The story was originally published September 2017.
Zeke Smith was outed as transgender in front of a live audience of over eight million people internationally. It was only a fraction of the audience he would have within the following 24 hours with media coverage all over the world talking about what had happened to him. Zeke competed on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X in 2016 and returned for Survivor: Game Changers 2017.
Zeke Smith visited the Algonquin Commons Theatre in Ottawa Thursday, September 21 to speak about his experiences playing two seasons of Survivor. He appeared in front of an intimate crowd of over 100 fans and discussed everything from behind the scenes Survivor stories and the aftermath of being outed on public television.
Zeke made international headlines in April 2017 because he was asked one question; “Why haven’t you told anyone your transgender?” Fellow contestant Jeff Varner publically outed Zeke as a transgender man in an attempt to avoid being voted out by the tribe by framing Zeke to be deceptive for hiding his identity. Varner was immediately voted out and Zeke survived three more episodes before being voted out because contestants perceived his story to be one worthy to win.
During a Q and A period with fans, Zeke was thanked for allowing CBS to share his story with them but he hinted he did not exactly have a say in the matter. CBS could have chosen not to air his outing to protect Zeke but ultimately found the moment too important to discard. Zeke was approached by host and executive producer of Survivor Jeff Probst who said to him “trust me, I care so much about you and your story” and that “it’ll go well, everyone will love it!” The only Zeke could do was take the following months to prepare for the episode to air.
Zeke admitted that it was a scary time after Donald Trump was elected as President because he knew he was about to be outed as transgender within a matter of months. He recognized the landscape of the United States at the time was very toxic for anyone in the trans community and feared the worst because he was such a public figure. He couldn’t help but think “what the fuck and I going to do?”
After a few months, Zeke built up the confidence to embrace becoming a LGBTQ leader. After the outing episode aired he teamed up with GLAAD to spread the message of equality, understanding, and forgiveness.
Zekes speech in Ottawa was very significant for fans and the LGBTQ community alike. Multiple fans told Zeke he was their favourite player but what really plucked heartstrings was when LGBTQ member and activist Kira Hawke seized the opportunity to tell Zeke he was her personal hero. Zeke shared that he played Survivor to fundamentally change his way of life as a response to a so-called “quarter life crisis” he was having. Exploring different cities and speaking to crowds like the one in Ottawa is a result of that change. Zekes favourite part of Ottawa? “I went to Kanata and it was lovely,” he chuckled.
Keith Bennett 