Tribe Speaks On Fellow Castaway's Lawsuit
Credit: USAToday.com
CBS and Survivor went on the offensive Tuesday in the wake of a lawsuit filed Monday by former cast member Stacey Stillman, who says CBS and producer Mark Burnett engineered her exit from the reality show.
Burnett and various former cast members call her claims groundless.
In the lawsuit, Stillman claims Burnett improperly persuaded Sean Kenniff and Dirk Been to vote her off the third episode instead of 72-year-old Rudy Boesch, who appeals to a key CBS demographic.
"Once all the facts come out, we'll show how groundless this is," Burnett said Tuesday. Stillman's charge that Burnett was trying to save Boesch to order to appease older viewers "quite frankly made me smile, when in fact the goal of Survivor is to reduce the age of viewers."
Stillman, a practicing lawyer, is seeking unspecified damages for prize money and lost wages, out-of-pocket costs and payment of CBS' profits from the show to a fund to be shared by viewers.
For his part, Boesch, who was one of four finalists for the $1 million prize, said that he was never influenced by crew members or producers. "It's hard to believe what she's saying. I can't figure her out. There is no way you can rig that show. It's 16 people against each other. No matter what anybody says, you're going to (vote) your own way because you're out for the $1 million."
B.B. Andersen, the second contestant booted from the show, called the lawsuit "frivolous and without any foundation. Mark is totally an honorable man."
Andersen called the lawsuit "an ongoing saga. I think she's just trying to get some money from somebody." Andersen says Stillman approached him and other cast members several months ago in an attempt to hold out for more money to appear on the Survivor reunion show, which aired in August.
Former contestant and current USA TODAY Survivor correspondent Jenna Lewis was less adamant and acknowledged that Burnett may have had some influence. "Both sides see it differently. Mark Burnett had opinions about certain people, but I don't think he was in any way responsible for (Stillman's) demise," she says. "Mark may have been worried about all the old people being voted off at the same time, but I don't think he manipulated the game in any way."
Stillman could not be reached Tuesday. Survivor fans believe the lawsuit is more a case of sour grapes.
"Leave it to a lawyer to sue because she lost," says John Lilly of Concord, Calif. "In my opinion, Stacey is manipulating the media on the coattails of the new Survivor, in order to make a name for herself."
But the show, among the USA's most popular, may be taking a hit. Of more than 5,500 Internet voters to a USATODAY.com quick question, 65% believe Survivor is rigged.
So has Burnett had second thoughts about casting contestants who are lawyers? "No! I think it adds something. It makes you want to get another one. The next show we'll have courtroom scenes," he says jokingly. "We're sending out the word for Survivor 3 applications in the next few weeks, and I'm sure this will get as many lawyers to apply as possible."
