Why Does the Internet Love This ‘Survivor’ Player?

Like all reality shows, the legendary Survivor franchise has worked hard to grow and evolve with the audience who made it so famous more than two decades ago. Created by Charlie Parsons for CBS and hosted by the beloved Jeff Probst, this historic series has persisted while others have floundered by adapting to modern times and updating their competition style to ensure viewers and contestants feel seen by the complex rules at play. This has yielded varying results, with the show being celebrated for its newfound inclusion but criticized for its unnecessary need for ‘twists’ every season. However, what Survivor has begun suffering from is something that all reality shows know well: the behavior of its cast.

Namely, these players constantly monitor their expressions and edit their personalities out of fear of backlash from social media fans who too often view hardcore gameplay as something warranting horrific amounts of online bullying. It’s created a generation of contestants who are fearful that typical competitiveness could elicit waves of digital hatred, afraid of their own individuality … well, mostly. Because there is one player this season who doesn’t care about anyone watching or what her fellow players think of her, who is committed to being utterly herself — and audiences love her for it. This player is, of course, none other than Venus Vafa, who has taken the internet by storm and is now a part of Survivor 46‘s remaining seven castaways.

Survivor

TV-PG

Adventure

Reality TV

Game Show

A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Cast

Jeff Probst

Main Genre

Reality-TV

Seasons

46

Studio

CBS

Creator(s)

Charlie Parsons

The Issue With Social Media and Reality TV

While most media projects tend to think ‘all press is good press’, Survivor and other reality shows understand that, especially when it comes to their contestants, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Whether it be RuPaul’s Drag Race or The Challenge, as social media have risen to become such a mainstay of modern culture, it’s become a place where toxic members of each series’ fandom choose to needlessly spout cruelty over actions they don’t like from contestants on these shows. It has led to some extremely saddening reactions by said contestants facing this defamation, often being forced to deactivate their accounts because the constant influx of rudeness becomes too much.

No bullying is ever acceptable, but these typically aren’t even contestants who deserve criticism. In a social landscape where people can say anything they want, it’s often the smallest slights or a person’s identity that earn them a deluge of hate online. This is a traumatizing experience for any person who goes through it, and it’s one that members of reality TV sadly know well. Survivor players are no stranger to facing backlash for their actions onscreen, but for this particular kind of gameplay, the self-regulation is two-fold. Not only do they have to worry about the online response, but 46 seasons of this cutthroat show where players must use strategy and deceit to vote one another off has displayed that any verbal misstep can lead to someone having their dream of getting the grand prize, $1,000,000, crushed.

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That’s why the current season has been so refreshing for viewers, because it’s one of the first in recent memory to have players navigate with a delicious, competitively mean-spirited energy. Stars like Kenzie Petty and Tiffany Nicole Ervin especially have displayed a perfect fusion of the candor that defined the series’ early seasons with the social knowledge of current television — they pair their respect and understanding of other players with hilariously callous remarks about their inefficient competition when in private. They are exceptional strategists and great representations of why the modern show is still so great, but Venus even further exemplifies why not caring about other people’s opinions creates some truly great television.

‘Survivor 46’ Is Lucky to Have Venus Vafa

When Survivor 46 first began, audiences were immediately intrigued by who Venus was and what her game would look like. One of the season’s youngest players, her introverted nature and struggle to form connections quickly put her on the outs of the Nami tribe. She managed to establish a fragile alliance with Randen Montalvo, but seeing her snubbed so blatantly by team members like Soda Thompson and Tevin Davis was a sad sight for those watching at home. Such an explicit ousting led similar players (some on this very same season) to adopt a dejected outlook on their odds and let that sadness turn their gameplay into a dejected, desperate one — not Venus, though. Seeing that the people around her were ignoring her opinions, Venus didn’t get sad, rather, she got mad. She refused their ignorance and made sure to reiterate how she felt, forcing the others to listen and consider her as they would anyone else. She vocalized her negative feelings with an endless amount of wit and in a dry, cutting tone that would make Survivor legend Courtney Yates, one of the show’s most likable and sarcastic characters, proud. While Venus’ refusal to stay quiet may leave others in her tribe annoyed, audiences were thrilled to finally see someone shirk decorum and speak what they really felt in an effortlessly hilarious way.

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In a game where any revelation or wrong word can make you a target, players will often hide their true emotions for the sake of meshing with those around them. This is a smart strategy for many, but it robs viewers of the riveting drama and conflict that honesty brings to similar shows and distances this newer era of the series further from the engrossing seasons that established it so many years ago. While Venus constantly sharing her thoughts may not be the most strategic decision (one of her best moments is in a recent episode when she openly called a strong player a “meat shield”), it creates a barbed but lovable character unlike any the show’s viewers have seen in a very long time. Pair this attitude with her inspiring backstory that saw her emigrate from Iran due to her parents wanting a life for their daughter freed from societal restrictions, and it’s clear that she is not only a constant source of snarkiness but also a headstrong person who refuses to be silent about what she believes. She’s a compelling, biting player, and as the online response to her has clearly shown, the series is lucky to have her.

Castaways Who Cross Venus on ‘Survivor 46’ Are Voted Out Soon After

Fans of this icon — and Venus Vafa herself — have delighted over the past few episodes, as the player’s time on the show has taken a noticeable upward turn. Not because contestants have stopped critiquing her every move (even when people are kicked off they can’t seem to keep her name out of their mouth) but because recent episodes have seen every person who demeaned the young woman get sent home. First was Soda, who falsely believed that a blindside orchestrated by her closest ally, Tevin, was actually pushed forward by Venus. Venus gladly took credit for it and even boasted to Tevin, as the man laughed behind her back. Tevin wasn’t laughing for much longer, however, as the next vote saw him swiftly ejected by every competitor besides his ally Hunter McKnight. Hunter was another vocal opponent of Venus and, continuing her curse, he was blindsided next, with an unused idol burning a hole in his pocket. She has been well-deservedly smug throughout each elimination; both she and her fanbase are thrilled to see those who never regarded Venus as actual competition get punished for their hubris. The post-merge era of this season has been one of delicious retribution for this player, and audience members couldn’t be happier.

‘Survivor’s Online Fans Now Have Their Chosen One

While Venus may not win Survivor’s 46th season, she’s surely already won the fan’s love for her appearance on the show. Social media, especially the thriving Survivor fan community on Twitter, have made it clear since her first moments onscreen how taken they are with this young player and her refusal to let more domineering personalities make her feel less than or that she shouldn’t speak her mind. In a time of reality television where players with her demeanor would typically elicit immense hatred from audiences, it’s a huge boon that she’s instead been welcomed giddily by viewers desperate to see such a fiery personality on the show once more. Since the season entered its post-merge section of the competition, viewers have finally seen the player get some relief as every single person who dared target her was swiftly sent home.

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Recent episodes have seen Venus freed from the confines of the Nami tribe and finally able to mingle away from those people who have irked her with their thinly veiled vitriol for so long. Will she team up with other fierce players like Kenzie to dominate the game, or will her candor see her torch snuffed before the final tribal, with the other castaways putting an end to this fan-favorite character? Only one thing is for sure: whatever happens, we know that Venus will do it flawlessly.

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8:00 pm EST on CBS. All seasons of Survivor are available to stream on Paramount+.

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