'Survivor' Castaway Missy Byrd Voted Out Following Controversial Episode
Missy Byrd is not this season's Sole Survivor.
The 24-year-old was voted out on Wednesday night'sSurvivor: Island of the Idols, just one week after the controversial episode featuring her response to Kellee Kim's claims of "inappropriate touching" against fellow castaway Dan Spilo.
This week's episode began with a twist -- that the merged tribe would be split into two for an elimination challenge, and that one member from each tribe would be voted off. Missy remained on a tribe with her ally, Elizabeth Beisel, but despite their confidence they could turn Karishma Patel onto their side to vote off Tommy, Missy received the majority of the votes.
The tribal was tense, with Karishma accusing Missy of being a bully, and Missy bringing up a point about representation to host Jeff Probst. When the votes were read, she accepted her fate with a smile. "That was dope," she told the group, giving out hugs, and encouraging Elizabeth to kill Elaine Stott's gameplay "slowly and methodically."
"On a scale of dopeness, getting blindsided was negatively dope," Missy later told the camera. "It's fine, life goes on. It's not a brain tumor... I'd go 60 more [days]."
Missy's pal, Aaron Meredith, was the other castaway voted out on this week's episode. Last week also included a double elimination, with Jamal Shipman and Kellee Kim.
Both Missy and Aaron -- as well as other Survivor contestants -- issued apologies last week in regard to the controversial episode. Kelle had raised concerns that Spilo had touched her inappropriately and invaded her personal space; she then discussed those concerns with Missy.
Missy and Elizabeth then tried to use the angle as strategy, and appeared to exaggerate their own reactions to Spilo's alleged inappropriate touching, however Kellee was voted out. Dan, who was given an official warning by Survivor producers for his behavior, apologized at tribal council. During that tribal council, Aaron suggested the allegations against Dan were invalid because he and the other men weren't "involved."
"I want to publicly apologize for my behavior and my actions at tribal council last night," Aaron said on Instagram last week. "Watching back the episode was extremely difficult and I, immediately after saying what I said in the game, I regretted saying what I said and now watching it back, I’m very disappointed in myself and how I conducted myself handling the emotions of this game in this situation, given the magnitude of what this surrounds, I’m disappointed in myself. I’m not looking to make any justifications in my behavior. It was completely unwarranted. I was out of line. I was out of place. I let emotions get the best of me."
Missy wrote on Twitter: "I would like to thank Kellee and Janet for being so courageous and leading by example. I became so caught up in the game play that I didn't realize a very serious situation, nor did I handle it with the care that it deserved."
"This is a life changing learning moment for me," she added. "Sexual assault is never to be taken lightly and I'd like to apologize to any viewers that have been victimized. I do not take this issue lightly. I have done a lot of reflecting since the game and understand and accept the consequences of my lapse in judgement. Again, I am truly sorry."
— Missy Byrd (@themissybyrd) November 15, 2019
In a joint statement to ET last Thursday, CBS and MGM said all Survivor contestants are monitored at all times.
"In the episode broadcast last night, several female castaways discussed the behavior of a male castaway that made them uncomfortable," the statement read. "During the filming of this episode, producers spoke off-camera to all the contestants still in the game, both as a group and individually, to hear any concerns and advise about appropriate boundaries. A formal warning was also given to the male castaway in question. On Survivor, producers provide the castaways a wide berth to play the game. At the same time, all castaways are monitored and supervised at all times. They have full access to producers and doctors, and the production will intervene in situations where warranted."
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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