Why the 'Survivor' Season 32 Winner Is One of the Most Controversial Sole Survivors

Publish date: 2024-08-06

After 43 seasons, Survivor has had plenty of champions that fans believe shouldn’t have won the game. Viewers of the CBS reality competition series have strong opinions, so it’s difficult for everyone to agree on whether or not a Sole Survivor is “worthy” of the title. And unfortunately for the Survivor Season 32 winner, their triumph is one of the most controversial decisions in the show’s history.

Michele is the winner of ‘Survivor’ Season 32

The producers of Survivor Season 32, aka Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, separated the 18 castaways into three tribes based on their predominant traits — Brains, Brawn, or Beauty.

The season was one of the most brutal games. Three contestants suffered from heat stroke on Day 9, including Caleb Reynolds, who had to be evacuated from the island. And producers later had to medically evacuate two other players, Neal Gottlieb and Joe del Campo, thanks to infections. But in the end, Michele Fitzgerald, Aubry Bracco, and Tai Trang outlasted them all and made it to the Final Tribal Council.

Michele and Tai originated on the Beauty tribe, while Aubry was on the Brains tribe. Aubry was known as a master strategist, while Michele was praised for her social game. The two women each contained qualities that the other was lacking. And since Tai betrayed one of his closest allies and was seen as having erratic gameplay, the jury didn’t consider him when voting for the winner.

Ultimately, the jurors decided that Michele’s ability to form relationships to get her to the end was what they wanted in a Sole Survivor. And during the finale, host Jeff Probst crowned Michele the Survivor Season 32 winner in a 5-2-0 vote, with Aubry getting two votes and Tai receiving none.

Some fans believe that Aubry should have been the ‘Survivor’ Season 32 winner

Following Michele’s victory in Survivor Season 32, many fans declared she wasn’t a deserving winner. Viewers believed Aubry should have been the Sole Survivor because she played a more strategic and complete game. Even host Jeff Probst told Entertainment Weekly, “I think had the audience voted, Aubry wins. I also think had the show been structured differently and the jury could see all the moves that Aubry was making, she wins.”

However, Michele played a fantastic social game. And after Survivor: Kaôh Rōng — Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty, it was clear that many fans disregarded the social aspect of the show.

Michele might have coasted to the merge. But while doing so, she formed relationships with her tribemates. And even after making the merge, Michele continued to build close bonds. There’s no doubt that Aubry would have made a great Sole Survivor, but many fail to give Michele credit.

The only time Michele’s name was written down was when Tai played his extra vote in episode 12. However, his alliance didn’t side with him, meaning Michele was never in danger. And even when Aubry and Tai started to see Michele as a jury threat, she saved herself by winning Immunity Challenges. But even with that, many viewers still think Michele shouldn’t have won Survivor Season 32.

Honestly, one of the biggest problems lies in how Survivor under-edited Michele. But that’s a discussion for another day.

Which other Sole Survivors have been controversial?

Michele is definitely not the only polarizing Survivor winner. As mentioned above, there are 43 seasons of the series, meaning that there are plenty of Sole Survivors fans deem not worthy of their win.

Some of the most controversial Survivor winners are:

Survivor Season 32 is now available to stream on Netflix.

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