23 Most Memorable (and Controversial!) Moments from ‘Survivor’

The First Cast

When the first season of Survivor aired, there was no way to know it would kick off a 25-year (and counting!) competition series. Sixteen contestants were left in an area of the South China Sea on the island of Pulau Tiga, near Borneo, Malaysia. Right away, the need for fire, food and shelter became evident, and the game was on.

The show changed programming forever, introducing the unscripted reality TV format to the masses.

Sue Hawk’s Blistering Speech

Years after its premiere, Survivor fans still remember truck driver Sue Hawk’s blistering speech during the final Tribal Council of season 1 that 51 million Americans watched.

Surprisingly eloquent, Hawk compared finalists Richard Hatch and Kelly Wiglesworth to snakes and rats, respectively.

Then things got personal, as Hawk told Wiglesworth: “If I were to ever pass you in life and you were laying there, dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I would let the vultures take you.”

Watching the speech unfold, host Probst could hardly contain himself.

“It was money,” he said. “I knew we had just filmed a hit.”

Survivor Sets Up Camp in Africa

Set in Kenya’s Shaba National Reserve, Survivor: Africa was the harshest locale yet: Season 3’s contestants drank stagnant water filled with elephant dung and cowered as lions roamed next to their camp’s fence.

There was also controversy — a disputed question during a quiz-based immunity challenge may have cost farmer Tom Buchanan the game. However, once likable soccer coach Ethan Zohn walked away with the $1 million, all was forgiven.

Rupert & Jonny Fairplay’s Antics

Survivor: Pearl Islands presented some of the most memorable contestants in the game’s history. Rupert Boneham made a splash on the first episode when he stole the opposing tribe’s shoes and sold them in a Panamanian market.

Jonny Fairplay made up a lie about his grandmother’s death. Neither tactic completely worked: It was sassy mom Sandra Diaz-Twine who cussed her way to the prize on season 7.

Survivor‘s Love Connection

Was it Survivor or The Bachelor? Boston Rob fell in love with fellow contestant (and eventual winner) Amber Brkich and proposed to her during the 2004 finale of Survivor: All-Stars. What seemed like a showmance turned out to be true love: They’ve been married for 20 years and have four daughters.

The Tribe of One

During the show’s 10th season, Survivor: Palau, the Ulong tribe was decimated, losing every immunity challenge and dwindling to one contestant: Stephenie LaGrossa.

Watching a young woman brave the elements alone was riveting — and led to the future concept of Exile Island. Yet despite her self-proclaimed determination and “heart,” LaGrossa was eventually bested by dominant firefighter Tom Westman.

Femme Fatales Run the Game

Ten Survivor superfans squared off against 10 returning favorites in Micronesia during season 16, but in the end, it turned into a battle of the sexes.

After Black Widow Brigade members Natalie Bolton, Shallow, Cirie Fields and Amanda Kimmel convinced Erik Reichenbach to give up his immunity, they promptly voted him off. It seemed like master strategist Fields would walk away with the game, but a last-minute twist caused her to leave in third place, paving the way for Shallow to emerge victorious (having placed sixth during her initial season, Survivor: Cook Islands).

Survivor’s Supervillain

There are Survivor villains, and then there’s Hantz of season 19’s Survivor: Samoa. The Texas oilman burned his castmates’ socks, dumped out their water and lied about losing his dog in Hurricane Katrina. Still, Hantz displayed a strategic mind and a knack for finding hidden immunity idols.

“Russell was great TV,” said Probst. “You want him with you, not against you.”

By the time he made it to the end, Hantz had angered too many other contestants, and they awarded the prize to the sweet pharmaceutical rep, Natalie White.

Heroes vs. Villains: The A-List Returns

Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Boneham. J.T. Thomas Jr. and Shallow — the A-list returned for season 20’s Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.

These 20 competitors knew how to play the game, considering 17 of them made the final four in other seasons, and six of them won their respective seasons. Each week brought new fireworks: blindsides, immunity idols and vicious arguments.

In the end, though, Diaz-Twine reprised her “as long as it ain’t me” strategy and walked away with another $1 million, becoming the show’s first two-time victor.

Lisa Whelchel: An ’80s Star Resurfaces

Other notables had already appeared on Survivor: Former NFL quarterback Gary Hogeboom in Guatemala and two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Jimmy Johnson in Nicaragua. (Later on season 37, Survivor: David vs. Goliath, White Lotus creator Mike White came in second.)

Season 25’s Survivor: Philippines had former MLB player Jeff Kent but also boasted a new type of celebrity: ’80s icon Lisa Whelchel. The former Facts of Life star — and committed Christian — struggled with the game’s deceit yet managed a second-place finish. (Sex therapist Denise Stapley easily won the season.) During a family visit, Whelchel and her brother’s tight bond inspired Probst to consider a season where family members would compete against each other.

Voting Out Your Mom

During Survivor: Blood vs. Water on season 27, returning contestants were pitted against family. The challenges were often physical — a high point was watching brothers Aras Baskauskas and Vytas Baskauskas square off in hand-to-hand combat.

However, the emotional toll of the game showed when newcomer Ciera Eastin voted off her mother, Laura Morett, who had previously played on season 19’s Survivor: Samoa.

Tony Vlachos’s Aggressive Game

His lies were blatant. His backstabbing was epic. He built a “spy shack” so he could eavesdrop on other contestants. But improbably — shockingly — Tony Vlachos got away with it all and decisively won season 28’s Survivor: Cagayan.

“He was so far ahead of everyone else in strategy that no one could touch him,” Probst said. “He was a fantastic contestant.”

An Outnumbered Foursome Fights Back

Season 13, Survivor: Cook Islands, courted controversy, splitting four tribes along racial lines: white, Black, Hispanic and Asian. (Fearing reprisals, several corporate sponsors backed out of the season, per the Los Angeles Times.)

After several twists, the tight Aitutaki foursome of Yul Kwon, Ozzy Lusth, Becky Lee and Sundra Oakley found themselves pitted against Rarotonga’s tribe of eight — and beat them all, even after the merge into Aitutonga. The controversy was forgotten when cerebral Kwon won the game.

Survivor Celebrates the Big 3-0

For the show’s 30th season, Probst briefly considered casting all-stars before settling on a season of new contestants for Survivor: Worlds Apart. The tribes were divided by their white collar, blue collar and “no collar” professions.

Probst was excited about how it turned out.

“Pound for pound, this is the best cast we ever assembled,” the longtime host said. “Every single one of them has come to play hard.”

Blue Collar Mike Holloway walked away with the prize after an impressive run of five individual immunity wins, which has him tied with four other players for most wins of that kind in a single season, per GoldDerby.

A Second Shot at the Game

For the show’s 31st season, Survivor tried something new. Before the Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance began, America was presented with a list of potential players, and chose 20 of them to play. The criteria: each of them had only played once before, but none of them had won.

The result: an eclectic cast — including PEOPLE’s Stephen Fishbach — who played an exceptionally hard game and was voted out 12th, becoming the fifth member of the jury.

A Shocking Outing

Survivor made international news in its 34th season due to an unfortunate incident that sparked a larger conversation in the LGBTQ+ community.

When contestant Jeff Varner found his back against the wall on Survivor: Game Changers, he outed fellow contestant Zeke Smith as being transgender. The fallout was instant, with Probst removing Varner from the game and putting out his torch’s flame.

When the episode aired, Varner lost his day job as a realtor and found himself the recipient of death threats. He later apologized for the incident.

An Unexpected Win

Things changed for the show’s 38th season, Survivor: Edge of Extinction, during which ousted contestants had the option to stay on a desolate island with a chance of returning to compete.

On day 36, Chris Underwood won his way back despite being the third boot. He took home the $1 million after spending just 13 days playing the game, sparking howls of protest across the internet. It’s unclear whether host Probst was happy with the win, but the Edge of Extinction option did return for season 40’s Survivor: Winners at War.

Welcome Back, Winners

For the show’s 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War, 20 former victors entered the arena once again — and proved why they had won their previous games.

A lot had transpired in two decades: Most of the contestants were now parents in their 30s and 40s. After an adrenaline-fueled season, police officer Vlachos won the game, becoming Survivor‘s second two-time winner.

An Ugly Controversy

On the show’s 39th season, Survivor: Island of the Idols, contestant Kellee Kim expressed concern that fellow player Dan Spilo had a habit of touching her without her consent. When she brought her concerns to the tribe, she was voted out.

Despite some aggressive gameplay and several interesting castaways, the season was overshadowed by what had happened — and things only got worse when Spilo was ejected near the end of the game for an incident in which he allegedly touched a female staff member without her consent.

Because of everything that had gone on, instead of a live reunion show at the end of the season, the finale was pre-taped for the first time in Survivor’s history.

A Slight Pause on Survivor

Survivor has historically filmed two seasons per year, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the filming of seasons 41 and 42. As the pandemic eased, the cast returned to Fiji to film both seasons, with the tropical locale seemingly becoming the series’ home base.

In 2017, Probst told Entertainment Weekly of the Fiji location, “I hope we stay here forever.”

He seems to have gotten his wish (so far): As of season 48, the show has shot 16 consecutive seasons there and will shoot in Fiji for season 49, per EW.

Setting a New Record

While Paralympian Noelle Lambert was the third amputee Survivor contestant on the show (following season 9’s Chad Crittenden and season 21’s Kelly Bruno), she was the first to win an individual immunity challenge.

A track and field star with an above-the-knee amputation after a moped accident in 2016, Lambert won immunity during Survivor 43 by coming from behind and placing first in a multi-step obstacle course that included a thin, zig-zagged, ascending and descending balance beam.

While the other contestants were on the final step of the challenge, Lambert had to repeatedly restart her cross on the beam, losing balance and suction on her prosthetic leg in the process. After successfully making it past the beam and tossing a sandbag onto a tower before everyone else, Lambert won individual immunity and a major reward — a relaxing and rejuvenating evening at the Sanctuary with food, drinks and letters from home.

“I go into every single challenge thinking I don’t think I can do it, but if it was me with two legs up there and I wasn’t succeeding, I would have quit,” she said after her win, per Entertainment Weekly. “And so everything I’ve learned since my accident, I mean, it just motivates me.”

Liz Wilcox is “PISSED”

Another season, another reward challenge taking place at the Sanctuary — this time with food from Applebee’s.

Survivor 46 saw players on day 18 doing a bunch of obstacles to ultimately toss a sandbag on top of a tower (sound familiar?) to win a nice meal from the chain restaurant. Contestant Liz Wilcox (above, center) shared that Applebee’s was part of her Wednesday night ritual — get a burger with a friend and then go home and watch Survivor.

Spoiler alert: Wilcox did not win the challenge. Nor was she chosen to go on the reward, even though she was standing there sobbing, and it was known that she had allergies and was unable to eat Survivor staples like coconut and rice.

When Probst asked if Wilcox was comfortable talking about why she was upset, Wilcox memorably went off.

“I’m pissed,” she shouted before pointing out how everyone else had been complaining about not having food but that she had seen them all eat.

Then, she called out fellow contestant Q Burdette (who won the challenge and will make a return on season 50 in spring 2026) for “blowing up” her game. After the outburst, Wilcox apologized, but that moment remains unforgettable.

Compassion Over Competition

During Survivor 48, host Probst cried on camera for the first time in his 25 years on the show.

It happened after an emotional challenge that ended with contestant Eva Erickson saving her team from Tribal Council despite her frustration and yelling while completing her maze. As her tribe hugged her in victory, Erickson was crying and hyperventilating while former tribemate Joe Hunter was shown looking on in concern.

Probst allowed Hunter to go over to Erickson and hold her hands, hug her and talk to her.

Hunter knew what Erickson needed because she had already shared with him what she then told the rest of the players: She has autism. Erickson had gotten overstimulated and overwhelmed during and after the challenge, and what Hunter had done was needed for her to get grounded and out of her episode.

It was one of the rare times on Survivor where competition was set aside in favor of compassion, with Probst tearily pointing out how Erickson’s bravery to be open about her story would help other people. Hunter revealed it was more important for him to set a good example for his kids “regardless of the game.”

It’s hard to name a more pure moment of humanity on the series.