Confessions of an Ex Ozlet

I know I haven’t posted in my own blog for a long, long, LONG time.  But I feel like since some of the stuff I’ve written here reflected my time on Survivor Oz, it would be oddly appropriate to post this here.

Now, of course if you’ve been following this giant mess on Twitter, you’d know that host Ben Waterworth made some very controversial remarks about a Survivor contestant’s Wife.  More specifically, it was about Will’s wife and the remakes were racist.  There is no other way to slice it.  He was mocking her name and making offensive comments.

 

Want to hear something extremely amusing?  The preview podcast aired about a month ago.  It’s only now getting attention.  Why?  Because no one I know that would be able to pick this out and get offended even watch the show anymore.  I don’t have the time to even care personally.  Since I’ve left Survivor Oz I recently got a promotion at my job and I’ve since started my own project with a fellow Ex-Ozlet and really good friend, Ben Powell.  I don’t have the luxury of keeping hold of bad blood… or even good blood really.  However, I understand idiocy when I see it.  That’s a universal language there that doesn’t hold credence to the supposed cultural barriers Waterworth’s been claiming.

Oh, and from this point on, Ben Waterworth shall be called simply Waterworth.  It’s more of a confusing clear up just to make sure my good friend Ben Powell (Who I shall just call Ben) isn’t going to get nasty tweets or whatever.

 

Anyways, let’s play the story.  Ben and I joined Survivor Oz in January of 2013.  I was an eighteen year old college student that thought Survivor was just the coolest thing ever.  I love to write, and I just finished my first season of actually actively participating in the online community, Survivor Philippines.  They were looking for writers, and I was a writer.  I also already was on one of their podcasts.  I was on the Christmas Episode where I got to speak to John Carroll. 

This is where I need to stress, when I joined Oz I had nothing but respect for them.  They were able to get interviews from Guatemala contestants.  If you’ll remember I’m know as THE Guatemala fan from various people.  Even Guatemala contestants are aware on how much I love the season they were on.  I was very excited to get to write for something with as much of a readership as Oz.  I never really done anything like that since, but (again I stress) this is more to my job than anything else.  I still have saved all of my work that I’ve done for Oz because I have put my time in effort in every single article, top ten, write up, and Podcast for them.  I didn’t give them anything that I wouldn’t post on my own blog.

Waterworth’s always been agonist towards those who don’t share his opinion.  I should have seen it when he mocked Sophie for declining an interview due to her schooling.  You know, because medical school isn’t taxing on free time or anything.  When I supported her choice I was mocked.  When Waterworth made a top ten podcasts and put Historian’s up on there, Mario was honored but he pointed out that Historian’s isn’t in the same group as Rob Has a Podcast or anything due to the lack of schedule that they do.  This was met with Waterworth fuming that Mario just wouldn’t say “Thank you” and gush about being on the list.  Now, Mario is a good friend of mine (I was in the running to be a historian a while back) so I defended him like a good friend, but that didn’t matter.  Those that do bow at his feet and give in to his ego are of no use to him.

The catalyst of why I left though?  It’s a bit lesser known but I’ll do my best to explain it.  Now, it’s early January of 2014.  I haven’t actually done anything for Oz in a while, yet for some reason I’ve been kept around.  They have “fired” my good friend Ben, with only me expressing sympathy towards Ben.  They’ve just posted a top ten in Previously on Survivor (Also known in this article as PoS) of the top ten tribes written by Jimmy Kurniawan (who is also a pretty nice guy.)

Now, like most top tens, a lot of comments were had.  Most of them citing various inaccuracies (The Foa Foa four weren’t a tribe) and overall disagreement.  I myself posted in this thread (screenshots will follow) but I only expressed confusion, because for some reason I thought that practical subject of top ten was already done.  Of course, I looked it up and I was wrong, and then commented on that.  I in no way mentioned the article or the ranking.  (Oh and comments that were pure humor of the fact that people think that Korror had an advantage because they had more men)

And somehow, those comments earned this.  I will black out names besides my own or Waterworths.  Mostly because I don’t want to get in trouble for doing something similar than what they did.

Well, okay.  Maybe he had a bad day right? (I thought)  The other Ozlet he tagged is in PoS as well, so whatever.

Then, this happened.

That is pretty much what made me think “Well, fuck you too”.  I do not like getting dragged into things.  If I’m in the wrong, it’s fine but that’s not okay to me.  I kept quiet about it because I know what will happen.  I would be discredited and the reason would be a perceived bitterness due to bad blood… or whatever.

BONUS MORE THINGS-

Seriously, I have most of the thread screenshotted and if it didn’t take a lot of work trimming it down and whiting out names I’d post the whole damn thing on here.

Oh, I guess I should put my own reactions-

*cue me handing in my resignation form*

Later he did apologize for those words.  I was pissed, but I had already made up my mind.  It was bothering me that I somehow was allowed to stay but they kicked out Ben.  I was just as opposing to various comments he said in the Oz group.  I don’t know why I was spared to be blunt.  Maybe because it was my winning personality and stuff?  Naw.  Can't be.  Let's just say I don't know, but I have an idea that hasn't been proven, but there were comments.   

He had another blow up in PoS facebook group last January (too the same month a year later!) that resulted in him leaving PoS and Survivor Oz in general a target for mockery to the group.  That was when both Ben and I let loose on several tangents, each about the Group and Waterworth’s comments about Survivors that didn’t want to do interviews.  It was informational, and we changed many a minds that night but I knew that it wouldn’t be over.  After all, PoS is just a small slice of the Survivor fandom. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t provide any screen shots.  In light of recent events the Survivor Oz facebook member (which was posting these articles) appeared to be deleted when I tried to find the posts.  But it was a blood bath.  Take my word for it.

Speaking of recent events, this brings me to the present week.  Mike from Survivor: World’s Apart tweeted (to Carolyn and Jenn of his season) about Survivor Oz attacking “our family”.  Well, that brings me to the preview podcast that I mentioned at the start of this article.  When accused of mocking a Survivor family member (aka someone who didn’t sign up for that) you should quickly say sorry, remove the offending podcast, and make note that that sort of thing will never happen again.  Instead Waterworth said that “Sorry but Other podcasts have said worse” which is by no means a real apology by any stretch of imagination.

The “Other Podcast” he mentions is the Corinne Preview episode that Rob’s show has done since at least South Pacific.  Corinne is a Survivor contestant however, she never has brought family members in that podcast nor has she even brought up race in any of them.  The podcast itself is at best is Satire, like the Onion. It’s all in the name of comedy, not meant to be serious, and above all she’s in the Survivor family, an unofficial bond of being mocked on media and articles alike brings these people together.  Compare that to some random Australian guy who will never be on Survivor nor understand what they went though that foolishly thought that mocking a family member based on her race was a good idea.

This was pointed out on Sucks as well, where I was also attacked by and the attack was quickly shut down by myself and other Sucks posters.  Since then neither Waterworth nor any other known Ozlet has shown their avatars in Sucks.

On the Fackbook front, he and the Survivor Oz page was kicked out of Addicted to Survivor. (Also known as AtS)  I’m sure if he was still in PoS that would have been changed really quickly.

On the next Oztopsy, he addressed the various goings on.  Here I have a transcript that a really good friend of mine pieced together.  I’m going to pull two very specific points that I want to draw attention too. 

From our standpoint, this issue was resolved, as the conversations that we had with cast members had been settled and we were assured that there were no ill will between us and the cast of Worlds Apart. (4:47 were or was?) On behalf of Survivor Oz, I would once again like to take this opportunity to unreservedly apologize for any offense caused by comments made in this episode. Survivor Oz is by no means a hundred percent politically correct. Like most podcasts out there on the Internet, our comments and content are from a variety of people and will sometimes blur the line between humor and offense. There are times when, yes, we do step over the line and we have to put our hands up and apologize. This is one of those times. We accept that words are easy and that our actions need to reflect this going forward. We will be taking this as a learning experience for future podcasts.

We hope this apology will be taken for what it is: an honest attempt to make amends. And we hope that current and past contestants, as well as our listeners, will continue to interact with us to help provide you with great content.

Now, I do want to just address some other issues (5:38 some or a few) in relation to this, though, on a side point. This week, in terms of the issue if people aren't aware of what happened, Mike from this season tagged us in a post directed at Caroline, also from this season, claiming that we were, and I will quote, "the podcast that disrespected all of us and our families just FYI." A brief exchange was then had between myself and Mike about this issue, in which I proceeded to say that we had apologized - as I previously just mentioned - for this issue, and if there was any further clarification needed, for him to contact us directly. He then did publicly continue to shame us, claiming that a private apology was no apology and that we needed to apologize to all 18 on air, despite the fact that, again, as I just said, we already had. He then publicly called for a boycott of our podcast and refused to go into any specific details about what was said in public that had offended him. He then went on to post a separate tweet bragging, and I will quote again, that he "went off on a podcast today - if you know me, you know that I am one of the most positive people. You don't mess with my family", before retweeting and favoriting abusive tweets directed towards us. While, of course, it is his right to claim for a boycott or not to like us, it still is amusing slightly to us that he will not publicly say what was so offensive to him and to try and get this sorted, and yet still continue to publicly shame us.

I would also like to point out that there were other podcasts' preview episodes, that had nothing to do with Survivor Oz, that did say far worse, volatile, and downright offensive things about the cast of Worlds Apart that are not being targeted in the way that we are. I am aware, of course, that this is not a tit-for-tat exercise, but as the host of this show, I am also entitled to express an opinion and defend the product that we do put out. My apology, as I mentioned before, does stand, but I still find it slightly confusing and ironic that we are having a smear campaign against us when other podcasts getting away with doing worse. I also do find it ironic that people are excusing comments made on other podcasts as "humorous" and "satiric" as an excuse for abuse, whereas our comments were done in the same style and method and aren't seen in the same light. I do also find it slightly ironic that Mike does remain friends with several people involved in these other episodes yet still cannot continue to let what we said go.

Out of all of this, one thing that I really feel the need to address as well are the defamatory comments being labelled at us calling us "racist." I have had several comments and messages - abusive messages - to myself and to us publicly saying comments along those lines and have also been shown messages on forums and Facebook and other online, uh, outlets saying similar things. With no explanation given as to why Mike is so annoyed at our preview episode, people have speculated it was due to comments made about Will's wife Monifa in our episode. Since the exchange on Twitter with Mike, it has been brought to my attention what directly Mike was referring to in terms of taking offense, and this was in no way at all related to comments directed at Monifa. Despite this - and with still no public explanation from Mike - our podcast continues to be dragged through the mud with outlandish claims being labelled against us. In the preview episode, I will reiterate, there were no discriminative, racist, or offensive comments directed at Monifa or anybody in that matter. In fact, if people actually listen to the episode, they will find that it was the complete opposite and that we spent the entire episode praising Monifa and wanting to see her playing Survivor and applauding her and Will throughout the episode.

If people have taken offense to the comments in this episode, then again, I do apologize. However, I will once again reiterate that there were no racist undertones or intent with these comments. The definition of the word "racism" in modern society is constantly lost in social misgivings and viral social campaigns that blur the lines between what is racist and what is not. I've heard comments everywhere, from casual racists right through to downright accusing myself and our Ozlets of constantly being on a racist crusade in the past. There were even several comments online claiming that Australia is a racist country and that our past policies of white Australia are the reason why myself and our Australian Ozlets are of this opinion. To me, these are far more racist and offensive toward myself, the Ozlets, and our country in general. There may be a cultural divide as to what some consider the word "racist", casually racist, or not racist at all. But in claiming racism against a person or organization, it is ironic that actual racist comments are then used in a way to try and clarify comments. Let me state again that comments directed, calling us racists are misguided, false, and highly defamatory and offensive. Several of the comments have been made by people who have not listened to the episode, or who have only listened to small portions of it and have not listened to any other Survivor Oz episode in the past and are jumping on a bandwagon of hate and misguided vitriol. People have threatened to report our episode and have listened to parts of it claiming the racist parts are there. They have even reached out to Jeremy and Val, who do our power rankings, and warned them we are a racist podcast and to avoid us, and we have even been banned from selective groups online due to this perception of racism. I would look to, however, firmly stand by my claims that nothing racist was said in the episode to defend myself and my team. The episode will not be removed from any online platforms, and if people want to continue to run a smear campaign against us by contacting others or posting defamatory comments online against us, then that just speaks to the character of those individuals, given that online trolling culture is based on vile hatred, racism, homophobia, sexism, and other forms of bigotry, several of which have been directed to our show, other shows, and contestants in Survivor in the past, it is highly hypocritical that these select people continue to go on a crusade against us. As somebody who does pride himself in putting out an entertaining podcast that takes a lot of effort for no financial gain, it is highly offensive to be labeled in such a light.

Still not an apology.  Mike didn’t think so either.

Oh and one more thing- This.

Our show might not be everybody's cup of tea, we don't expect everybody to like us, but when comments and hate are spread to us in a manner that has been this week, then I have had no choice but to bring this up and speak out on it. I will defend not only myself and this show but each one of my Ozlets who work tirelessly and hard for Survivor Oz for nothing other than the passion of Survivor and no other reward. When our product we put out is getting unfairly diminished by certain corners of the Internet and the trolling culture previously mentioned, it is time to take a stand, and I would also like to point out on a separate note that this goes towards ex-Ozlets who have worked for us in the past, who, for whatever reason, cannot let go reasons why they were either fired or quit and continue to make up false allegations against us or false claims of personal entertainment or Like-bait online. These people have deep resentment towards us for their own past misgivings and can continue to shame themselves all they want, but they only make themselves look like fools, given the actual truth of the situation. I will not stand for this any longer from these people.

You got it.  He directly targeted me and Ben in this.  Well.  It is on.  You do not attack my friends like this.

Also what are you planning to do to me?  Flood my E-mail with spam?  Talk trash about me?  Dude, I survived an ice storm, various tornadoes, Earthquakes, a bad childhood, and High school I’m sure I can survive whatever a random guy with a podcast throws at me.

In closing, I’m not telling you at all that you need to actively hate Oz.  That is my job.  I just want to get a record straight.  You can do what you will with this information, but do not think that Waterworth is innocent in this.

Also notice that I have tried to keep the other Ozlets out of this.  They have actually apologized and to any that on the off chance might be reading this I beg of you to find another job.  Get off of this sinking ship before you drown because if Waterworth goes down he will take you with him. 

Finally, please don’t take this as a call to action.  All this is an informative piece.  If you are appalled by what Ben Waterworth has sad or has done I encourage you to (if applicable) unfollow him on Twitter, unfollow the show on Twitter, and/or unlike the Survivor Oz facebook page.  I want the message to come across that what he did is not okay and the refusal to actually own up to his mistake will cost him dearly, but attacking him on twitter and being an ass would make you no better than what he was.

For all of my readers, this is Heather.  Thank you for reading this.

Special thanks to my good friend Ben Powell.  I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have the bravery to even say half of this junk without your support. 

Thank you to Russ Bartlett for transcribing that Podcast for me.  Kept me from going mad trying to pull tidbits of information from it, you rock.  Also John Simons from PoS, whom stomached listing to the Preview cast to pick out what Mike was outraged about.  And for everyone on both PoS and Sucks who had my back when it mattered the most.  Also thank you.

Finally, thank you to Mike Holloway.  Worlds Apart is currently ongoing at the time of this article, but thank you for opening that floodgate so everyone else can see how horrible Waterworth really is.  On the off chance that you actually read the 3,000+ words of a crazy ass Survivor fan I personally thank you of this chance.

P.S.

Here are the links to various things that you are welcome to see for yourself.  Unfortunately this does not include any PoS things because it’s a closed group, but you can join to see for yourself and I’ll point you the way. :)

Survivor Worlds Apart Preview episode- Note: Timestamped @1:26 to where the mocking starts.

Survivor Oz Thread on PoS- Starts at relevant spot

Survivor World Apart Oztopsy episode 6-  Only need to watch the beginning for the “apology”

Max’s thread on Reddit- This is an interesting read, I couldn’t exactly fit it here without getting this longer than it needed to be, but it mentions the Oz comments and Max conforming the difference between Corinne saying the stuff she did and Waterworth’s comments.