Jeff Probst Defends ‘Survivor 50’ Celebrity Cameos

No one had MrBeast, Zac Brown, Jimmy Fallon, and Billie Eilish showing up in Survivor 50 on their bingo card. Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson and Brown appear in the Survivor 50 trailer, and Fallon and Eilish are just mentioned by name, but all four of the celebrity cameos will have some kind of impact on the game’s structure. The cameos shocked fans upon the Survivor 50 trailer’s release and sparked concerns about how the famous faces would influence the game and viewing experience. After all, Survivor 50‘s theme is “In the Hands of the Fans,” and fans didn’t vote for celebrity cameos. Jeff Probst has now given some context about the move to include these celebrities, saying that they are Survivor fans themselves.

“Once we committed to turning the game design over to the fans, the next question became: ‘How far can we go with this idea!?’” Probst told Variety. “We knew some of Survivor‘s biggest fans happen to be celebrities, so we thought sprinkling a few of them in with their own unique twists felt like a fun way to make the game even more unpredictable! It definitely caught the players off guard in some really exciting ways, and added another layer to this celebratory season.”

Probst explained that the celebrities have been included to test the focus of the 24 castaways. Will they let the novelty of the guest-star appearances affect their thought processes?

“I think it’s a legitimate concern when you start adding layers like celebrities, that they can overshadow the game and take it off course. Our job was to make sure that we stayed true to what we’re doing on Survivor, which is exploring this continuous social experiment. And now we’re adding another layer,” Probst says. “And when you bring in a celebrity like Zac Brown or MrBeast or Jimmy Fallon, you now add idolatry, and you add different perceptions and reputations. Suddenly, people can get off track a little bit, or they lean in, and they want something to do with Jimmy Fallon. A lot of the players said, ‘I’ve always dreamed of being in a MrBeast video.’ So the twist is designed to see if you can stay on course with the thought process you should — or how is it going to shift your thought process, and will it do you in?”

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The cameos are a result of Probst’s personal friendships with the stars, and he said the stars pitched the ideas for their involvement themselves. Fallon is briefly mentioned by Christian Hubicki from David vs. Goliath in the trailer. He says that the late-night host could decide his fate in the game. It’s a vague mention that lacks context to keep things spoiler-free, but it was attention-grabbing. The same goes for the Eilish mention from Rick Devens, who said there was a “Billie Eilish boomerang idol” in the game (sentences are being written that have never been written before).

“With Jimmy Fallon, it was on his show. Jimmy texts me ideas all the time about Survivor, and we put some of them in the show, and we’ve always talked about this idea,” Probst explained of Fallon’s involvement, adding, “I think people will see, when they see these play out, I think they’ll understand these are legit Survivor fans who wanted to be a part of 50.”

What do you think of the celebrity cameos? Are you willing to give them a chance and see if they entertain, or was this a game element that fans should have been able to vote on? Let us know in the comments below.

Beast Games, Season 2 Premiere, Wednesday, January 7, Prime Video

Survivor, Season 50 Premiere, Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 8/7c, CBS