Jeff Probst Defends Including Billie Eilish & More on Survivor 50

Why ‘Survivor’s Boston Rob, Parvati Shallow and More Weren't Asked Back for 50th Season

Survivor’s latest castaways will have to outwit, outplay and outshine some major stars—whether fans like it or not.

After the CBS competition series teased celebrity cameos from the likes of Billie Eilish, Jimmy Fallon and MrBeast during its upcoming 50th season, longtime host Jeff Probst shared how the idea to bring Hollywood fanfare to Fiji came to be.

“We knew some of Survivor’s biggest fans happen to be celebrities,” he told Variety in an interview published Jan. 5, “so we thought sprinkling a few of them in with their own unique twists felt like a fun way to make the game even more unpredictable!”

Jeff also addressed concerns that the move could distract from the long-running series’ primary objective: seeing how far people would go to win $1 million.

“I think it’s a legitimate concern when you start adding layers like celebrities, that they can overshadow the game and take it off course,” the 64-year-old continued. “Our job was to make sure that we stayed true to what we’re doing on Survivor, which is exploring this continuous social experiment. And now we’re adding another layer.”