The most recent episode of Survivor went viral due to a moving moment of humanity between two contestants – fire captain Joe Hunter and PhD student Eva Erickson.
Early in this season, Eva—who’s on the autistic spectrum—decided she would keep that secret from the others in case they saw her autism as a weakness. But she did choose to share it with one other contestant in her tribe, Joe (a fire captain from Los Angeles) whom she felt she could trust due to his strong ‘dad’ energy. However, the tribes were reshuffled, leaving Eva and Joe on separate teams.
Last week’s food challenge had the contestants maneuver a ball across a tilting table maze. Eva, finding it difficult to work the ball to its resting place, became overwhelmed and spiraled into what she calls an “episode.”
Finally completing the challenge, Eva found she couldn’t pull herself out of the episode even as her tribe mates (who do not know she’s on the spectrum) congratulated her. Watching from several yards away, Joe—knowing it was not his place to share her secret—quietly tried to catch her eye in an effort to help calm and comfort her.
Here’s the moment right after Eva completed the task. Joe’s empathy is palpable in its humanity. The TV audience was not ready for this.
The response to the moment was so great that CBS took the unprecedented step of re-airing the episode on Saturday night.
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Viewers on the spectrum and those with loved ones on the spectrum were impacted by the moment and expressed their gratitude for the representation on the show.
This might be my favorite human moment in #Survivor history.
Eva’s openness about her autism, Joe’s deep compassion, and Jeff’s emotional reaction, it was raw, real, and a reminder of the power of empathy.
A moment bigger than the game.
— Ryan Brink (@ryanvandenbrink) March 27, 2025
It was incredible to watch what Eva teach Joe to do upon meeting her in the premiere if she an episode. And 4 episodes later, he puts that into practice
#Survivor48 pic.twitter.com/tbzPGZDedG
— Mike Bloom (@AMikeBloomType) March 27, 2025
I’ve never cried in all seasons of #Survivor, but dang Joe helping Eva is what finally got me #survivor48 pic.twitter.com/RlyuR7eKeF
— Alexie (@alexie_elisa) March 27, 2025
For context, here’s the full challenge sequence cued to Eva stepping up to the board.
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In case you missed it, the latest episode of The Randy Report podcast is up. Hit the play button below for this week’s LGBTQ headlines in a quick ten minute report.
Sitting here watching this with tears running down my cheeks. This is such a teachable moment to anyone. When you see someone in pain – take a minute!!
THIS IS HOW WE SUPPORT AND HELP EACH OTHER NO MATTER WHO OR WHAT TEAM YOU ARE ON.