RNO Roundtable: The Richard/Sue Incident on ‘Survivor: All-Stars’

On this week’s episode of Survivor: All-Stars the moment that got people talking wasn’t the big twist that dissolved the Saboga tribe, and it wasn’t Richard Hatch getting his torch snuffed. Instead, discussions have heated up over a moment that happened during the immunity challenge. The challenge involved contestants walking across balance beams to collect flags. If two contestants from opposite teams met in the “battle zone,” they’d try to knock each other off the beam into a pool of water below. The first person to hit the water was sent back to start.

At first, that aspect of the challenge pretty much went as viewers might expect. We saw some entertaining face-offs between the likes of Boston Rob and Colby, and some jockeying for position. But Richard Hatch put his own spin on the challenge. When he thought he might be confronted in the battle zone, he whipped off his kilt to compete naked. Richard correctly predicted that no one wanted to get especially close to his naked body. But then things got murky. Richard maneuvered himself past Sue in such a way that his naked crotch brushed against her. Jeff told them to break it up, that no one wanted to see that, and the game went on.

The results? Sue was as mad as we’ve seen her since her famous rats and snakes speech and hoped Mogo Mogo would vote out Richard. They did, though not for that reason. Fans have been divided in their reaction to this moment. Discussion amongst RNO writers got so heated that we knew there was only one way to handle it: a roundtable discussion. Here, writers David Bloomberg, C. Brian Devinney, Jeffrey Clinard, Ken Kellam III, Phil Kural, Sting7, and Betsy Wasser share their thoughts on what happened.

What was your initial reaction to Rich's rubbing against Sue?

David: Between the action of the challenge and everything that was going on, frankly I barely noticed it. I knew Rich had stripped off his shorts (according to what he later said, at the urging of his teammates), and I knew he had come up to Sue as she was waiting for him to get by, but I just didn’t see it as a big deal.

Brian: Personally, I was disgusted. There is the old saying that all is fair in love and war, but this crosses the line more than just a bit. He's been baiting her with verbal sexual innuendo for the entire program, but when the physical aspect was included that's when the line was crossed and it became, in my mind, something completely unwarranted.

Jeffrey: To be honest, I didn't notice what he had done until I read about it – too much of a blur, and I couldn't understand much of what was said. Once I knew, I thought Richard crossed the line. It's a cliché, but his right to swing his fist (or anything else) ends where another person's body begins.

Ken: It happened so quickly I didn't catch it the first time and had to go back and watch the tape to see what all the fuss was about.

Phil: Honestly, I never gave it a second thought. I didn't even know what he was doing at first, until Jeff Probst made his comment. Then it came to me and I remember thinking, "Ew, what an idiot." But it ended there. I didn't think it was that big of a deal.

Sting7: My first reaction was laughter!

Betsy: I thought getting naked was a smart strategy on Richard’s part for that challenge, because no one would want to get too close to him. When he brushed past Sue, I saw it as more good-natured teasing between two old friends. At the time I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. In fact, after that scene was over, I wondered whether or not that was the only reason for the parental discretion warnings that preceded the scene.

Do you think Jeff Probst's reaction was adequate?

David: I suspect that Probst was likely thinking what I was – it was two friends and/or rivals messing around. That’s why he broke it up by telling them that nobody cares about that rather than taking some sort of action against Rich. Sue did not react like she had been attacked or anything, so Probst’s reaction was fine, as far as I saw.

Brian: I also think Jeff’s reaction was appropriate. As the host he's supposed to be a little distanced from the action and work as an observer not a participant.

Jeffrey: I disagree. Jeff should have immediately disqualified Richard, because physical contact took place outside the designated combat zone. It's not that much different than the infamous challenge in Thailand where players were routinely ejected for rule violations.

Ken: I think that's about as good as he could've done. If he'd dq'ed Rich for breaking a rule that wasn't there, you can just imagine the protests.

Phil: I don't even think Jeff had that much of a reaction. He basically told Rich to stop, and that was that. In my opinion, Jeff didn't think too much of the situation either. However, I would have backed the idea of his tribe being penalized for his actions. They were, after all, uncalled for.

Sting7: Jeff handled the situation fine. They don't give him a billy club.

Betsy: I also think he handled it just fine. He saw what Richard did and told him to knock it off. At the time, that seemed to solve the problem. I hadn’t thought of the point Jeffrey made, though; Richard did engage in physical contact outside of the combat zone. He probably should have either had to go back to start or been taken out of the game like the players were in Thailand. The same would have been true if he’d touched her with his hand. But as Ken pointed out, the rules on that weren’t clear.