As early as day 2, contestant Kellee Kim told Spilo that she would prefer that he not touch her. Kellee may have been in a position to win if Dan had never driven her to reporting him and thus getting herself voted out in that crucial and pivitol post-merge first tribal. “It’s ugly and it’s controversial,” a third production source tells PEOPLE. Dan Spilo was expelled after repeating the behavior and it has caused such a firestorm because of how CBS handled the situation.
While some contestants were unbothered by the physical contact, Kim brought it up again and was voted out of the game on day 22. Sources tell PEOPLE that Spilo vehemently disagreed with the decision to boot him from the game. “This went way beyond the game aspect of the show,” one production source says.
“There was this feeling as the season started that this was a great cast, that they were all playing the game, and it would be really fun. Why Survivor Contestant Dan Spilo Was 'Removed' from the Game and What the 'Off-Camera' Incident Was this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. “There was never any indication that something was going on or that someone had issues.”. Here is the rundown of what led to Dan's expulsion from Survivor. Updated 1731 GMT (0131 HKT) December 18, 2019. “But the feeling was, ‘it’s time to pull the plug.’ In many ways, this was just the final straw.”. “No one has ever been kicked off the show, ever, since 2000. "I am deeply sorry for how my actions affected Kellee during the taping of this season of Survivor," Spilo said in a, Spilo continued, "I truly regret that anyone was made to feel uncomfortable by my behavior. According to multiple sources, he insisted that the contact was inadvertent and accidental as he lost his balance while trying to get into the boat. Robert Voets/CBS, Credit: He continued to play the game and was never seriously in danger of being voted out. Following an episode last week the show briefly flashed a title card on the screen that read that Spilo, 48, a talent manager contestant had been "removed from the game after a report of another incident, which happened off-camera and did not involve a player.". This will get buried, but it seems like what happened is the producers of the show decided to get Dan our at this exact moment in order to get Dean to not be able to play his fake legacy advantage. The explanation seems odd for two reasons. Dan Spilo removed from Survivor. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. CNN reached out to CBS for comment, but has not heard back. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.
But as the season went on, Spilo continued to touch the other contestants, including Kim. “If it had been his first strike, I don’t think he would have been removed from the game,” the first production source tells PEOPLE. He touched a woman (whether truly on accident or as another incident again we may never know and it doesn't really matter imo) in a manner that could be deemed inappropriate and there were witnesses but no video evidence that Dan could use in court for a wrongful game termination lawsuit or anything else but blustering.