At what point is it OK to spoil the outcome of a reality TV show? It’s not an exact science. But as Billy Gil learned this week, the answer is at least more than one day.
During Thursday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Gil was discussing his TV-watching habits, which include catching up on the World Series and Hard Knocks. One show that the longtime Le Batard Show producer is actually up to date on, however, is Survivor, which wrapped up its 45th season on Wednesday night.
Despite the show’s finale being merely hours old, Gil opted to announce the winner of the season to Le Batard’s unsuspecting audience. We won’t repeat the winner’s name, but Gil did add that he or she secured victory thanks to “an incredible bada** move.”
“This is all spoiler alerts for anyone that still watches Survivor,” Gil, who was dressed like Brick Tamland from Anchorman, noted after having already shared most of the finale’s details.
While Gil’s comments seemed to indicate that he didn’t believe there was much crossover between the audiences for The Dan Le Batard Show and Survivor, he was apparently wrong. Not only that, but it appears that a sizable portion of that group watches the show on delay and was disappointed to have the ending to the season spoiled by Gil.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) after the show, Gil apologized.
“PSA: I’m sorry I spoiled the Survivor finale,” Gil wrote while reposting a fan who was clearly upset with him for spoiling the show.
PSA: I’m sorry I spoiled the Survivor finale. https://t.co/6CjBsB51ZL
— Billy Gil (@billygil) December 21, 2023
Based on the replies to his post, as well as the comments on a thread on the Le Batard Show Reddit page about Gil’s untimely spoiler, there are still more Survivor fans out there than you might think. And many of them are watching on delay.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.