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Two episodes into Survivor 44, and the drama has already begun! Fans rarely hold back when sharing their thoughts on the new castaways after meeting them in the first episode, but one Survivor 44 cast member is taking some former players’ hurtful words to heart.

Carson Garrett, who is a part of the 'Survivor 44' cast, wears a blue polo shirt with white dots on it and dark brown-framed glasses.
Carson Garrett | Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

Carson Garrett is a part of the ‘Survivor 44’ cast

Survivor fans met the 18 new players in the season 44 cast during the first episode, which premiered on March 1. They are:

  • Brandon Cottom, a 30-year-old security specialist from Newtown, PA
  • Bruce Perreault, a 46-year-old insurance agent from Warwick, RI
  • Carolyn Wiger, a 35-year-old drug counselor from Hugo, MN
  • Carson Garrett, a 20-year-old NASA engineering student from Atlanta, GA
  • Claire Rafson, a 25-year-old tech investor from Brooklyn, NY
  • Danny Massa, a 32-year-old firefighter from Bronx, NY
  • Frannie Marin, a 23-year-old research coordinator from Cambridge, MA
  • Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, a 43-year-old engineering manager from Pittsburgh, PA
  • Josh Wilder, a 34-year-old surgical podiatrist from Atlanta, GA
  • Kane Fritzler, a 25-year-old law student from Saskatoon, Canada
  • Helen Li, a 29-year-old project manager from San Francisco, CA
  • Jaime Lynne Ruiz, a 35-year-old yogi from Mesa, AZ
  • Lauren Harpe, a 31-year-old elementary school teacher from Mont Belvieu, TX
  • Maddy Pomilla, a 28-year-old charity projects manager from Brooklyn, NY
  • Matt Blankinship, a 27-year-old security software engineer from San Francisco, CA
  • Matthew Grinstead-Mayle, a 43-year-old barbershop owner from Columbus, OH
  • Sarah Wade, a 27-year-old management consultant from Chicago, IL
  • Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho, a 36-year-old salon owner from San Juan, Puerto Rico

One of the cast members that immediately caught Survivor 44 fans’ attention was Carson, who producers placed on the Tika tribe with Bruce, Carolyn, Helen, Sarah, and Yam Yam. Carson’s an intelligent player, but considering recent events, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

Carson denounces hate from veteran players

A few days after the Survivor 44 premiere, Carson addressed some hate that he and his fellow cast members were receiving. He tweeted:

“Former [Survivor] players posting hateful and insulting messages about current castaways is so disgusting. It’s one thing to disagree or dislike someone on TV, but to spend time spreading negativity into the world ab a person’s character, especially with regards to a show that historically misrepresents contestants, is disappointing to say the least. They know what we go thru, they understand how it affects our mental health bc they’ve been thru it. So to do the same thing to someone else speaks volumes to who they are as a person. And if you’re reading this and questioning whether I’m talking about you, maybe you should check yourself. A reminder to my fellow castaways: don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. Let’s spread love y’all. There’s too much hate already in the world to be negative.”

A few former Survivor castaways (who Carson likely wasn’t referring to) commented on his tweet.

Albert Destrade from South Pacific wrote, “Bud you’re blessed with perspective that’s well beyond your years. You make it easy to root for ya. I’ll speak on behalf of the Survivor alums and tell ya that your approach to the journey and the aftermath that follows, is a bright spot for this game that we love so very much.”

Eliza Orlins from Vanuatu and Micronesia said, “Exceptions include: if they spew bigotry, racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, antisemitism, xenophobia, or any of that bulls***. Then, all bets are off. Sorry not sorry.”

Bret LaBelle from Millennials vs. Gen X added, “If I may, I suggest you stop looking at all social media outlets while your season airs. Especially Twitter. The worst is yet to come from both past survivors and fans. Good luck on the show!”

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‘Survivor’ Season 44 Host Jeff Probst Confirms Shocking Spoilers

‘Survivor’ fans speculate who the season 44 cast member might be referring to

It’s unclear exactly who Carson was calling out in his tweet, but that didn’t stop Survivor fans from speculating on Reddit.

“My first guess would be Randy Bailey [Gabon and Heroes vs. Villains],” one fan shared. “But his tweets at this point are legendary and I don’t think the contestants care too much about his tweets.”

Randy actually retweeted Carson’s original statement and wrote, “You are too young for this game. Your glasses look stupid. I hope you get medically evacuated.” And Carson replied, “Haha, thanks Randy,” so we don’t think Carson’s tweet references Randy.

A Reddit user pointed out, “Kat [Dumont] from Australian Survivor (honestly no idea who she is, just saw this in another thread) decided that Carson selling merch means that he has ‘ulterior motives.'”

“Somebody probably said that they didn’t particularly enjoy Carson in the first episode,” someone else said. “I’m just kidding, I don’t have any idea what kind of crap the contestants get bombed with on social media and DMs, etc.”

Since Carson didn’t name-drop anyone in his tweet, we’ll likely never know who he was talking about. Nevertheless, let’s take his advice and enjoy season 44 for the chaotic mess that it is.

New episodes of Survivor 44 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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