There’s typically a shared bond between former Survivor players. Only they really know what it’s like to live through it, and that shared experience creates camaraderie (see Mike White putting contestants on White Lotus), even between castaways who weren’t on the same seasons. Plenty of contestants have referred to it as a family, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the family always agrees or sees things the same way. That was pretty clear earlier this week when a current Survivor player went off about the “disgusting” messages they’ve seen from former players about the current cast.
Carson Garrett is a castaway on Survivor 44. He’s a future NASA scientist and is starting to get his first taste for how loud the Survivor community can be about everything when a new season is airing. Typically that involves a lot of commentary on strategy and gameplay, but very frequently, it can also involve personal attacks and comments about people’s character. There’s no controlling fans when they take things too far, but Carson feels like there’s a line former contestants shouldn’t cross. He dropped a lengthy tweet explaining his viewpoint, and you can check it out below…
Former #Survivor players posting hateful and insulting messages about current castaways is so disgusting. It’s one thing to disagree or dislike someone on tv, but to spend time spreading negativity into the world ab a person’s character, especially with regards to a show that historically misrepresents contestants, is disappointing to say the least. They know what we go thru, they understand how it affects our mental health bc they’ve been thru it. So to do the same thing to someone else speaks volumes to who they are as a person. And if you’re reading this and questioning whether I’m talking about you, maybe you should check yourself. A reminder to my fellow castaways: don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. Let’s spread love y’all. There’s too much hate already in the world to be negative.
Garrett’s tweet has dozens of responses underneath it asking what specific player or comment he’s referring to. I’m honestly not really sure either because there hasn’t been anything lately that has gone viral from a former contestant that has been way over the line. That being said, every single episode is accompanied by numerous former players dropping all kinds of thoughts about what’s happening, and a great many of those comments aren’t exactly ones current players would want to print and put on their fridges.
I think everyone is going to draw their own line here as to what is too far. People have the right to decide how much negativity they personally think is too negative. For me, I want to see former contestants analyzing the play of current contestants. I want their experienced viewpoint about interpersonal dynamics at camp and whether they feel people acted appropriately or voted correctly, particularly as it comes to the long-term strategy. I’m okay with thoughtful negativity like that. If you’re going to play a game, your actions are going to be second-guessed.
But thoughtfully negative isn’t exactly how I’d describe the Twitters of every former contestant. Some of them can and will resort to personal attacks, and I’m sure we’ll see plenty of that later this season.
Survivor 44 is currently airing on CBS, and it's been wild and filled with plenty of twists so far, as expected. The first episode featured multiple major medical issues, and some of the contestants already seem like they could turn into all-time favorites. You can catch new episodes on Wednesday evenings.
