CBS Xander Hastings in "Survivor 41."
The 41st season of “Survivor” was one which was dominated a great deal of sociopolitical and cultural conversations and considerations within the game. This extended from conversations about the lack of any recent female winners (leading to the show’s first female winner in seven seasons), to what it meant for people of color to bond together to form what was known as the “All-Black Alliance.”
Although that alliance ended up falling apart, those real-world cultural considerations remained for many contestants and jurors alike, leading to a question that was asked in Final Tribal Council which Danny McCray previously described as “out of bounds.” Recently, Danny revealed the question which was asked of third-place finisher Xander Hastings, and fans are running wild with speculation about who the juror in question may have been.
Here’s what you need to know:
A Juror Asked Xander If He ‘Underestimated Women of Color’
YouTubeThe final 3 of “Survivor 41:” Deshawn Radden, Erika Casupanan, and Xander Hastings.
In a January interview with “Survivor Specialists: Phil and Alexa,” Danny said that both Xander and Deshawn Radden – two of the season’s three finalists – were asked questions which took them out of the game and flustered them, likely causing detriment to their performances (which have been described by several jurors as poor).
Eighth-place finisher Shan Smith did ask a controversial question of Deshawn which was shown on camera: she asked if Deshawn used the modern-day civil rights movement as leverage within the game, especially as it pertained to his alliance with her, Liana, and Danny. This caused quite a bit of backlash among fans, many of whom saw Shan as crossing a line, as well as disingenuous and hypocritical.
Danny revealed in the podcast that Xander was also asked a question which took him out of the game, and compromised his ability to perform well. He explained:
Xander was asked a question that took him totally out of the mindset of talking about his game. I won’t say what it was, but I thought it was out of bounds for when you’re talking about game and then talking about maybe how you look at people outside of the game, you know? So I felt bad for him in that sense.
In an interview with the Purple Pants Podcast on Friday, Danny finally revealed what the question, which was not shown on camera, was:
Xander was asked a question, I will not say by who, that I thought was also along those lines of being out of bounds and not allowing these guys to be able to explain how they played the game … It was something along the lines of, “[Do] you underestimate women of color?” Or something like that.
Fans Suspect Shan as the Culprit
After Danny made this revelation, fans almost unanimously agreed that it was Shan who asked it, with one Reddit user in particular even noting that Shan unfollowed Danny right after the podcast was released. Another user encapsulated much of the fanbase’s sentiment by saying, “I can not even explain how much respect I have lost for Shan from the premiere to now.”
Fans were not the only ones to speak out against this kind of jury question. Even Danny, who ended up voting for Deshawn to win, spoke in the podcast about how frustrated he was at the time. After the question was asked, Danny said, “I was like, ‘what are you talking about?’ Like, these dudes up here, they’re trying to win a million bucks. And you can see it on Deshawn’s face, and you can see it on Xander’s face, that it kind of took them out of being able to explain what you were doing in the game.”
He also said that being on international television made it even more difficult for Xander and Deshawn to respond to questions like that, given that many people besides the jury will be watching to see how they respond. “So they didn’t show that,” Danny said. “I thought it was unfortunate, but emotions run high in these games, and people are trying to find ways to get you to lose at that point.”
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Be sure to catch season 42 when it premieres March 9, 2022.