In the history of Survivor, there have been several contestants who’ve made a mark on the show but for all the wrong reasons. Talent manager Dan Spilo was one such player whose participation in the competitive reality show took a completely different turn when he was accused of inappropriate behavior. The said incident happened off-camera and involved another Survivor player.
Following this, the makers were quick to remove Spilo from the show. Shortly after his removal, the female contestant who made the accusations against him was also voted out – a decision that made Jeff Probst feel quite guilty.
How Dan Spilo Became the First Survivor Player to Be Kicked-Out of the Show?
Participating in Survivor is still a dream for many, but only a selected few get a chance to showcase their mental and physical capabilities on the show. One such participant was Hollywood talent agent Dan Spilo who participated in the 39th season of the show titled Survivor: Island of the Idols. Not only that but he was doing quite well in the show as well and lasted for 36 days on the island.
However, what he did after that not only got him kicked out of the show, but he also made history by being the first player who was removed from Survivor since its premiere in 2000. From the initial days itself, it was evident that the talent agent was a bit problematic when fellow contestant Kellee Kim raised some red flags about him.
Apparently, she had reported instances of “inappropriate touching” from his side to the makers of Survivor. In the following weeks as well, these issues continued to arise, with another crew member also accusing the player of inappropriate behavior.
This was the final straw for the makers who then took a bold step and removed Spilo from the game. Then a message also followed on the CBS screens which noted:
Dan was removed from the game after a report of another incident, which happened off-camera and did not involve a player.
In a rather interesting turn of events, Kim was also voted out of the show shortly after she had complained about Spilo. She added:
As Survivor fans know, shortly after I spoke up on camera, I was voted off the show … While I wish many things had gone differently, I’m glad that my decision to speak up made a difference.
During the reunion episode, in which Dan Spilo was not invited, Jeff Probst touched upon the subject and apologized to Kellee Kim by adding “You were right.” On the other hand, Spilo via People also apologized to Kim for his actions. But in the list of most controversial Survivor players, Spilo is nowhere near the first winner of the show, Richard Hatch.
Richard Hatch on What Will It Take to Bring Him Back on Survivor
Richard Hatch can easily be the most controversial contestant of Survivor, even though he won the very first season of the show. What was supposed to be a happy occasion for him quickly turned out to be his worst nightmare. He was up the creek without a paddle, when he won the $1 million prize money on the show and quickly got in trouble with the authorities.
This fame also paved the way for another show named House of the Villains, in which television’s 10 most notorious villains compete for a $200,000 prize money. He participated in the second season of the show but was recently eliminated in its fourth episode.
In an interview with TooFab he talked about all of this as well as the conditions in which he might participate in Survivor again. He added:
Life has always been about opportunity. And I’ve really been intrigued by trying different things and exploring. I’ve had a really, really interesting life. It was sidetracked awfully, horribly by what happened after Survivor.
He continued to talk about the show and his newfound exploration in life and added:
And that’s part of our system being broken and more than we can get into now — prejudice, et cetera, but I love life. I love me. I love exploring opportunity. And so there’s no telling where you’ll see me next.
Hatch came under the radar of the IRS when he failed to report his Survivor earnings. Following this he was also sentenced to 51 months in prison as well as a three-year supervised release. He was expected to pay the same after his release in 2009, but he failed to do so again and faced an additional 9 months in prison.
You can watch Survivor on Hulu.
