How Survivor 48’s Star Toomey Created Two Of The Most Genuine Moments In The Show’s History

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When new fans who are figuring out which seasons to watch first envision competing on Survivor, they think about becoming one of the show’s great winners. Of course, that makes perfect sense since going on Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show during a great season and becoming a legendary player would be amazing. However, the reality of Survivor can be very different since some players get medically evacuated and others refuse to return to the show.

Even though Survivor 48’s Star Toomey has had a heartbreaking journey on the show and was not gotten enough credit, she has accomplished something else. Amazingly enough, Star created two of the most genuine moments in the history of Survivor.

Star Toomey’s Embrace Of Eva Erickson Was Very Genuine

Throughout the history of Survivor, there have been some moments that obviously were special from the moment fans saw them. The 5th episode of Survivor 48 featured one of those moments both during and after a challenge.

After struggling during a challenge, Eva Erickson had what she described as an “episode” during which she struggled to regulate her emotions. After he’d previously been told how to help her in that situation, Joe Hunter ultimately was able to step in and help Eva in a truly tender moment. After everything played out, Eva told all of her tribemates that she’d been diagnosed with autism and Jeff Probst cried for the first time in Survivor history while talking about the situation.

While those series of events understandably got a lot of attention, many people have seemingly overlooked what happened next. Once they got back to camp, Star Toomey embraced Eva verbally in a truly remarkable and genuine moment.

Once their tribe made their way back to camp, Star and Eva were initially shown talking at camp.

What Is Known About Survivor’s Star Toomey?
When Was Star Toomey Born?	September 25th, 1996
Where Was Star Toomey Born?	Monrovia, Liberia
Where Was Star Toomey Living When She First Played Survivor?	Augusta, Georgia
What Was Star Toomey’s Career When She First Played Survivor?	Sales Expert
What Tribe Did Star Toomey Start On?	Lagi
What Was Star Toomey’s Survivor 48 Placement?	8th Place

While addressing her directly, Star spoke with great passion as she celebrated everything that had just gone on with Eva.

This was your moment. That was your moment.

After Star’s comment, her and Eva’s other tribemates were also shown to be very supportive.

Then the episode cut to the beach where Star and Eva were still talking about the events that had just played out. After Eva spoke about never letting her autism diagnosis define her, Star had a truly wonderful response.

During her discussion with Star Toomey on the beach during Survivor 48’s fifth episode, Eva Erickson described the message she hoped viewers would get from her. “There’s so many people who have autism, and they see it as a problem. They see it something that’s wrong with them. Nothing is wrong with you. It’s part of who you are, and I hope that that’s the message that I can get across here. Everything I’ve done in my life, I found success in, and no one would have believed that when I was a little kid. And I hope that the parents of kids with autism can look at their kid and see a little bit of me, and hopefully, that my story can inspire them to believe that their kid is an amazing human.”

In a moment that really felt like it was outside the game of Survivor, Star thanked Eva, with emotion in her voice, for being so open.

Eva, just thank you for sharing your story. For real.

CBS

As she continued to speak about how Eva handled the aftermath of having an “episode,” Star took a moment to really sincerely praise her tribemate. “You handled that really well, man. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you.”

When Entertainment Weekly published the bios of Survivor 48’s players, they revealed a lot about Eva Erickson’s past. That article revealed that before playing Survivor, Eva was working very hard at school pursuing a PhD and quoted her speaking about her hockey career. “I was the first and only girl to play men’s hockey at Georgia Tech and am currently the captain of the men’s club hockey team at Brown University. I am used to competing against men twice my size who think they are better than me. I am prepared to bring my fierce competitive nature to my game of Survivor.”

From there, Star spoke extremely passionately when she expressed admiration for the example that Eva had just set for Survivor viewers.

“And you definitely gave somebody else struggling to say, ‘Hey, I have autism or I’m on the spectrum.’ You’re making them feel like, ‘Yeah, I can do anything. I can be whatever. I’m not alone.’ That’s legit… Eva, bro. You’re really a motivation, and I just want you to know that I’m, listen, I’m on your side. I’m on your side.”

After seeing how genuine Star was being when she was praising Eva, viewers learned why there was so much emotion in her voice.

During a confessional interview, Star revealed that she felt so emotional about how Eva handled herself because of her loved ones.

“This game just makes you feel all types of so much emotions. For me, it all just started making sense because I can relate one hundred percent. I have family members on the spectrum. So with that being said, I understand her completely.”

Star Toomey Showed True Generosity Of Spirit To Cedrek McFadden

Every so often, a Survivor player comes along who seems like a great person who never should have played the game. During Survivor 48, Cedrek McFadden seemed like a perfect example of that since he didn’t seem to be able to handle the emotional toll the game takes on players. Fortunately for him, Star was there for Cedrek during one of his lowest moments.

During the 6th episode of Survivor 48, the remaining players all came together to live on one beach as they fought to earn the merge. After that, Star was talking to Cedrek in the shelter as he sat alone. After he praised her for doing great in a challenge, Star responded to Cedrek with a really incisive comment about people not feeling seen.

“I wanna thank you, man. Because you know, just like you, when you give your best effort and people just overlook you, and that’s okay.”

Since Credrek clearly felt overlooked at that moment, he began to be overcome with emotion.

After seeing his reaction, Star immediately sat down beside Cedrek and began giving him a pep talk.

“You’re did good. You’re doing good. And you are good. Okay? You’re good… You wanna go hard and you wanna do your best. Trust me. I know it. When you you’re a person who you’re used to being, you’re great and you are great and you continue to be great. And you’re doing it for all the fathers out here. You’re doing things that my dad wouldn’t even be able to do. You’re doing things that a lot of men would not be able to do. And you’re doing a damn thing, and you remember that. Your kids watching you will be proud. I was proud. Okay?”

During a confessional interview, Star explained why she took the time to build Cedrek up like that. To her eternal credit, Star stated that she simply wanted to help Cedrek feel better about himself and not feel alone and unseen.

“Ced had a hard time in the challenge, and that’s fine. Ced is a good person. He’s a great guy. Now he knows, ‘Somebody sees me. Somebody sees my worth.’ I wanna give him a fresh leaf.”

Based on how genuinely kind Star was to Eva and Cedrek, she seems like the kind of person that everyone should want to have in their lives.