CBS Cast of "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains."
Three-time “Survivor” contestant Russell Hantz is known for his controversial, outspoken attitude, both on and off the show. Though he hasn’t competed on “Survivor” for years, Hantz still holds a loyal following among some of the show’s fanbase, and has recently taken advantage of that popularity by deciding to auction off one of the most famous artifacts in the show’s history, with a starting bid of $10,000. Here’s what you need to know:
Russell Is Selling J.T.’s Famous Letter for $10,000
GettyJ.T. Thomas at the “Survivor” 10 Year Anniversary Party in January 2010.
On Sunday, Russell announced on Twitter that he will be auctioning off the famous letter given to him by “Survivor: Tocantins” winner J.T. Thomas on season 20, “Heroes vs. Villains,” on eBay. For those who are unfamiliar with what was called the dumbest move in all of “Survivor” history at the season’s reunion show, the story is as follows:
JTs letter is now for sale! I’ll be doing a video on why soon! t.co/gstYnd0QQa
In episode 8 of “Heroes vs. Villains,” the Heroes tribe, which had been whittled down to five, famously began to suspect that the Villains tribe consisted of an all-female alliance, led by Parvati Shallow, mostly due to the fact that three men on the tribe had been voted out consecutively. In reality, there was no women’s alliance whatsoever (indeed, the two at the bottom of the tribe, Courtney Yates and eventual winner Sandra Diaz-Twine, were both women).
As a result of this mistaken belief, and in an attempt to curry favor with who they thought was on the minority of the opposing tribe shortly before a merge, the Heroes, consisting of J.T., as well as longtime fan-favorites Colby Donaldson and Rupert Boneham, “Survivor: Micronesia” and “China” runner-up Amanda Kimmel, and Candice Woodcock, then boldly decided to give J.T.’s hidden immunity idol, accompanied by a hand-written note, to Russell, after their belief in an all-women’s alliance was cemented by the elimination of Benjamin “Coach” Wade. In fact, Coach’s elimination was spearheaded by Russell himself, in part to make it look like an all-women’s alliance was indeed taking over.
The letter, written by J.T., suggested – or rather, almost demanded – that Russell use the idol to vote out Parvati, describing to him in detail how to use it. All five Heroes signed it, with an extra signature “Aargh!” from Rupert and a smiley face from Candice. Despite J.T.’s warning in the header to “Read in complete Privacy,” Russell read it in jest with the rest of his alliance, consisting of Parvati, Danielle DiLorenzo, and Jerri Manthey, all of whom found it incredibly amusing. The following episode, Russell gave Parvati the idol, which she used to protect Jerri and Sandra in an iconic double-idol play, sending J.T. home. Essentially, J.T.’s own idol was used to blindside him.
J.T. Almost Destroyed the Letter at the Reunion
eBayJ.T. Thomas’s hand-written letter to Russell Hantz in “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.”
At the season’s reunion show in May 2010, J.T. was officially voted by fans to be the “Dumbest Survivor Ever” for this move, an honor which he took in stride. As Russell bragged about pulling off such an accomplishment, he branded the letter, which he had laminated, and J.T., who was sitting behind him, quickly grabbed it and tried to throw in the fire. Russell, however, caught it and saved it in time.
Russell has officially posted the letter on eBay, with the header “Survivor memorabilia Jts letter to Russell Hantz,” and a starting bid of $10,000. Those interested will be able to make a bid until next Wednesday, March 23, at 9:30 p.m. A few hours after he posted it posting, Russell announced on Twitter that there has already been an offer, meaning that the next bid will have to start at $10,100 or more.
As one fan described it, the letter is “definitely … the best piece of Survivor memorabilia…there’s definitely a rich Survivor fan who’s gonna buy this.”
Whether many “Survivor” fans are willing – or even able – to pay such an exorbitant price for a famous souvenir is a matter of debate, though given that Russell has so far received at least one offer, the famous letter is likely to be out of Russell’s hands for the first time in 12 years.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.