Dan Spilo is breaking his silence about his controversial time onSurvivor: Island of the Idols— and apologizing that his actions made other contestants feel uncomfortable.
Spilo, a 48-year-old Hollywood agent, wasremoved from the gameon day 36 after an incident in which he touched a female producer’s thigh as he was getting into a transport boat — weeks after he was accused of inappropriately touching contestant Kellee Kim.
“I am deeply sorry for how my actions affected Kellee during the taping of this season of Survivor,” Spilo writes in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE. “After apologizing at the tribal council when I first learned that Kellee still felt uncomfortable, I want to make sure I do so again, clearly and unambiguously.”
It’s the first time that Spilo has spoken out since his ouster from the show. Sources close to Spilo tell PEOPLE that he had planned to address the controversy during the show’s live finale, butwas later uninvitedfrom the show.
Kellee Kim and Dan Spilo.Robert Voets/CBS (2)
Producers pulled each contestant aside to discuss the issue — but some players now say that the warnings were so unspecific that no one understood the severity of the issue.
“It was just a very vague blanket statement telling me if I ever felt unsafe, I should let production know,” contestant Aaron Meredith toldParade. “There was never any indication that something was going on or that someone had issues.”
As for the incident that led to his removal, according to multiple sources, Spilo insisted that the contact was inadvertent and accidental as he lost his balance while trying to get into the boat. But the show’s production team wasn’t convinced that the contact was merely incidental. After consulting with the show’s legal team, producers removed him from the competition.
CBS is not providing additional comment at this time.
The season finale ofSurvivorairs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
source: people.com
