--- description: Survivor is a game where its best players lie, deceive and manipulate others to win. But many fans say one contestant crossed a line title: A 'Survivor' Contestant Was Outed as Transgender on TV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18e4e2c6e121a49/6988c29c0a4a2276769cdaa4/survivor.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A _Survivor_ Contestant Was Outed as Transgender on TV by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2017 11:57 AM CUT  "Vote Early, Vote Often" - Andrea Boehlke, Jeff Varner, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, Tai Trang, Zeke Smith and Sarah Lacina at Tribal Council on the sixth episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 5 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. "Vote Early, Vote Often" - Andrea Boehlke, Jeff Varner, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, Tai Trang, Zeke Smith and Sarah Lacina at Tribal Council on the sixth episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 5 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.CBS Photo Archive, CBS via Getty Images by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 13, 2017 11:57 AM CUT [_Survivor_](http://time.com/3889836/survivor-history/ "undefined") is a game where its best players lie, deceive and manipulate others in order to win. But [many fans are saying](http://www.justjared.com/2017/04/12/survivor-fans-react-to-zeke-smith-being-outed-as-transgender/ "undefined") one contestant crossed a line on Wednesday night’s episode of _Survivor: Game Changers_, the 34th season of the [award-winning reality show](http://time.com/4257484/reality-tv-survivor-the-bachelor-emergency/ "undefined"). Contestant Jeff Varner outed his tribe-mate Zeke Smith as transgender in an attempt to save himself from being voted out. Varner characterized Smith keeping his gender identity a secret from the tribe as “deceptive.” “Why haven’t you told anyone here you’re transgender?” Varner asked Smith during tribal council. “It reveals his ability to deceive.” _Survivor_ host Jeff Probst responded swiftly as Smith’s other tribe-mates came to his defense. “We don’t need to vote,” Probst told Varner in a _Survivor_ first. “Just grab your torch.” Probst then snuffed Varner’s torch, eliminating him from the game. Smith, who was a fan-favorite in the show’s 33rd season _Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X_ before returning for a second round, wrote about his experience [in a column published in _The Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-zeke-smith-outed-as-transgender-guest-column-991514 "undefined") on Wednesday. “I’m not wild about you knowing that I’m trans,” Smith wrote. Varner [posted a statement on Twitter](https://twitter.com/JEFFVARNER/status/852328280095109120?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnews%2Fmorning-mix%2Fwp%2F2017%2F04%2F13%2Foutrage-after-survivor-outing-why-havent-you-told-anyone-here-youre-transgender%2F "undefined") after the show aired, apologizing for outing Smith. “Let me be clear, outing someone is assault. It robs a strong, courageous person of their power and protection and opens them up to discrimination and danger,” he wrote. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4738063/survivor-game-changers-transgender/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4738063/survivor-game-changers-transgender/"},"headline":"A Survivor Contestant Was Outed as Transgender on TV","datePublished":"2017-04-13T11:57:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:23:16.913Z","description":"The contestant who outed him was immediately eliminated","url":"https://time.com/4738063/survivor-game-changers-transgender/","keywords":["Television","reality tv","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18e4e2c6e121a49/6988c29c0a4a2276769cdaa4/survivor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18e4e2c6e121a49/6988c29c0a4a2276769cdaa4/survivor.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Survivor: Game Changers","caption":"Survivor: Game Changers","creditText":"CBS Photo Archive, CBS via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4738063/survivor-game-changers-transgender/","name":"A Survivor Contestant Was Outed as Transgender on TV"}}]}] ```