Dietary restrictions and Survivor don’t go well together. Fans watched Liz struggle through worse hunger than the other castaways in Survivor Season 46, leading many to wonder why the show would cast someone who wouldn’t be able to eat most of the scarce food available in the first place. It also raised questions about why Liz, and anyone with food allergies or strict dietary restrictions, would want to compete. Vegetarians have also competed on the show, like Kyle in Season 47, who bid on a meal comprised almost entirely of meat in the auction on the November 6 episode on CBS. Jeff Probst has “no advice” for potential players when it comes to dietary restrictions, and his opinion may be one that’s shared by viewers.
Reacting to Kyle’s meal options during the auction on the On Fire podcast released on November 6, Probst said, “I have no advice or philosophy” for applicants with food allergies or specific restrictions “because they know what they’re getting into.”
“They know that we’re not going to change our show to accommodate anyone in the same way,” Probst explained. “We didn’t change anything when Noelle, who had a prosthetic leg, was on the show. She still had to get up the same challenges over the same giant ball, all that stuff. That’s how we view the game.”
Probst says these restrictions are “irrelevant” to him. As he explained to cohosts Charlie Davis and Jay Wolff: “Here’s what I find interesting. I don’t even know anymore about a player’s dietary restrictions. I know you may think, how could you possibly spend months and months getting to know these people and not know something about whether they’re vegetarian or not? But I don’t. It’s irrelevant to me.”
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“I don’t even really care where people are from. I only care if I find you compelling, if you’re a good storyteller, if you have a point of view, all the things we talk about on this podcast because the game or the format or the twist, whatever it is, that’s always going to be whatever it is. It’s what the players do with those elements that makes a great season,” he went on. “So maybe that’s my insight for future players regarding how to approach Survivor. Just remember what I said: The game, the format, the twist, whatever it is will always be whatever it is. You are what matters, so focus on yourself and listening to your gut and using your emotional intelligence and your social skills to play your game and worry less about whether or not the Knowledge is Power [advantage] is in the game. Because if everything else is working, you’ll know if the Knowledge is Power is in the game.”
The Survivor auction returned in Episode 8. While it’s been back for a couple of seasons now, the Season 47 auction saw the return of live grubs for the players to chow down. Probst reveals where they source the food (both savory and unsavory) for the auction in the full episode of On Fire. Listen for free below.
In the upcoming episode of Survivor, titled “Nightmare Fuel,” CBS says that “castaways must choose wisely as they split themselves into pairs at a crucial multi-staged immunity challenge. The deck is stacked against castaways when they embark on a journey that can drastically affect their game. Then, different names are tossed out at camp as paranoia ensues, leading to another crazy tribal council.”
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS
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