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Over Survivor‘s 43 seasons, there have been many instances of alleged cheating. From Kel’s contraband jerky in Survivor: The Australian Outback to accounts of castaways sneaking into production’s camp in Survivor: Micronesia, the CBS reality competition series isn’t without its scandals. And recently, one castmate of Tony Vlachos claimed that he cheated during Survivor: Cagayan.

Tony Vlachos, who is a two-time 'Survivor' winner, wears a sleeveless gray shirt and brown and gold 'Survivor: Winners at War' buff.
Tony Vlachos | Photo by CBS via Getty Images

Tony won two seasons of ‘Survivor’

Producers introduced fans to Tony Vlachos during Survivor: Cagayan, aka Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty. Tony was a part of the Brawn tribe to begin the game, and they dominated the early Immunity Challenges. Although he had safety for the first few votes, Tony came out of the gate ready to play an intense, strategic game.

He lied to his tribemates about his profession as a cop, and he built close relationships with Sarah Lacina and Woo Hwang to secure his longevity in the season. Tony’s “spy shacks” and knack for finding Immunity Idols also defined his game and ensured his spot in the final two chairs. In the end, the jury crowned Tony the Sole Survivor in an 8-1 vote against Woo.

Tony returned in Survivor: Game Changers but was the second person voted out due to his aggressive gameplay. However, Tony learned from his mistakes and realized he needed to change his strategy to become the second two-time Survivor winner after Sandra Diaz-Twine.

Tony and 19 other winners competed in Survivor: Winners at War. He faded into the background in the beginning but slowly emerged from his cage as the game continued. After the merge, fans started to see the old Tony from Survivor: Cagayan take control of the game. His strategy worked, and in the finale, the jury voted Tony as the winner in a 12-4-0 vote against Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald.

Kass claims that Tony cheated during ‘Survivor: Cagayan’

On Oct. 31, 2022, Kass McQuillen, who placed third in Survivor: Cagayan, tweeted cheating allegations against Tony.

The post read, “Tony got help from production. Watch his idol finds, and the edit in Cagayan — Only one is organic — the rest are forced. Then watch his ‘bIg MoVeZ’ reactions thru the years.”

Kass later deleted the tweet, but she also liked a reply to another one of her posts that said “Facts” in response to her original tweet.

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Fans react to Kass’s accusation

Survivor fans took to Reddit to discuss Kass’s allegations regarding Tony cheating during Survivor: Cagayan.

“Did the NDAs expire?” one Reddit user joked. Another fan commented, “Even if they did, this reeks of jealousy and desperation to stay relevant. Survivor won’t cast her again if she is going to start tweeting things like this, so she could have spilled this tea years ago. She obviously felt the game was fair enough to go back on the show a second time.”

“You’d be foolish to believe production is always completely innocent,” someone else asserted. “But ‘his reaction isn’t genuine’ is not even close to evidence.”

A different Reddit user wrote, “Hot take, but if Tony’s out searching so consistently and getting the cameras to follow him all over the place, there’s a good chance they are going to give it away on accident ala Tyson [Apostol]’s advice of following the camera men and how they point to it. He deserves it.”

Survivor Season 43 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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