CBS The cast of 'Survivor: Edge of Extinction'
One “Survivor” alum is calling out production and editing and she actually has the receipts to prove one of her confessionals was spliced. Watch Kelley Wentworth’s TikTok video below to see what the original confessional interview was and how the show manipulated it for maximum drama.
Wentworth Said It’s ‘Interesting’ How Her Confessional Changed
In a TikTok video, three-time “Survivor” player Wentworth showed her original confessional, which had her exclaiming over all the people giving her a “death stare.” But then what aired was actually that confessional edited in with her being mad about Rick Devens re-entering the game during “Edge of Extinction.” She captioned the video, “Reality TV editing looking like… well that’s interesting.”
If you’ll recall, however, Wentworth was excited when Devens won his “Edge” challenge, so this was a weird choice — one Reddit user posited that maybe this was the only way the show could make sense out of Wentworth and Lauren O’Connell targeting Devens?
What’s really interesting is the comment section on the video. If you’re wondering how on earth Wentworth was able to get her hands on her original confessional, the comment section explains.
“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X” winner Adam Klein opens up that discussion that one in the comments. He wrote, “And they never showed bonus confessionals after this! They told on themselves with this one,” to which Wentworth replied, “ADAM! Hi. And yes, you are correct about that!” She added later to a commenter, “They used to do extra confessionals on YouTube. It stopped after this.”
Other Reality Stars Chimed In To Agree With Wentworth
In addition to explaining how she got the footage, the comments have a few other reality TV stars chiming in to agree with her about how production and editing manipulates things.
“Survivor: Island of the Idols” alum Lauren Beck wrote, “THE TRICKERY. They did the same thing to me, but I AIN’T GOT THIS KINDA PROOF,” to which Wentworth replied, “Giiiirl. YOU KNOW!”
But it isn’t just “Survivor” castaways. Katie Thurston, who starred on the summer 2021 season of “The Bachelorette,” wrote on the video, “My NDA would never,” implying that her non-disclosure agreement would never let her spill this kind of tea.
And Wentworth did make sure to let her fans and “Survivor” viewers know that, “‘Survivor’ is 100 percent real and we are never told what to say. BUT words can certainly be manipulated.”
Over on Reddit, fans named several other instances of catching “Survivor” fiddling with continuity in the editing process.
One fan wrote, “A fun example is when they slip up in Palau and include the same Stephenie confessional in two different episodes.”
They also said Tribal Council “reaction shots” should be taken with a grain of salt because they get spliced together a lot, citing an example of “Survivor: Fiji” winner Earl Cole’s famous reaction to Edgardo Rivera getting voted out was used later to show him laughing at one of Yau-Man Chan’s jokes.
Another example (that there is footage of on YouTube) is from the final Tribal Council of “Survivor: Samoa” where juror Brett Clouser asks a question of Mick Trimming and then at the 27-second mark, Brett is IN the reaction shot of the jury laughing at his question.
So, the moral of the story is — don’t always assume the editing is what it seems.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on CBS. The 42nd season will air in the spring of 2022. Seasons 43 and 44 are casting now, so if you’ve always wanted to apply, now is your chance!
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