“Survivor” season 49 contestant Jawan Pitts has opened up about the fact that he has been having therapy months after filming on the show finished. According to the former castaway, who was eliminated during the tenth episode of the season, he had been receiving treatment as he attempts to fully understand what happened on the show when it comes to so many Black players being eliminated consecutively.
Jawan Pitts: ‘It’s Hard to Watch’
When Pitts was voted out of the series and became the latest member of the jury during episode 10 of the season, it made him the fourth Black player to be eliminated in a row. Fellow players Nate Moore, Alex Moore, and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu were all voted out in the three previous episodes.
This continues a trend that many viewers have spotted in previous seasons of “Survivor,” where Black players often appear to be eliminated from the show earlier. Speaking in an interview with the New York Post, Pitts explained that it was something that the players on season 49 were aware of.
“First off, it was a topic of discussion out there,” Pitts revealed. “Me and Kristina [Mills] had a back and forth about it.”
He continued, “I think as a viewer, it’s hard to watch. When it happened on [season] 42… you know, I’m a part of the community too, so I definitely felt it. But I think in the game it was so hard to put a pin on it. And even experiencing it, I’m going to therapy to truly kind of process. I’m like, ‘Why? Why did that happen?’”
Pitts Doesn’t Know Why the Eliminations Happened the Way They Did
Despite questioning why it happened, Pitts has explained that he doesn’t think there’s any conscious intent behind the eliminations.
“I think the game was so fluid and there was so many things — advantages, variables,” he said. “So I think that’s how I feel personally.”
Pitts also went on to acknowledge that he had voted for two of the three previously mentioned contestants, playing a part in eliminating the players.
He said, “I just want to step back and look at the optics of the jury and just hold space for that for a moment. And maybe anybody that’s watching it and feeling uncomfortable, I want their feelings to feel validated.”
“And also more specifically with MC, I want to hold space for her hurt feelings. But I also want to use this time to share some insight into why I made those decisions. Every decision I made out there was about my family. So every decision I made moving forward, I put that to that scale.”
