In 2012, Jeff became a news anchor for the CBS affiliate WNCT in Greenville, N.C. Jeff is planning to launch a travel company called, Jeff lost his job as a real estate agent in 2017 as a result of the backlash from the controversial statements he made at his elimination, Jeff was the second of three players eliminated at, Jeff received at least one vote at every Tribal Council he attended in, Jeff was the first male contestant to finish in 10th place, and the first male contestant to be on the merged tribe but be eliminated pre-, Jeff has claimed to have stopped eating peanut butter after, It has long been rumored that during the second, Jeff revealed that he had a pre-game alliance with, Jeff is the fourth contestant in series history to play at least twice and be eliminated pre-jury every time. Jeffrey Keith Varner (born April 16, 1966)[1] is a former American real estate agent and television personality, a news anchor and reporter, a former entertainment reporter, and a contestant on three seasons of the CBS reality television series, Survivor: The Australian Outback, Survivor: Cambodia, and Survivor: Game Changers. Powered by. If you dont remember, it happened at the final pre-merge Tribal Council. In the game, no matter where I was, talking strategy with everybody, Zeke was always popping up. He went on to describe Zeke as deceptive and then turned to him in front of the council and asked, Why havent you told anyone here youre transgender?, His tactic backfired and led to his removal immediately. And I think stupid bathroom bills and things like that, especially in the state of North Carolina it's not about bathrooms. Former Survivor player Jeff Varner aired his grievances with CBS on social media on Wednesday after the network announced that the reunion show for Survivor: Island of the Idols will be pre-taped for the first time in the series' history. Varner reached towards Smith for an emotional hug before picking up his torch and walking over to Probst. Varner: Kind of. He went to Southern Guilford High School, where he was involved in student government and theatre arts, as well as the yearbook editor; he later earned a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I'm just devastated over that. How have you changed since the last time you played? The castaways colored in the books and signed their autographs in them, and he sold the pictures on eBay after the show to raise money for charities. (function(d, s, id) { Many folks will be less enthused to hear his defense of the Edge of Extinction twist that allowed players to be voted out of the game, befriend the jury, and then come back to win. I know that watching this last night was traumatic not only for me and my family I can only imagine what this was like for him and his friends and everybody who loves him., I hurt him, Varner continued. That's where I got the idea to use that secret alliance as a tool. During that time, he said hes done a lot of growing. Survivor fans have been in uproar since watching Jeff Varner out Zeke Smith as transgender on Wednesday night's episode and if you missed the shocking moment, you can watch the entire. Currently, he is researching burn trauma organizations for kids with the hope of making a difference. He is often referred to as the shows first villain. Survivor: Jeff Probst reacts to Jeff Varner outing Zeke as transgender Do you not see that? said Probst. var js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; American reality television contestant, real estate agent and news anchor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Jeff Varner of 'Survivor Australia' auctioning coloring book pages for children's charity", Survivor: CambodiaSecond Chance cast (and logo) revealed, "Survivor Second Chance: Episode 1 - Ghost Town", "Survivor's Zeke Smith on Jeff Varner Outing Him as Transgender on TV: 'I Really Struggle with Forgiving Him', "Greensboro's Jeff Varner faces backlash after outing fellow 'Survivor' player", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Varner&oldid=1151912285, Survivor (American TV series) contestants, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alumni, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 00:55. Many people were in tears during the Tribal Council, and even Jeff Probst defended Smith. Because Keith Famie and Tina Wesson knew this, and Tina had no votes against her before while Keith had several of them (mostly from Jerri Manthey and her allies), Keith's request to Tina when they had both lasted for hours in the Immunity challenge and were the last two players standing (phrased as "I need this") led to Tina ending her run so that Keith was safe, and giving Kucha no one to vote for who had more votes than Varner: Jeff had two but knew only of one, while Colby had zero. Both Varner and Diaz-Twine voted for Trang at Tribal Council, but the rest of the tribe voted against Diaz-Twine, sending her out of the game for the first time in her Survivor career. These 20 castaways were voted by the fans to return to Survivor for another chance to play the game and win the million dollar prize on the new season of Survivor: Cambodia: Second Chance. Jeff Varner is an internet project manager, having most recently worked as Director of People and Process for a Manhattan start-up company. When asked by a cohost if we will see Edge of Extinction again, Probst responds, "Yes, absolutely. "I feel I need to throw everything at the wall.". It was clear to me that this guy is a player. Days after Don . Varners luxury item on the show was a coloring book and a set of crayons. EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Varner's Former Employer Speaks Out on 'Survivor Its Varner.. "Survivor" alum Richard Hatch recently shared his opinion on Jeff Probst and "Survivor 41" on the "Drop Your Buffs" podcast. Russell was working to deceive people. Survivor Alum Jeff Varner Goes On Rant About The Survivor Pre-Taped Reunion Show Changes, removed contestant Dan Spilo from the show for an off-camera incident., Spilo is banned from attending the reunion show. A huge mistake. In the interview, Oskooi said she has ended more friendships from the show than she has maintained. They joined Nuku member J.T. I think he hoped others would believe that trans people are dangerous and fraudulent, he said. He is most proud of successfully making the transition from small town living to the much faster pace of a big city. Earlier employment included stints as a waiter, bartender and traveling salesperson. Read Zeke'spersonal account of his story by clicking here. We LGB spent decades proving we weren't trying to convert children. I have met with and spoken to several LGBT organizations Ive joined the board of a couple of them this has changed me drastically.. Richard isnt the only Survivor alum who feels this way. I feel horrible., Soon enough, Varner started crying as the gravity of his actions hit him: Im shocked, he said. In Game Changers, Jeff aligned with Michaela Bradshaw and Sandra Diaz-Twine early on, with the alliance taking control of the Mana and Nuku tribes. Outing is an assault, and I assaulted Zeke that night. Because Keith Famie and Tina Wesson were aware of this, and Tina had no votes against her previously while Keith had several, Keiths request to Tina after they had both lasted for hours in the Immunity challenge and were the last two players standing resulted in Tina ending her run, ensuring Keiths safety, and leaving Kucha with no one to vote for who had more votes than Varner: Jeff had two but was unaware of one, and Colby had zero. Varner is most known for infamously publicly outing fellow Survivor: Game Changers contestant Zeke Smith. She was replaced on Nuku by the recently-exiled Debbie Wanner. I want to tell you about that in the future. On Day 13, he was caught in the middle between the duo of J.T. Emotional. She also has friends from outside her seasons. He joined the majority in voting out Survivor: Cagayan winner Tony Vlachos at Manas second Tribal Council. Richard appeared on season 1 of "Survivor," where he was crowned. It's a hard thing for me to live with. Survivors host Probst toldEntertainment Weeklythat he could not comment about Spilos removal or any details out of respect for privacy and confidentiality. The host did share that Spilo was not happy about the decision, but latercalmed down and was actually very respectful about it.