Survivor: America's Tribal Council - Criticism and Controversy

Criticism and Controversy

The event was criticized by many fans and writers as being unfair. They said it was a popularity contest that rewarded Boneham even though he had failed to win the game on two consecutive occasions.

Some fans feared that if the America's Tribal Council format, of giving a separate prize to the most popular contestant, was continued into later seasons of Survivor, it would change the way the game was played by encouraging contestants to behave differently to try to become a viewer favorite. In this scenario, contestants might give up on the normal prize and concentrate on the popularity prize, which might make the strategy aspects of the program less prominent and encourage contestants to act in their in-show interviews to make themselves seem nicer. However, these fears proved unfounded when the prize did not recur in later seasons, however, since Survivor: China, a $100,000 prize for the viewer-voted "Player of the Season" has been awarded.