Kellee Kim Calls Out Jeff Probst For Mishandling Dan Spilo Inappropriate Touching
Last night was 'Survivor' season 39's final episode. Ultimately, Tommy Sheehan took home the grand prize winning a three-way vote with 8 votes. Runner ups Dean Kowalski received 2 votes and Noura Salman received 0. However, Sheehan's victory fell to wayside when the sexual misconduct controversy between Kellee Kim and the not present Dan Spilo was mentioned.
In the wakes of the #MeToo movement, Kellee had approached producers accusing Dan Spilo of disrespecting her personal space and inappropriately touching her. Dan wasn't removed until he inappropriately touched a female producer weeks later.
According to TooFab, 'Survivor' host Jeff Probst was the first to bring up the incident. He praised Kellee for speaking up for herself.
"You were right," Probst told Kim. "You were right to speak up. You were right to step forward, despite a lot of risk and to speak your truth."
He went on to console her about the incident, "I want to acknowledge and apologize for your pain. You didn’t ask for it and you didn’t deserve it."
Kellee used this as an opportunity to address how she truly felt about the issue.
Kellee claims her complaints were ignored since producers didn't send him home after the first incident.
"I think one of the things that has been the hardest was the fact that Dan remained in the game even after I spoke up," Kim told Probst. "And the reason why is not necessarily the injustice, it’s because I felt that I spoke up, and I was not being supported or believed."
Not only wasn't Dan banned from the show, she claimed that the producers didn't believe her.
Kim continued to tell Probst, "When someone goes through something like this, to not be supported and not be believed is really the hardest thing."
"Your voice should have been enough," he said sympathetically. "And it will be next time."
"I hope that this season of survivor isn’t just defined by inappropriate behavior or sexual harassment,” Kim said. “I hope that it’s defined by change. I feel like I can be really proud that I spoke up and I asked for these changes
"I have to fundamentally believe at the end of the day that individuals and institutions are capable of change," she continued. "I fundamentally believe that we can do better."
Since the incident, CBS has announced "new anti-harassment, unconscious bias and sensitivity training for cast, producers and production crew on location," as well as a new rule to the game "stating unwelcome physical contact, sexual harassment and impermissible biases cannot be brought into the competition and will not be permitted as part of gameplay."
