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Phillip Sheppard claimed Survivor was unfairly stacked to ensure Boston Rob won Redemption Island

Phillip Sheppard claimed Survivor was unfairly stacked to ensure Boston Rob won Redemption Island

Strong points

  • According to Phillip Sheppard, Boston Rob had an unfair advantage and the game was rigged for him to win Redemption Island.
  • Sheppard confronted the production team about favoritism towards Boston Rob, concluding that he couldn’t beat him.
  • Although he felt the game was rigged, Sheppard maintained that his relationship with Boston Rob was real and built on trust and friendship.

When new Survivor fans start watching the show, they should understand two things pretty quickly. Those two things are which seasons of Survivor they should watch first and what it takes for contestants to win a season.

If a survivor does not suffer a serious injury, they will have to overcome difficulties such as being called by other players to reach the end. Even though a surviving player can outwit, outlast, and outplay, some winners are very controversial. According to Phillip Sheppard, Boston Rob should be a controversial winner since he won after gaining an unfair advantage.

This article will reveal what the survivor Phillip Sheppard talked about Boston Rob winning Redemption Island because he had an advantage. Next, the article will examine if Sheppard believed his relationship with Boston Rob was real.

Phillip Sheppard Thinks He’s a Survivor: Redemption Island Was Rigged for Boston Rob Mariano to Win

When Survivor’s 22nd season began, most fans of the long-running reality show were focused on one thing. Who would last longer during the season, Boston Rob Mariano or Russell Hantz?

As anyone familiar with Survivor history probably knows, Hantz certainly did not prevail in his feud against Boston Rob. After all, Hantz was the second player eliminated during the season and Boston Rob won the Sole Survivor title.

During Boston Rob’s time competing in the 22nd season, titled Redemption Island, he formed a particularly notable relationship. Boston Rob has become a particularly close ally of his compatriot, Phillip Sheppard. Despite their close bond, Sheppard later expressed his opinion that the season was rigged for Boston Rob to win.

Phillip Sheppard claimed Survivor was unfairly stacked to ensure Boston Rob won Redemption Island
By: CBS

In January 2021, Sheppard was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly years after competing on Survivor. During the resulting conversation, Sheppard reflected on his time on Survivor: Redemption Island.

At the end of Survivor: Redemption Island, Boston’s Rob Mariano won with a dominant 8-1-0 vote. Phillip Sheppard was the runner-up after receiving one vote and Natalie Tenerelli came in third place after not receiving a vote to win at the final tribal council.

In the part of the interview in which Sheppard talked about this season, he was quick to express that Boston Rob was destined to win. In fact, the very first thing Sheppard said about the season was that Boston Rob had a huge advantage.

“I arrived on the island and within a short time I felt the show was against me. Boston Rob, who ultimately won the show, was a multi-season player who had an unfair advantage.

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Sheppard then explained why he quickly realized that Boston Rob was likely to win the season. As Sheppard explained, other people their tribe admired Boston Rob so much that he had a lot of control.

For big Survivor fans, the idea that Boston Rob’s Redemption Island tribesmen looked up to him is pretty obvious. However, Sheppard went further than that. As Sheppard also explained, he felt that The Survivor production team also had an obvious affection for Boston Rob..

“Everyone in our tribe and on production was already in love with him and the season was ready for him to win.”

Survivor's Phillip Sheppard Seems Interested
By: CBS

From there, Sheppard explained how he reacted when he realized everyone around him looked up to Boston Rob. According to Sheppard, he actually confronted the Survivor production team about his role as a favorite with Boston Rob..

Which players are in the Survivor Hall of Fame, based on the year they were inducted?

  • Parvati Shallow, Rob Mariano, Russell Hantz, Richard Hatch and Sandra Diaz-Twine (2010)
  • Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth and Tom Westman (2011)
  • Amanda Kimmel, Rob Cesternino and Ethan Zohn (2012)
  • Kim Spradlin, John Cochran and Jonny Fairplay (2013)
  • Jerri Manthey, Coach Wade and Rudy Boesch (2015)
  • Tony Vlachos, Tina Wesson and Rupert Boneham (2016)
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Although Sheppard doesn’t elaborate on how the production team reacted when confronted with this, he makes it sound like things didn’t turn out the way he hoped.

After all, Sheppard states that after this confrontation, he concluded that Boston Rob was going to win the season. Keep in mind, Sheppard says this confrontation only took place a few days after the recording from Survivor: Redemption Island.

“On the third day, I confronted production about it. At that moment I realized that if I couldn’t beat Boston Rob.

Survivor's Phillip Sheppard, Boston's Rob Mariano, Andrea Boehlke, Ashley Underwood and Natalie Tenerelli laugh
By: CBS

For most fans who watched Survivor: Redemption Island, it will be fascinating to learn what Sheppard told Entertainment Weekly. After all, on the show, it often seemed like Sheppard was one of the members of Boston Rob’s tribe who admired him the most.

However, keeping in mind what Sheppard later told Entertainment Weekly will make more sense. After all, Sheppard told this outlet that once he knew Boston Rob was going to win, he decided to root for him to make sure it lasts a long time.

“I now had to play a different game: How do I get him to keep ME in the game? The night after losing a challenge, I went to him and shared something my mother had taught me: “20% of something is better than a lot of nothing.” »

Phillip Sheppard said his relationship with Boston Rob Mariano was real even though he thought the game was rigged

Most of the time, when Survivors come on the show, they dream of winning $1 million and the title of Sole Survivor. As a result, most players would full of resentment if they came to believe a season was rigged for the benefit of a survivor.

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Even though Phillip Sheppard said Survivor: Redemption Island was rigged for Boston, Rob Mariano claimed their relationship on the island was real. While speaking to TV Guide in 2011, Sheppard explained that her relationship with Boston Rob was genuine.

“It was an honest relationship. He absolutely knew he could trust me.

It’s also worth noting that during that same 2011 TV Guide interview, Sheppard was consistent with his 2021 Entertainment Weekly interview. After all, Sheppard also expressed in 2011 that Boston Rob was nearly impossible to defeat during Redemption Island. “Rob was invincible unless someone in his immediate group took a big step forward.”

Survivor's Phillip Sheppard speaking to Boston's Rob Mariano
By: CBS

Shortly after these two comments, Sheppard spoke out again about his relationship with Boston Rob. As Sheppard explained to TV Guide, he believed he had a true friendship with Boston Rob it meant they would be there for each other.

“So Boston Rob and I formed a real relationship that I think will go beyond the game. A friend in the sense that if I needed to pick up the phone and call him for something and vice versa .