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Survivorexpects the contestants to constantly put their strongest foot forward and sometimes, things get a little out of hand. From backstabbing alliance to tearful goodbyes, it’s all a part of the show. However, there was one time when a contestant crossed the line on the survival show and ended up outing a fellow castaway as transgender. Needless to say, the rest of the cast members voted the tattletale out. Clearly, his move did not work out in his favor.
This happened onSurvivor: Game Changers,the 34thseason of the competitive reality show. Contestant Jeff Varner took it upon himself to reveal to the world that Zeke Smith was in fact a transgender man and called him out for his ability to deceive others. Of course, this did not sit right with the other castaways who all voted Jeff Varner out for his immoral actions.
Jeff Varner outs Zeke Smith as transgender onSurvivor: Game Changers
In the sixth episode titledWhat Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile,Jeff Varner was desperate to make his case and not get voted off the show. In an attempt to do so, he tried to convince Zeke Smith to vote Oscar “Ozzy” Lusth out. When Smith hesitated to do so, Varner believed that he and Ozzy had a secret alliance and suddenly, he was hell-bent on exposing him to the other tribe members.
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However, he ended up taking it one step too far when he outed his fellow castaway as a transgender man, leaving everyone speechless and distraught. In his words,“Why haven’t you told anyone you’re transgender?”Smith didn’t reply as he was rightfully shocked at Varner’s absurd move.
When the other contestants called Varner out for his insensitivity, he simply stated that his motive was“to show the deception.”Later, Varner probably realized the gravity of the situation and he stated that he had no idea Smith hadn’t come out to the world yet. He believed that Smith was simply keeping it from only the contestants.
After he was voted out, he could be seen saying,“I don’t even know what I was thinking. It was a horrible move…Nobody on this planet should do what I did to them and I’m so sorry to anyone I offended, especially Zeke and his family and his friends.”Well, a little too late for the realization, no?
Jeff Varner opens up about this mistake on the show
After his elimination, Varner talked toPEOPLEabout the whole ordeal. He appeared to be quite distraught with his actions and apologized to anyone he offended and hurt.
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He stated that hurting someone was not his intention and that he had been giving himself a hard time about it all day. Sobbing, Varner said,
I thought of his family and his friends watching that moment — I’m sad. I’m really angry at myself and I’m profusely sorry to everybody I offended, to Zeke, all the people out there who are hurting because of me. It was not my intention. It was never my intention. [Sobbing] My God, I’m crying. I’ve been crying all day and that’s not something I want to do.
He added that he had in fact spoken to Smith after the show several times and that has helped him heal a bit.
We’ve been dealing with this since last July and being unable to talk about it has really been the worst. I’ve talked to Zeke on the phone several times and that’s been really helpful and healthy. It helped the healing begin.
He praised Smith for being“smart”and“well-spoken”and seemed confident that his tribemate would turn this mess into something beautiful, even if it was at Varner’s expense. As for how he knew Smith was transgender, Varner stated that he had an inkling right from the first time he saw him.
Survivoris available to watch on Netflix, Paramount+, and Prime Video.
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2257
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
