Jeff Probst denies ‘Survivor 50’ re-edited celebrity cameos after Zac Brown backlash

Outside of that icky Jimmy Fallon twist, the award for most controversial moment duringSurvivor 50 easily goes to country musician Zac Brown’s extended cameo.

The way the show focused so heavily on Brown, his fandom and his fishing skills at the expense of the game rubbed fans the wrong way when that episode, “Knife to the Heart,” aired. Well, show host Jeff Probst doesn’t seem to mind the hate for it.

In fact, Probst denies that the show re-edited any of its future episodes involving celebrity cameos for the rest of Survivor 50 after the backlash to Brown’s lengthy cameo.

“It’s fascinating to me that a couple of people, most of them either former players or people who will never play, criticize the show, and it gets momentum,” Probst told Variety. “I tell anyone who wants to listen: If that’s your goal, to somehow impact our point of view, it will fail. We trust what we’re doing. 

“If you think we’re going to re-edit because you thought there was too much Zac Brown, you’ve not been reading interviews with me. I couldn’t be more serious. I love Survivor. I love joy. I love fans. I’ve also got a backbone. It’s gonna take more than that to knock me over.”

Well, that’s a pretty emphatic answer from Probst on if fan pushback influences the show’s decisions mid-season… or at all.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Jeff Probst denies ‘Survivor 50’ re-edited celebrity cameos after Zac Brown backlash