Paramount Scrambles to Rein in Trump-Bashing CBS Star
“CBS has spent the last year making a series of choices that tell you exactly who they are and what they value,” she said.
Paramount Skydance is scrambling after a former Survivor contestant publicly attacked CBS’s MAGA turn.
Eliza Orlins, 43, a public defender who competed twice on the hit show Survivor, has been critical of the Trump-aligned direction CBS has taken since the network came under the control of Trump ally David Ellison.
In a video released Sunday, the former contestant criticized the network’s actions over the past year, noting that the selection of pro-Trump contestants for the landmark 50th season of Survivor—which will feature 24 returning players—signals that the network is “choosing a side” politically.
The former 'Survivor' contestant criticised CBS for its MAGA turn.
Robert Voets/CBS
“CBS has spent the last year making a series of choices that tell you exactly who they are and what they value,” Orlins said.
The former CBS star went on to criticize several network decisions, including the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, who has been highly critical of Trump, and Colbert’s own recent rebuke after CBS refused to air his interview with a rising Democrat.
Orlins also highlighted actions by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss—appointed following Ellison’s takeover—who abruptly canceled a 60 Minutes segment about an El Salvador megaprison that houses deportees sent there under President Donald Trump, 79.
David Ellison’s Skydance Media officially completed its merger with Paramount Global in August, 2025.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“CBS is not being neutral here; they are actively rehabilitating and platforming certain people,” Orlins said, citing the inclusion of fellow Survivor contestant LaGrossa Kendrick, 46, in the 50th season.
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Kendrick made a video last summer containing anti-Semitic remarks about Orlins, after Orlins published an exposé titled “The Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick Files: MAGA, Misinformation, and Deleted Receipts,” which detailed Kendrick’s support for Trump.
Following their fallout, Paramount requested a meeting with Orlins, suggesting that she had violated rules around trademarked branding and phrases in her article, and warning that her posts were harming other contestants, according to Semafor.
“I’ve already heard the response, keep politics out of Survivor, but I need you to understand how dishonest that framing is," Orlins said in Sunday’s video, adding that “the show has always been a reflection of American society.”
In December, the season finale of Survivor’s 49th season was delayed to air the president’s address to the nation, much to the frustration of the show’s fans.
“They are choosing a side, and they are using your viewership to launder that choice,” Orlins said about the network and the show she once starred on.
The Daily Beast has contacted Paramount Skydance and CBS for comment.
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