• Did the Survivor 49 Cheating scandal involve more than the two players dropped?

    From Rick@Rick@nospam.net to alt.tv.survivor on Mon Dec 29 11:30:03 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats. Both Sophies are
    mentioned, especially yellow Sophie. There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brian Smith@dcg_brian@hotmail.com to alt.tv.survivor on Mon Dec 29 13:54:37 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame. Given
    what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti was
    targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a threat. Matt
    was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to Reddit
    she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why would MC
    cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need to
    make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is so fast
    paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it happen.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to say.
    If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would suggest
    the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's the case,
    isn't that a huge failure on casting's part? Also, how do we know that
    these people didn't lie to Andy about the cheating to make it seem like
    they weren't the only guilty parties? It's also possible Andy knows no
    one else cheated but is spreading rumors because he's pissed off for
    being cut from S50?
    --
    Brian
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Rick@Rick@nospam.net to alt.tv.survivor on Mon Dec 29 16:33:49 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are
    mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much
    explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame. Given
    what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti was
    targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a threat. Matt
    was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to Reddit
    she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why would MC
    cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need to
    make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is so fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives them
    a warning. What's most interesting about the two people that were cut
    on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after they were
    warned. That's why the show had no choice but to cut them. I did find
    it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and a female and they
    just happened to have a male and female waiting in the wings. Very convenient.


    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to say.
    If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would suggest
    the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's the case,
    isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily. Andy may have met them after the fact. The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in those
    circles.

    Also, how do we know that
    these people didn't lie to Andy about the cheating to make it seem like
    they weren't the only guilty parties? It's also possible Andy knows no
    one else cheated but is spreading rumors because he's pissed off for
    being cut from S50?


    I think whether Andy is telling the truth, lying or just exaggerating,
    he is likely doing it not because he is mad about being cut from S50,
    but simply because he wants to get attention and be a part of the story.
    That seems to be his brand.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brian Smith@dcg_brian@hotmail.com to alt.tv.survivor on Mon Dec 29 14:48:39 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are
    mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much
    explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame. Given
    what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti was
    targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a threat.
    Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to Reddit
    she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why would MC
    cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need to
    make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is so
    fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives them
    a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people that were cut
    on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to cut them.-a I did find
    it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and a female and they
    just happened to have a male and female waiting in the wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the same
    gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced season or
    just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about this possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to
    say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would
    suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's the
    case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in those circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if they interviewed these people?

    Also, how do we know that these people didn't lie to Andy about the
    cheating to make it seem like they weren't the only guilty parties?
    It's also possible Andy knows no one else cheated but is spreading
    rumors because he's pissed off for being cut from S50?


    I think whether Andy is telling the truth, lying or just exaggerating,
    he is likely doing it not because he is mad about being cut from S50,
    but simply because he wants to get attention and be a part of the story.
    -aThat seems to be his brand.

    Was he a Rizo hater during S49? lol
    --
    Brian
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Rick@Rick@nospam.net to alt.tv.survivor on Mon Dec 29 19:26:04 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/29/2025 4:48 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are
    mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much
    explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame.
    Given what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti
    was targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a
    threat. Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to Reddit
    she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why would MC
    cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need to
    make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is so
    fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives
    them a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people that
    were cut on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after
    they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to cut them.
    I did find it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and a female
    and they just happened to have a male and female waiting in the
    wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the same gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced season or
    just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about this possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to
    say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would
    suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's the
    case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in those
    circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if they interviewed these people?


    I don't recall them ever acknowledging this. But given they both did preseason interviews with all the players and the decision to cut the
    two was apparently right before filming began for the season, I suspect
    they may have. Thing is, both Mike and Dalton (and Rob as well) are
    somewhat under CBS' control in terms of what they can and can't talk
    about, so they will probably keep quiet about this until and unless CBS
    lets them talk about it. As for the players who were cut, they are
    still governed by their NDAs, so it may be a while before they are
    officially able to discuss what happened. To this day, I don't believe
    their names were ever revealed.


    Also, how do we know that these people didn't lie to Andy about the
    cheating to make it seem like they weren't the only guilty parties?
    It's also possible Andy knows no one else cheated but is spreading
    rumors because he's pissed off for being cut from S50?


    I think whether Andy is telling the truth, lying or just exaggerating,
    he is likely doing it not because he is mad about being cut from S50,
    but simply because he wants to get attention and be a part of the
    story. -a-aThat seems to be his brand.

    Was he a Rizo hater during S49? lol


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brian Smith@dcg_brian@hotmail.com to alt.tv.survivor on Tue Dec 30 00:29:17 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/29/2025 5:26 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 4:48 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two
    Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are
    mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that
    Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without much >>>>> explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame.
    Given what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti
    was targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a
    threat. Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to Reddit
    she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why would MC
    cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need to
    make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is so
    fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives
    them a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people that
    were cut on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after
    they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to cut them.
    I did find it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and a
    female and they just happened to have a male and female waiting in
    the wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the
    same gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced season
    or just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about this
    possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to
    say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would
    suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's
    the case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in those
    circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if they
    interviewed these people?


    I don't recall them ever acknowledging this.-a But given they both did preseason interviews with all the players and the decision to cut the
    two was apparently right before filming began for the season, I suspect
    they may have.-a Thing is, both Mike and Dalton (and Rob as well) are somewhat under CBS' control in terms of what they can and can't talk
    about, so they will probably keep quiet about this until and unless CBS
    lets them talk about it.-a As for the players who were cut, they are
    still governed by their NDAs, so it may be a while before they are officially able to discuss what happened.-a To this day, I don't believe their names were ever revealed.

    Sage has something to say about this and it sounds like she'll have even
    more to say when she gets around to it. This message focuses on Sophie Segreti. Sage says talking during pregame on S47 was 2.0/10 tops. On S49
    she says it was 9.9999/10. She goes on to say "But when it comes to
    Sophie Segreti, she was hands down the best behaved person in our cast.
    I actually thought she was the alternate for our season since she
    wouldn't engage with anyone."

    Here's here full message.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9YWRSdWoAArGeW?format=jpg&name=large

    Sage's comments back up what MC said about Sophie Segreti. Also shows
    that some on Reddit have horrible takes.

    If Sage's assessment is correct about how bad the pregame talk was in
    S49 and that Sophie Segerti is innocent, just how bad were the two
    people got booted? Were they booted because they didn't take the warning seriously? Does that mean the others did take it seriously?
    --
    Brian
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Rick@Rick@nospam.net to alt.tv.survivor on Tue Dec 30 10:21:58 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/30/2025 2:29 AM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 5:26 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 4:48 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two >>>>>> Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are >>>>>> mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that >>>>>> Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without
    much explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame.
    Given what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti >>>>> was targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a
    threat. Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to
    Reddit she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why
    would MC cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had
    cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need
    to make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is
    so fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it
    happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives
    them a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people that
    were cut on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after
    they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to cut
    them. I did find it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and
    a female and they just happened to have a male and female waiting in
    the wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the
    same gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced
    season or just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about
    this possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to
    say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would
    suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's
    the case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in
    those circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if they
    interviewed these people?


    I don't recall them ever acknowledging this.-a But given they both did
    preseason interviews with all the players and the decision to cut the
    two was apparently right before filming began for the season, I
    suspect they may have.-a Thing is, both Mike and Dalton (and Rob as
    well) are somewhat under CBS' control in terms of what they can and
    can't talk about, so they will probably keep quiet about this until
    and unless CBS lets them talk about it.-a As for the players who were
    cut, they are still governed by their NDAs, so it may be a while
    before they are officially able to discuss what happened.-a To this
    day, I don't believe their names were ever revealed.

    Sage has something to say about this and it sounds like she'll have even more to say when she gets around to it. This message focuses on Sophie Segreti. Sage says talking during pregame on S47 was 2.0/10 tops. On S49
    she says it was 9.9999/10. She goes on to say "But when it comes to
    Sophie Segreti, she was hands down the best behaved person in our cast.
    I actually thought she was the alternate for our season since she
    wouldn't engage with anyone."

    Here's here full message.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9YWRSdWoAArGeW?format=jpg&name=large

    Sage's comments back up what MC said about Sophie Segreti. Also shows
    that some on Reddit have horrible takes.

    If Sage's assessment is correct about how bad the pregame talk was in
    S49 and that Sophie Segerti is innocent, just how bad were the two
    people got booted? Were they booted because they didn't take the warning seriously? Does that mean the others did take it seriously?


    That's what I'm thinking. My take is that everyone talks pregame, and
    some push the envelope harder than others. I can easily see Shannon and
    Ruiz doing a lot of envelope pushing. But most people will stop when
    they get a warning by production. The two unnamed players who were cut apparently didn't.

    I almost half wonder if the reason Sophie S. got targeted early is that
    she DIDN'T participate in the pregame shenanigans. Maybe she's the one
    person who had no pregame bonds with anyone.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Brian Smith@dcg_brian@hotmail.com to alt.tv.survivor on Tue Dec 30 17:42:25 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/30/2025 8:21 AM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/30/2025 2:29 AM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 5:26 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 4:48 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two >>>>>>> Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are >>>>>>> mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that >>>>>>> Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without
    much explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame.
    Given what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie
    Segreti was targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she >>>>>> was a threat. Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi >>>>>> Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to
    Reddit she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why >>>>>> would MC cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had
    cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need >>>>>> to make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is >>>>>> so fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it
    happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season >>>>> starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where
    they won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and
    gives them a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people >>>>> that were cut on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even
    after they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to
    cut them. I did find it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male >>>>> and a female and they just happened to have a male and female
    waiting in the wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the
    same gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced
    season or just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about
    this possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to >>>>>> say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would >>>>>> suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's >>>>>> the case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two >>>>> players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after
    they left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people
    in those circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if
    they interviewed these people?


    I don't recall them ever acknowledging this.-a But given they both did
    preseason interviews with all the players and the decision to cut the
    two was apparently right before filming began for the season, I
    suspect they may have.-a Thing is, both Mike and Dalton (and Rob as
    well) are somewhat under CBS' control in terms of what they can and
    can't talk about, so they will probably keep quiet about this until
    and unless CBS lets them talk about it.-a As for the players who were
    cut, they are still governed by their NDAs, so it may be a while
    before they are officially able to discuss what happened.-a To this
    day, I don't believe their names were ever revealed.

    Sage has something to say about this and it sounds like she'll have
    even more to say when she gets around to it. This message focuses on
    Sophie Segreti. Sage says talking during pregame on S47 was 2.0/10
    tops. On S49 she says it was 9.9999/10. She goes on to say "But when
    it comes to Sophie Segreti, she was hands down the best behaved person
    in our cast. I actually thought she was the alternate for our season
    since she wouldn't engage with anyone."

    Here's here full message.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9YWRSdWoAArGeW?format=jpg&name=large

    Sage's comments back up what MC said about Sophie Segreti. Also shows
    that some on Reddit have horrible takes.

    If Sage's assessment is correct about how bad the pregame talk was in
    S49 and that Sophie Segerti is innocent, just how bad were the two
    people got booted? Were they booted because they didn't take the
    warning seriously? Does that mean the others did take it seriously?


    That's what I'm thinking.-a My take is that everyone talks pregame, and
    some push the envelope harder than others.-a I can easily see Shannon and Ruiz doing a lot of envelope pushing.-a But most people will stop when
    they get a warning by production.-a The two unnamed players who were cut apparently didn't.

    I almost half wonder if the reason Sophie S. got targeted early is that
    she DIDN'T participate in the pregame shenanigans.-a Maybe she's the one person who had no pregame bonds with anyone.

    That theory makes a lot of sense. She was also probably the best at
    challenges on her tribe.

    Another think that's interesting about Sage's comment is that she
    thought Sophie Segreti was the alternate because she was so
    well-behaved. She was an alternate for S48. Sage was an alternate for
    S47 so why wasn't she as well-behaved as Sophie? Same goes for MC and
    Jason who were the alternates for this season. I hope we find out who
    started this. Were the people who were booted so blatant in their
    cheating that the others minus Sophie felt they needed to do something
    in order to compete?
    --
    Brian
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  • From Brian Smith@dcg_brian@hotmail.com to alt.tv.survivor on Tue Dec 30 17:54:08 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

    On 12/30/2025 12:29 AM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 5:26 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 4:48 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 2:33 PM, Rick wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 3:54 PM, Brian Smith wrote:
    On 12/29/2025 9:30 AM, Rick wrote:
    Interesting theory that the cheating scandal that resulted in two >>>>>> Survivor 49 players being dropped pre-season may have involved
    additional players. Put on your tinfoil hats.-a-a Both Sophies are >>>>>> mentioned, especially yellow Sophie.-a There's also a theory that >>>>>> Savannah and Rizo may have gotten as close as they did without
    much explanation because they had talked pre-season.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPTqWlNYn4g

    Relying on Reddit for info about stuff like this is pretty lame.
    Given what happened later in the season, I would say Sophie Segreti >>>>> was targeted by Matt, etc. early on because they knew she was a
    threat. Matt was also a horrible player.

    At some point during the season MC squashed the rumors about Sophi
    Balerdi and Sophie Segreti cheating. But I guess according to
    Reddit she's like an accomplice because she was an alternate. Why
    would MC cover up for them after the fact if she knew they had
    cheated?

    As for people being close right out of the gate, you kind of need
    to make strong connections right away to succeed in a game that is
    so fast paced and short.S49 is not the first time we've seen it
    happen.


    My take on this is that EVERYONE cheats and talks before the season
    starts, but they usually either do it in a low-key manner where they
    won't get caught, or else they stop if production sees it and gives
    them a warning.-a What's most interesting about the two people that
    were cut on S49 is that they apparently kept on talking even after
    they were warned.-a That's why the show had no choice but to cut
    them. I did find it coincidentally fortunate that it was a male and
    a female and they just happened to have a male and female waiting in
    the wings.-a Very convenient.

    I was thinking the exact same thing! If both cheaters had been the
    same gender I wonder if they would have gone with an unbalanced
    season or just 16 people? I'm surprised no one one asked Jeff about
    this possibility.

    The most interesting part of the video for me was what Andy had to
    say. If Andy knows both the players booted for cheating that would
    suggest the cheaters knew each other before being cast. If that's
    the case, isn't that a huge failure on casting's part?

    Not necessarily.-a Andy may have met them after the fact.-a The two
    players who were cut may have continued talking about it to people
    either connected with the show or who report on the show, after they
    left the island, and Andy may still have contact with people in
    those circles.

    I saw mention of the cheating scandal preseason but never read any
    articles. Have people such as Dalton and Mike Bloom ever said if they
    interviewed these people?


    I don't recall them ever acknowledging this.-a But given they both did
    preseason interviews with all the players and the decision to cut the
    two was apparently right before filming began for the season, I
    suspect they may have.-a Thing is, both Mike and Dalton (and Rob as
    well) are somewhat under CBS' control in terms of what they can and
    can't talk about, so they will probably keep quiet about this until
    and unless CBS lets them talk about it.-a As for the players who were
    cut, they are still governed by their NDAs, so it may be a while
    before they are officially able to discuss what happened.-a To this
    day, I don't believe their names were ever revealed.

    Sage has something to say about this and it sounds like she'll have even more to say when she gets around to it. This message focuses on Sophie Segreti. Sage says talking during pregame on S47 was 2.0/10 tops. On S49
    she says it was 9.9999/10. She goes on to say "But when it comes to
    Sophie Segreti, she was hands down the best behaved person in our cast.
    I actually thought she was the alternate for our season since she
    wouldn't engage with anyone."

    Here's here full message.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9YWRSdWoAArGeW?format=jpg&name=large


    Shauhin adds to Sage's comments about Sophie Segreti.

    Sophie Segretti was easily in the best behaved during Survivor 48
    pregame as well.

    https://x.com/ShauhinDavari/status/2006133671535710217
    --
    Brian
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