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Last night’s Survivor was unlike any hour that’s aired in the show’s 17-year history, and not for any good reason. Contestant Zeke Smith was outed as transgender by his tribemate Jeff Varner during a contentious tribal council at which Varner was likely to be voted out. “Why haven’t you told these people you’re transgender?” Varner asked Zeke in front of the tribe, host Jeff Probst, and the television cameras. It was a moment of shock, for Zeke, for his tribe, for Probst (who, as producer, already knew about Zeke’s gender identity but seemed as taken aback by Varner’s actions as anybody), and for the audience at home.
“Two seasons on this show, and I’ve told no one,” Zeke reacted, before staying silent for many long minutes while everyone around him swiftly shut Varner down and loudly denounced his decision to out someone. The reaction by Zeke’s tribemates was instantaneous and one of the few heartening aspects of a moment that was shockingly ugly.
Varner, an out gay man who, per his words, “fight[s] for the rights of transgender people” in his home state of North Carolina, said his intention was not to malign transgender people but rather to show Zeke’s capacity for deception. Which is one hell of a hair to split while egregiously violating someone’s privacy on national television. Painting trans people as deceptive or inauthentic has been a classic tactic of anti-trans people for decades, and it’s insane to imagine Varner didn’t know this. He appeared to be operating under the rules of reality television (and in particular the rules of Survivor) which state that all is fair under the banner of “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.” But he found that there is in fact a line you can’t cross, and that line is outing someone against their will. It’s almost unfathomable that someone of Varner’s background wouldn’t realize how invasive and frankly dangerous it can be to out someone as trans, but watching it back on TV, it’s not until he sees the revulsion in the other tribe members (and in Probst) that he realizes how awful his decision was.
Immediately after the episode aired — hell, as the episode aired — there was much debate about whether CBS should have aired the outing at all. It’s a complicated issue. The outing of any transgender person is an invasive act that is often described as an act of violence. Varner outing Zeke took all of Zeke’s agency away. No matter how sensitive and supportive Jeff Probst and Survivor have been, you can’t set aside that Zeke wouldn’t be telling this story if his hand wasn’t forced. As he explained both at tribal council and later in an interview to People, Zeke didn’t ever want to mention being trans on television because he didn’t want it to define him as a player. Survivor followed Zeke’s lead for the season and a half he’s been on this show. Varner’s outing made Zeke’s gender identity part of the storyline, and it’s naive to think that the show ever would have considered not airing it. Zeke, after all, signed all the same forms as all contestants do, surrendering anything they do in front of a camera to the American public. Still, you have to hope that last night’s episode wasn’t airing over Zeke’s objection.
Probst’s actions — in his capacity as both host and producer — are of particular note. In his role as host, Probst behaved admirably. He was quick to admonish Varner and unwilling to let him off the hook as he tried to disclaim the malice in his actions. He took control of the conversation and allowed Zeke to compose himself rather than bombard him with requests for an immediate reaction. Probst grasped the gravity and ugliness of the situation and managed to put together a TV moment (which is his job as a TV host) while keeping things humane (which is the least he can do as a human being). His decision to dispense with the traditional secret-ballot voting in favor or an informal group dismissal of Varner had the side effect of removing the possibility that the show could cut Zeke’s outing entirely, though it’s tough to imagine this was a calculated move on Probst’s part.
By all indications, Zeke appeared to be shaken at first but gradually and increasingly in control. After Probst interrogated Varner about his intentions and gave time for the other tribe members to air their thoughts, Zeke got to speak on his own behalf. And while the swelling music on the soundtrack was too much aggrandizement (it felt like the show congratulating itself for airing such a moment), it’s undeniably true that seeing a trans man speak on his own behalf in front of an audience of millions could positively influence the show’s wide audience. This was reflected in the words of tribe member Sarah Lacina, a police officer from Iowa, who was moved to tears as she spoke about her own Midwestern shelteredness and how grateful she was to get to know Zeke on his own terms.
“I’m certainly not anyone who should be a role model for anyone else,” Zeke said (with a playful twinkle in his eye, I should add, which is almost unimaginable given the circumstances), “but maybe there’s someone who’s a Survivor fan, and me being out on the show helps him or helps her or helps someone else, so maybe this will lead to a greater good.”
It’s tough to know how good to feel seeing Zeke speak on his own behalf like he did. On the one hand, he’s able to articulate his truth with the support of Probst and his tribe. On the other hand, he should have never had to. On one hand, as he said in his People interview, “It’s important people see [Varner] lost that fight.” But you can’t also ignore his own words in the guest column he wrote for The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not wild about you knowing that I’m trans.” In the end, Zeke only wanted to tell his story his own way. That option got taken away from him, and there’s no getting around that. His tribemates handled it well. Jeff Probst handled it well. Zeke himself handled it well. These are silver linings around a dark cloud. Here’s hoping that at the very least, last night’s episode is able to drive home the gravity of that dark cloud as much as it trumpets those silver linings.
