# Survivor: Game Changers Starts on Wednesday **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580 "2017-03-06T21:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/181 "2017-04-14T21:18:33Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > It’s a disgusting scene, and Varner falls back on the old “because I am a privileged white gay male I understand all others and speak for all others intimately.” Do you mind giving a quote of his that you’re paraphrasing there? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/182 "2017-04-14T21:38:43Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > **Una** ’s point is exactly what I was referring to, though. People like to try and equate different forms of prejudice, when they’re not necessarily comparable. So people like Varner who are part of a discriminated minority in being gay, but otherwise are white and/or male, etc, think that their experience lets them completely understand (and in some circumstances, use) what other, different discriminated groups go through, which isn’t true. It can feel like someone who’s white claiming they understand what it’s like to be black and racially discriminated against because “the Irish were discriminated against back in the day and I’m Irish.” Exactly my point, but you said it much better than I did. There has been a long-running problem with (often affluent) white gay men trying to control the messaging for the entire LGBT community, and Varner’s “hey I support trans rights in North Carolina, so I don’t accuse me of being insensitive when outing a transgender person against their will” (paraphrased heavily) sounds like more of the same. It might not be, but it’s the sort of thing I’ve heard numerous times before. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/183 "2017-04-15T05:11:10Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Even if Zeke had said, “please don’t out me on national television,” and the producers complied, it probably would have gotten out anyway. Sooner or later one of the contestants would have spilled the beans, perhaps inadvertently in a media interview. There would be huge repercussions if it got out that something that significant had been excised from the show. > > However, if Zeke had pleaded with the producers to edit it out, I don’t think they’d be obligated to do so. IANAL, but my reading of the [Survivor contract](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2010/05/survivor-cast-contract/) is that CBS can air anything that is filmed during the game. Obligated? No. But it’d be bad PR. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/184 "2017-04-15T14:24:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Obligated? No. But it’d be bad PR. The thing is that they’d have to edit out EVERYTHING the contestants said about it for the remainder of the season. I don’t think they could instruct them not to talk about it, that would run afoul of the game show laws they have to follow. Now Zeke could ask them to never bring it up again during filming, since he’s a fellow contestant, but the second the producers said “Don’t ever mention the Varner incident or Zeke’s sexuality for the remainder of the show”, they’d be violating the law. ---
**Author:** ![SUZ\_MAC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@SUZ\_MAC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUZ_MAC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/185 "2017-04-18T14:50:56Z")
I haven’t read everyones comments yet, but I do know on good authority that Varner is under suicide watch. He has been getting death threats since the episode aired and he has lost his job as well. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/186 "2017-04-18T16:34:20Z")
Well, it was a shitty thing to do, but I don’t hate Varner to the degree that I hated other people on the show. Zeke may not have been out to the entire world as transgender, but (assuming he hasn’t lived under a rock his whole life) there’s really no way to transition from one gender to another without lots of people knowing…family (of course), friends, co-workers, classmates. And I think that it’s a tad ironic that Zeke kept impressing upon everyone that he didn’t want to be known as the trans Survivor, but instead as Zeke the Survivor…and then they devoted nearly a whole show to making a huge ordeal about it. I’d actually have had more respect for the show had they spent 3 minutes on it and then moved on…because his gender is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/187 "2017-04-18T16:59:57Z")
And, I absolutely agree that there should have been a vote. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/188 "2017-04-18T17:08:18Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > …and then they devoted nearly a whole show to making a huge ordeal about it. I’d actually have had more respect for the show had they spent 3 minutes on it and then moved on…because his gender is irrelevant. No, they spent the usual time they spend on Tribal Council. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2017, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/189 "2017-04-18T18:53:22Z")
> [@SUZ\_MAC](#): > > I haven’t read everyones comments yet, but I do know on good authority that Varner is under suicide watch. He has been getting death threats since the episode aired and he has lost his job as well. He said in an interview that the show had given both him and Zeke therapy. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/190 "2017-04-19T00:25:53Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Well, it was a shitty thing to do, but I don’t hate Varner to the degree that I hated other people on the show. Zeke may not have been out to the entire world as transgender, but (assuming he hasn’t lived under a rock his whole life) there’s really no way to transition from one gender to another without lots of people knowing…family (of course), friends, co-workers, classmates. > > And I think that it’s a tad ironic that Zeke kept impressing upon everyone that he didn’t want to be known as the trans Survivor, but instead as Zeke the Survivor…and then they devoted nearly a whole show to making a huge ordeal about it. I’d actually have had more respect for the show had they spent 3 minutes on it and then moved on…because his gender is irrelevant. I thought the same, you know, was he living under a rock? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/191 "2017-04-19T04:49:38Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Yeah, but Jeff was full of shit at tribal when he said something along the lines that Varner not only outed Zeke to the rest of the tribe but also millions of viewers. No, Varner outed Zeke to the other tribe members and the production crew. Outing Zeke to millions of viewers (weeks after the actual incident) required some help from Probst. Damn it. **Bricker** seems to [agree](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=824124) somewhat. I’m gonna go take a long walk and see if I can figure out where my life took a wrong turn. But I’d like to take back my post now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/192 "2017-04-19T07:03:02Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Oh, for crying out loud. When you watch the video, it’s clear that Probst is telling Varner to keep going. Now, Jeff is an expert at steering these TC discussions in directions he wants them to go in, so he could have either said nothing, or tried to get it going in a different direction. He’s the master of ceremony, and the contestants take their cues from him. All I’m saying is that he wasn’t an innocent bystander. He was in the mix, and maybe got a little carried away himself. I also agree there is no way Jeff could have known what Varner was going to say… even IF he knew Varner knew and there is no evidence Jeff did. And of course they are trying to add drama to the show (regarding the no vote). It’s supposed to be entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/193 "2017-04-19T12:22:44Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Well, it was a shitty thing to do, but I don’t hate Varner to the degree that I hated other people on the show. Zeke may not have been out to the entire world as transgender, but (assuming he hasn’t lived under a rock his whole life) there’s really no way to transition from one gender to another without lots of people knowing…family (of course), friends, co-workers, classmates. > > And I think that it’s a tad ironic that Zeke kept impressing upon everyone that he didn’t want to be known as the trans Survivor, but instead as Zeke the Survivor…and then they devoted nearly a whole show to making a huge ordeal about it. I’d actually have had more respect for the show had they spent 3 minutes on it and then moved on…because his gender is irrelevant. Too much $$ at stake. What will be interesting is to see how this plays out in the rest of the game. Theoretically, it could never come up again and the folks on the other tribe never know until they get voted out or the filming is over. Will Zeke ask his fellow tribe mates to not mention it? Will he make some general announcement at the merge to get it out and over with? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/194 "2017-04-19T14:10:32Z")
Two hour Survivor episode tonight. IMO, we haven’t heard the last of this issue. If this continues to be a talking point for Zeke this season (maybe in the Final Tribal Council), CBS had to televised the “Outing”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/195 "2017-04-19T17:03:53Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Yeah, but Jeff was full of shit at tribal when he said something along the lines that Varner not only outed Zeke to the rest of the tribe but also millions of viewers. No, Varner outed Zeke to the other tribe members and the production crew. Outing Zeke to millions of viewers (weeks after the actual incident) required some help from Probst. You mean, Varner had no idea that his statement might be televised?!?:eek: :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/196 "2017-04-19T17:26:48Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > I thought the same, you know, was he living under a rock? He said that he moved away from family and friends when he started to transition. And made new friends and had new coworkers. I’m sure his close family knew, but don’t we all have distant relatives we never talk to? I’m very much looking forward to tonight’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/197 "2017-04-19T21:16:57Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > He said that he moved away from family and friends when he started to transition. And made new friends and had new coworkers. I’m sure his close family knew, but don’t we all have distant relatives we never talk to? > . I have lots of distant relatives we never talk to. If I found out one of them had transitioned to a different _species_ my entire reaction would be ‘huh.’ ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/198 "2017-04-20T01:54:44Z")
Oh good, nobody seems to care about Zeke’s past, and it’s back to normal tonight. Which is nice. Moving right along, can someone remind me how Sarah and Hali are game changers? I don’t see where Zeke is either but I don’t want to get back into the above discussion. I remember seeing them before but don’t recall anything that would put them in a class with Sirie, Sandra, Ozzy, etc. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/199 "2017-04-20T06:32:42Z")
Interesting how the game can quickly shift from everyone wanting to make an ‘easy’ vote (deciding between Hali and Michaela, both on the very bottom) to suddenly taking out Ozzy. Just how the game works these days. Edgic (edit-based logic) comment: So Sarah’s pretty much got this in the bag, right? Every episode they go to pains to give her the chance to talk, and often about her strategy, even when she seems to be playing a game pretty much as invisible as Aubry or Troyzan. They even let her talk about the Zeke thing before Zeke did! ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/200 "2017-04-20T10:18:07Z")
I can’t believe the next episode after Zeke was outed as transgender, he commented that he didn’t want to get caught with his pants down! LOL [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580.md?page=11)