Now that Survivor has been airing for almost 25 years, Jeff Probst’s popular reality show has an incredible history. There have been some heartbreaking medical evacuations, seasons that were fantastic, and the players who are the best ever. Before there were so many seasons that new fans had to figure out which seasons to watch first, Richard Hatch became Survivor’s first winner and the show’s original villain.

Given his legendary status as one of the best winners ever, TheThings interviewed Richard Hatch about his Survivor tenure. Richard exclusively told TheThings why he believes that Survivor’s producers shouldn’t protect players from danger.

Why Richard Hatch Believes Survivor’s Producers Shouldn’t Physically Protect Players

In December 2024, the Survivor Hall of Famer Richard Hatch was interviewed by TheThings journalist Matthew Thomas. During that conversation, Richard had a lot of fascinating things to say about Survivor and his experience on the show.

One example of that is the fact that Richard revealed many startling facts about when he was attacked by a shark. Given how dangerous that moment was, Richard was asked about whether Survivor players should be more protected from that kind of danger.

Even though most people would be terrified of being attacked by a dangerous animal, Richard didn’t seem to regret that happening to him. In fact, Richard exclusively told TheThingswhy he felt Survivor’s producers shouldn’t protect players from danger.

When Richard was attacked by a shark, that could have been extremely serious even though the animal was relatively small. After all, Richard’s wound could have become infected. On top of that, Richard could have been bitten elsewhere on his body and suffered awful repercussions.

Despite the danger he was in, Richard exclusively told TheThings that he was completely against the idea of Survivor players being protected from danger.

“Gosh no. Survivor’s producers have no responsibility to protect players from their own choices and risks with regard to things like this, and I don’t think they should involve themselves. Specifically, when it comes to how Survivor players decide what risks are worth taking to secure food, producers should not be involved.”

Some Survivor players may be surprised that Richard felt that way, but he explained his position.

When Richard was interviewed by TheThings, he explained exactly why he felt Survivor players should be allowed to do dangerous things.

During his
TheThings
interview, Richard Hatch exclusively described the wound he suffered after he was bitten by the shark on
Survivor
. “When the shark finally let go, I was bleeding and there were some small shards of skin hanging from the bite.”

As Richard explained, Survivor players understand the risks they are taking, so they should be allowed to make their own choices. Richard elaborated by explaining that Survivor producers inform players of the possible risks before the game begins.

“We Survivor players understand the risks involved in playing this physically challenging and mentally sophisticated game. We sign reams of paperwork accepting responsibility for what takes place when the game is played.”

Instead, Richard felt that Survivor’s producers had one major responsibility when players do dangerous things.

Screen Rant’s Craziest Times That Survivor Players Were Medically Evacuated

• Michael Skupin Burns His Hands
• Jonathan Penner Suffers An Infected Knee
• James Clement Suffers An Infected Finger
• Joe Dowdle Suffers An Infected Leg
• Russell Swan Passes Out
• Kourtney Moon Fractures Her Hand
• Shamar Thomas Gets Sand In His Eye
• Pat Cusack Injures His Back
• Caleb Reynolds Collapses
• Colton Cumbie Gets Appendicitis

As Richard explained to TheThings, he feels that Survivor’s producers have a moral obligation to accurately depict the risks that players take and any fallout.

“That said, there are certainly other areas in which, specifically, Survivor Executive Producers have an ethical and moral responsibility to accurately reflect for viewers what choices players made and the consequences of those choices. We players contractually agree to have ourselves portrayed in ways that are false, negative, and not accurate, and I think (unnecessarily) Executive Producers have grossly exploited that agreement, to the detriment of the show, CBS, and players’ lives.”

Richard Hatch Believes Survivor’s Producers Should Take Responsibility For How The Show Affects Players Outside The Game

While being interviewed by TheThings, Richard Hatch also explained ways he felt Survivor’s producers should treat the players more responsibly. For example, Richard explained that Survivor’s producers should do more to prepare players to deal with social media and interviews.

“I do think Survivor producers should also better prepare participants for exposure to the media and to social media as well. Jeff Probst was, at times, visibly off-put by my answers to interviewers’ questions, but I wasn’t his ‘bro,’ as other participants became. Never once did anyone provide any guidance with respect to how intrusive, harmful, and disingenuous so many in the media can be.”

Most of all, Richard focused on how Survivor’s producers should take responsibility for the possible legal implications players can suffer. As most fans know, Richard Hatch has spent substantial time in prison because of unpaid taxes linked to his Survivor winnings.

In February 2012,

Forbes

published an article about Richard Hatch’s time in prison which revealed he served 51 months. After Richard was released, he was sent back to prison to serve an additional nine months behind bars.

Richard explained to TheThings why he feels that Survivor’s producers should have taken responsibility for the situation that led to his prison sentence. Richard began by explaining his belief that Survivor players should be treated as employees for tax purposes.

“It’s my opinion Survivor producers are ethically and morally obligated to accept responsibility for the impact their choices have on players. To get specific with taxes, Survivor producers (according to all IRS rules and guidelines assigning significant weight to ‘control’ over individuals) also have a legal obligation to treat participants as ’employees’ with respect to how taxes ought to be handled.”

Richard further explained that based on the control they have, producers already treat Survivor players as employees in some ways. “Survivor producers do not technically treat participants as “employees” despite their having more control over participants’ lives, actions, and choices than nearly any other employer, except perhaps astronauts aboard spacecraft.”

Based on his belief that Survivor players are employees, he believes that the show’s producers have the responsibility to ensure taxes are paid to the countries they film in. “It is Survivor producers’ responsibility to, for example, ensure all taxes owed to any country in which they operate are paid prior to the production leaving that country.”

Richard then used his own situation as an example of why he felt Survivor’s producers should have taken more responsibility. As Richard exclusively explained to TheThings, he and his accountant found it very difficult to ascertain what taxes they needed to pay following his win.

“Just imagine my position as winner of the first season of these unscripted drama competitions on any major network. When I received the $1 million, my accountant and I certainly understood what was written in my contract, but nowhere did the contract identify who (CBS, Mark Burnett, etc.) would pay the taxes owed to Malaysia. Neither did the contract state what percentage of my winnings were owed to Malaysia, whether the U.S. tax rate was greater or less than Malaysia’s tax rate, and if Malaysia’s tax rate was less than the U.S. tax rate, that I would owe the difference to the U.S.”

Richard went on to explain that even experts found details of his case unclear. “These details are incredibly important, and since many/most accountants don’t even have international experience, the answers are sometimes difficult to ascertain, as turned out to be the case in my experience. The IRS itself took years to admit Malaysia was entitled to the income tax on my Survivor winnings, and only now (24+ years later and in seemingly endless court proceedings) admits I was entitled to a Foreign Tax Credit (FTC) on the $1 million.”

On top of feeling that Survivor’s producers didn’t treat him properly, Richard exclusively told TheThings that the IRS lied about his case in court. “In my original trial, the I.R.S. lied to the Court and jury, claiming I owed taxes on the $1 million to the United States, when they knew full well I did not. In fact, they, themselves, the IRS, would not (and could not) actually assess a tax obligation on me until more than ten years later, after they theorized the FTC may have expired.”

Richard went on to state that he tried his best to handle his taxes correctly. However, he told TheThings that he wasn’t able to pay the proper taxes because of how irresponsible he felt Survivor’s producers had been.

“If this sounds confusing or complicated, it is for me and for most people, but it is not confusing or complicated for the IRS or for CBS or for Mark Burnett. It was their responsibility and legal obligation to have understood all of this without leaving me to not just wallow in confusion, but to do everything possible to ascertain how to accurately file my U.S. tax return and to prevent me from being wrongfully convicted of attempting to evade taxes and subsequently serve more time in prison than anyone in U.S. history for the amounts prosecutors lied about and claimed I’d attempted to evade.”

Richard finished his comments about what led to his prison sentences by speaking about all the people he holds responsible.

“If this all sounds insane and reprehensibly irresponsible on Mark Burnett’s part, on CBS’ part, on the Court’s part, and on prosecutors’ part, I agree, and it has so far been impossible for me to communicate how wronged I have been (and continue to be as the government continues right now in court in its efforts to steal my sister’s property). And just for good measure, add to the irresponsibilities described above the fact that the judge in my case was admonished for overstepping his bounds with respect to me by the Board of Judicial Tenure.”

Richard also told TheThings that his judge barred him from being able to question potential jurors about bigoted comments they made. Richard claimed that some of his jurors uttered repulsive words that bigots use to insult members of his community.