A rare video of one of Survivor‘s most beloved players is making the rounds online, and longtime fans have plenty to say.
A clip circulating on Instagram shows James Clement reuniting with notorious SurvivorvillainRussell Hantz during a fan meet-up on Saturday, July 25. The video shows Hantz turning the camera toward Clement as he eats, encouraging him to greet viewers.
“They want to see you, James. Say hi to your fans,” Hantz says in the clip. Clement simply smiles toward the phone while continuing to eat, staying mostly silent—but the brief interaction immediately caught attention given how rarely the two-time fan favorite has been seen in recent years.
“Wow, we haven’t seen james in a minute,” another shared.
“James and Russell, Big Dogs of Survivors,” one person wrote.
”With Russell?! Is he okay?!” a third fan quipped,
Ahead of the reunion, Hantz also shared a TikTok teasing the meet-up, joking, “Who are the only 2 2-time fan favorites in the history of the game?” He answered, “Me and James Clement,” before adding, “Remember how popular James–James was the man. I don’t know why he’s not back.”
Clement, one of the franchise’s most popular contestants, competed on Survivor: China, Survivor: Micronesia—Fans vs. Favorites, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. He won the Fan Favorite award after both China and Micronesia, earning his place as one of the show’s most beloved castaways.
Hantz, meanwhile, became one of the most polarizing players in Survivor history thanks to his back-to-back appearances on Survivor: Samoa and Heroes vs. Villains. Although he never won the game, his aggressive strategy made him one of the franchise’s most talked-about villains. Even the host of the show, Jeff Probst, publicly shared his opinion on Hantz, revealing on Live withKelly & Mark in 2025 that he thinks Hantz “really is a bad guy.”
The pair later appeared together on Heroes vs. Villains, with Clement competing on the Heroes tribe while Hantz, appropriately, represented the Villains.
Where is James Clement now?
Before becoming one of Survivor‘s most beloved contestants, Clement worked as a gravedigger and owned a burial service in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana
Although he has made the occasional appearance at Survivor events over the years, Clement has largely stayed out of the public eye and has shown little interest in remaining active within the franchise, despite fans’ wishes.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jul 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the TV section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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