Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Jeff Probst accidentally spoiled the “Survivor 50” grand finale during Wednesday night’s live finale.
The long-time broadcaster, 64, accidentally revealed that contestant Rizo Velovic had lost the final fire-catching challenge – which decides who goes through to the Final Three – before the taped segment aired on TV.
“Camp life is also about building a fire,” Probst said as Velovic stood next to him on stage at a studio in Los Angeles.
“I don’t know if you have anything to think about, anyway, Rizo, you’re the last member of our jury. Take your place here,” he continued, accidentally revealing that Velovic lost the challenge and was eliminated from the competition.
“This is it. These are our people. Their games have come up short, but this is a team that will…” Probst added before stopping abruptly.
“What just happened?” he asked.
Several competitors sitting nearby quickly pointed out the mistake, telling Probst, “The fire hasn’t happened yet.”
“Huh?” Probst responded as the cast continued to talk to each other. “Go ahead,” someone yelled off camera.
“I’m not sure what happened,” Probst admitted before CBS went to commercial.
When the broadcast returned, Probst talked about the mix-up.
“Okay, so, I love doing live television,” he said as the audience cheered.
“In case you are confused, this is what happened. We were going to show you how to put out a fire and then we took out the fire fighter Rizo and said that if he had practiced lighting a fire, maybe he would have won.”
“Instead, we did a ‘Survivor’ twist, the final twist of the season. We call it, ‘Looking to the future.’ Now, we will watch Rizo lose to Jonathan by fire.”
The fire lighting challenge was filmed months ago in Fiji. The segment featured Jonathan Young defeating Velovic to earn a spot in the Final Three.
Probst then introduced the video by telling the audience to “watch Rizo lose!”
Fans were quick to react to the on-air mistake on social media.
“As someone who missed Will Smith’s live slap, this was the worst TV moment I’ve ever seen. RIP to whoever lost their job recently,” wrote one viewer.
“Welp we’re never getting a live ending,” wrote another.
“It’s amazing – but you handled it so well. It was funny. We all knew who was going to win. It’s all good,” added a third.
Aubry Bracco was finally crowned the winner of “Survivor 50,” defeating Young and Joe Hunter at the Final Tribal Council to win the $2 million prize.
The live TV disaster came one week after Probst responded to fan criticism that “Survivor” has waned in recent years.
“We’re experimenting with all kinds of new ideas, and we tried to bring the most unpredictability we’ve ever had,” Probst told Variety.
“Whether you like the season or not, it’s not that something went wrong. We’ve made bad decisions in the past. I don’t think we’ve made 50.”
