This Survivor Contestant Has Fans Saying The Same Thing

Season 40 of "Survivor" was one of the more memorable seasons because they did things just a little bit differently. Instead of picking a brand new cast of contestants, they invited 20 of their previous winners back to try again. It was known as "Winners at War," where the previous contestants competed to become the ultimate Sole Survivor. And it didn't disappoint, seeing as how it got nearly 8 million viewers to tune in and even beat out that evening's semi-final episode of "The Masked Singer" (via Variety).

"Survivor" has featured some noteworthy contestants in the past, and the top three contestants of Season 40 are some of the most memorable castaways in the history of the series. Tony Vlachos is a New Jersey cop who won his Cagayan competition with a solid 8-1 vote. Natalie Anderson received 5 out of 8 votes to win San Juan del Sur. Michele Fitzgerald navigated her way to victory in Kaôh Rōng, thanks to both her people-pleasing demeanor and her ability to win crucial immunity challenges. But when all three got together to compete for the honor of becoming Sole Survivor twice over, something happened during the finale that still has fans talking to this day.

The final vote was a 12-4-0 split between Tony, Natalie, and Michele, respectively. Tony started the season by playing nice but eventually fell back on his hyper-aggressive play style as the competition heated up. Natalie got voted out very early in the season, setting a new show record by surviving for 33 days on the Edge of Extinction before earning her way back into the competition. Michele seemed to struggle from the very beginning of the season, especially after being switched to the same tribe as her ex-partner. Nevertheless, she persisted. But the final jury vote didn't honor or award her tenacity with even a single vote.

Fans were very upset about the travesty. In this archived Reddit post, u/real_squid asked other fans to weigh in on the idea that Michele deserved second place, and not to be placed last by someone who got voted out so early in the competition. It's a massive thread with over 653 comments, and many of the top comments also rally behind the OP's support for Michele. This includes u/seansurvives, who hopes that "Michele finds her way here or is shown these comments by a friend. You could tell she was hurt in the live video at the end. She definitely proved herself a worthy winner." And they aren't wrong. During the "Survivor" Season 40 finale, you can clearly see the pain on her face in between forced smiles as the host announces vote after vote being cast for her fellow contestants. But Michele took the loss in stride. Shortly after the show, she did an interview for CBS where she proclaimed that she was proud of her performance on Season 40 and has no regrets.