who promised not to share it with anyone, got hold of that information.

60

Varner had the op to talk at length with Zeke and likely see Zeke naked. He inferred or guessed.

*How did Jeff Varner find out?

Let’s be clear: How Jeff found out that Zeke previously transitioned does not change what Varner chose to do with the information. Period.

Varner told Gordon Holmes that Zeke did not tell him, and said:

“I don’t want to talk about how I knew, because in respect to Zeke, I don’t think that’s the right direction to go.”

Update: Katie Couric asked Probst, “So no one in the cast, Jeff, was aware that Zeke is transgender?” Probst said, “Well, if they did, they had not brought it up. It had not been a topic.”*
also this:
*
Did Zeke consent to the episode being broadcast?

On The Talk today, Julie Chen actually asked him directly, and Zeke said this:

“In the aftermath of being outed, I’ve been granted unprecedented autonomy in how I wanted to tell my story. We started having conversations all the way back in Fiji nine months ago about the care with which this episode was going to be handled. I came to Jeff and asked if I could write a personal essay about what happened, and he immediately said yes. And I was really proud of how I responded, and I wanted the world to see how much I’ve grown. And I also thought by showing what happened, maybe it wouldn’t happen to someone else, and maybe some good could come of it.”

Elsewhere, Probst said, quite clearly: “we agreed that if his story was to be told, he would be the one to decide when, where, and how.”

Update: Probst told The New York Times:

“The idea of not airing this never came up. Zeke never asked for that. While he certainly did not have a hand in editing the show, Zeke and I have talked for nine months.”

And Probst told Katie Couric:

“Had [Zeke] brought it up, I don’t know what we would have done. He never did.”*