This article contains spoilers for ‘Survivor 45’ through episode 4, which aired Oct. 18 2023 via CBS and Paramount Plus.
CBS’s Survivor is designed to test the physical, mental, and emotional resilience of its castaways. Whether they’re battling Fijian monsoons or scrounging for a bite to eat, players are pushed to their limits — and sometimes past them.
There have been several examples of contestants quitting the game and ending their pursuit of the $1 million grand prize. They likely started the game without considering they’d get to the point of flushing their reality competition dreams down the toilet. But, it happens.
And so far, we’ve seen two players on Survivor 45 throw in the towel. Hannah Rose derailed her game during the first episode and Sean Edwards pleaded to be voted out on episode 4.
Two people intentionally ending their games has some people asking: Can you vote for yourself in Survivor?
Remember, a player typically never wants to see their name written on a piece of parchment host Jeff Probst pulls out of the voting urn — that means they had a vote cast against them, and if they have the most at a given Tribal Council, they’re gone (unless they pull out some sort of game-saving advantage).
Well, in the 23 years that Survivor’s aired on CBS, no one has ever voted for themselves. It’s against the rules and has been from the get-go.
Players that want to self-eliminate must do it in other ways besides writing their own name down
Just because a contestant can’t vote themselves off of the island, doesn’t mean they can’t self-eliminate. Let’s refer to Hannah and Sean for examples.
During Survivor 45’s first Tribal Council, Hannah looked at her five fellow Lulu tribemates (including Sean) and told them she was done while also alluding to leaving the game whether or not she was voted out that night. She forced the contestants’ hands, and because it was so clear that Hannah was heading to Ponderosa either way, Jeff asked if the rest of Lulu unanimously agreed to send her packing.
They did, and without holding a vote, Jeff snuffed Hannah’s torch.
Then, a few episodes later, Sean wanted his Survivor experience to end as well. After the season’s first tribe swap, Sean found himself at his fourth consecutive Tribal Council. This time, he was sitting with five new tribemates. Although he knew a plan was hatched to blindside “Sifu” Alsup, Sean asked his peers to eliminate him, citing his revelation that his dream was to be beside his husband as much as possible, not playing the social strategy game.
This time, the players all took a turn at the urn. And as Sean asked for, the majority of his tribemates wrote his name down which led to his exit.
Regardless, players have the option to quit whenever, wherever. For example, Colton Cumbie dropped out of the game while spectating a Redemption Island challenge during season 27’s Blood vs. Water. Mixed martial artist Bi Nguyen removed herself from the game right before a tribe swap after stating she didn’t want her knee injury to get any worse.
Whatever the reason is, fans feel fairly sour toward quitters. And luckily, the rule not allowing people to vote for themselves has likely deterred some former castaways from ejecting themselves from the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.