Hayward’s ‘Survivor’ champ fights for more diversity on show
As conversations about racial injustice and disparities continue across the nation, former “Survivor” contestants — including Season 4 champion Vecepia Robinson — are demanding more diversity on the hit reality TV series.
“I want to see some of us at the table, actually doing the editing, actually producing the shows — out there on the island with us,” Robinson said during a recent virtual panel discussion featuring 12 Black “Survivor” alums.
In 2002, Robinson, a Hayward resident, became the first African American contestant to capture the show’s $1 million prize when she beat out 15 other castaways on “Survivor: Marquesas.”
She has occasionally criticized the way she was depicted on the show, and since winning, Robinson has been shunned by the CBS franchise. While other standout contestants have been invited to play again — some as many as four and five times — she has never been asked back.
The most recent season, “Survivor: Winners at War,” featured 20 returning winners, including Bay Area resident Yul Kwon, the game’s first Asian American winner.
“I love the game of ‘Survivor.’ I’ve loved it from the very first season, and I haven’t missed a season,” Robinson said during the discussion. “But it is hurtful to be known as the only African American woman to win ‘Survivor,’ that not only have I not been asked to come and play again, but I’ve never been called. … And that’s the part that hurts.”
J’Tia Hart, who was a contestant on “Survivor: Cagayan,” recently created a petition on MoveOn. org asking for a range of changes to help diversify the series, including ensuring that at least 30% of the show’s cast is Black, indigenous or people of color (BIPOC). So far, nearly 5,000 people have signed it.
“What they don’t do a great job with is telling positive stories and connecting with the multifacets of being African American,” Hart told NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. “I have a degree in nuclear engineering from a top engineering school. I’m a mother. I work in national security. I am very well-rounded. And I just got boiled down to a simple trope of a lazy, unintelligent person.”
The panel was hosted by former “Survivor” contestant Rob Cesternino, who is white, and the discussion was led by Sean Rector, a Black man who competed with Robinson (then Vecepia Towery) in Marquesas.
Also participating were Ramona Gray Amaro (Season 1), Clarence Black (Season 3), Ted Rogers Jr. (Season 5), Rory Freeman (Season 9), Jolanda Jones (Season 10), Sherea Lloyd (Season 15), Phillip Sheppard (Seasons 22 and 26), Sabrina Thompson Mitchell (Season 24), Julia Carter (Season 38) and Earl Cole (Season 14 winner).
During the discussion, which was held as part of Cesternino’s podcast, the Black alumni spoke about the stress of auditioning before rooms filled with white executives, the challenge of not offending white cast mates while also trying to aggressively play the game, and having racial slurs directed at them by fans and sometimes even cast mates.
Among the panel’s chief concerns was the belief that “Survivor” often marginalizes the Black contestants because the production crew that puts the show together isn’t diverse enough. Consequently, the depiction of Black contestants sometimes feeds into stereotypes.
Robinson imagined how things might be different if the show’s editing staff included people of color.
“(So) when someone says, ‘Hey, let’s edit it this way,’ ” there would be someone there to raise a hand and reply, “‘No, I’m not going to do that to my brother. I’m not going to do that to that sister.’ And just keep it 100.”
Rector, who befriended Robinson during the “Survivor: Marquesas” season, finds it ludicrous that she has not been invited back to play.
He argues that “Marquesas” was one of the most brutal seasons ever in terms of terrain, insects and lack of food. Robinson’s victory, therefore, should be regarded with even more respect.
“Imagine having golf with no Tiger Woods, or basketball without (Michael) Jordan,” he said. “Vecepia, to me, is one of the greatest to ever do it.”
Robinson, 54, is director of patient experience at Sutter Health. She said that at this point, she “has no desire” to appear on “Survivor” again, unless there was a family version that she could play along with her 17-year-old son, Jordan.
“But what I do want to do is make sure that (future Black contestants) who go out there have the right people at the table to represent us properly,” she said. “There will be other Black winners, and I’m looking forward to that day.”