‘Survivor’ Contestant Kellee Kim Reacts To Dan Spilo’s Issued Apology

Published on December 18, 2019.
Brittany R

Survivor contestant Kellee Kim has spoken out against Dan Spilo after he issued a public apology to her.

Shortly after Spilo released an apologetic statement to PEOPLE on Tuesday, Kim, who previously accused the 48-year-old Hollywood talent agent of inappropriate touching on the show, reacted to his apology on Twitter.

“It‘s curious that Dan has decided to publicly apologize to me — and just me — on the eve of the #Survivor39 finale for a series of inappropriate incidents that occurred months ago and impacted a number of women on set,” she tweeted.

“I truly hope that some of this self reflection is real and that Dan changes his behavior going forward,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet. “For me, this statement only underscores the responsibility of CBS and Survivor to take action to prevent anything like this from ever happening again in the future. #Survivor.”

Spilo was removed from Survivor on day 36 after an incident in which he touched a female crew member’s leg as he was getting into a transport boat back to camp – only weeks after Kim accused him of inappropriately touching her.

His public apology statement read, “I am deeply sorry for how my actions affected Kellee during the taping of this season of Survivor. After apologizing at the tribal council when I first learned that Kellee still felt uncomfortable, I want to make sure I do so again, clearly and unambiguously.”

“I truly regret that anyone was made to feel uncomfortable by my behavior,” Spilo continued. “In my life, I have always tried to treat others with decency, integrity and kindness. I can only hope that my actions in the future can help me to make amends and show me to be the kind of father, husband, colleague and friend that I always aim to be.”

His public apology is the first time Spilo has broken his silence since his removal from the show. Sources close to the Hollywood talent agent said that he had planned to address the incident during the show’s live finale, but he was later not permitted to attend the show.

Earlier in the season, Kim expressed her worries that Spilo had violated her personal space when he touched her hair, arms and legs, even after several requests asking the Hollywood talent agent to stop. She was then voted off the island after she raised her issues with other players.

Producers of the show then pulled each contestant aside to discuss the matter – many of the players now state that the warnings were so unspecific that none of them understood the severity of the concern.

Regarding the incident that led to Spilo’s removal, multiple sources have said that he insisted that the contact was inadvertent and unintentional as he lost his balance while attempting to get into the boat. However, the show’s production team thought otherwise about the incident. After the team contacted the show’s legal team, producers removed Spilo from the show shortly after.

The season finale and pre-taped reunion show of Survivor will air on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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