'Survivor'_ Joe & Eva EMOTIONALLY Reflect On Scene That Had Jeff Probst In Tears
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00:00Everyone who has autism should not be ashamed to ask for help
00:04and ashamed to receive it. So, thank you all
00:07for allowing this to happen, allowing him to come and help me
00:10and just supporting me in this.
00:12What has the reaction been like for you guys
00:14since the episode aired? It's been pretty epic.
00:16Yeah. Yeah. For me, I've received so many texts,
00:19so many comments, so many people reaching out
00:22and just telling me stories about them having autism
00:26or their kids having autism. It's just such powerful stuff.
00:29And it's really like every single thing I read
00:31just like touches my heart.
00:32I feel so, so proud to get to represent
00:34such a big, amazing community.
00:36For me, it's kind of surreal
00:37because you get right back into it, right?
00:39First thing I do when I wake up is Jade's like,
00:41my daughter goes, dad, I want my French toast sticks.
00:43My son's like, I want my eggs scrambled.
00:45So, you get right back into mode.
00:46But from what I've had so far, it's been absolutely amazing.
00:49Just close friends and family members
00:51also sharing with me that I didn't know.
00:53I mean, I just had a call from a buddy this morning
00:55talking about his son being autistic
00:57and he was kind of ashamed to say anything
00:59and he saw our moment.
01:00And so, there's a ton of those situations
01:02that already happened that are just a blessing.
01:04It's been amazing.
01:05And were you surprised at all at how viral this went?
01:08Like, what does that impact mean to you both?
01:11For me, I knew that it would be big.
01:13Like, I knew seeing Jeff cry
01:15and knowing how many things he's seen
01:17and that he's been doing this for like my entire life.
01:20Like, he's survivors older than me
01:22and that this is the first time I've seen him
01:24have such a big reaction.
01:26And that just really hit me that like,
01:27wow, this is really powerful stuff.
01:29And like, if it's impacting him in such a way,
01:31like I can only imagine how it's gonna impact other people.
01:34And then seeing that in real time as this came out
01:37and like, I tried to like take a step away,
01:39not go on my phone.
01:40Like, I actually went bowling last night
01:42after the show aired to try to like take a reset
01:46and like get some space with my close friends and family.
01:50But like now everything, seeing so much,
01:53it's like, wow, like it really,
01:54it's so much bigger than I ever expected.
01:57It's been the same.
01:58You know, I think that for me personally,
02:00just how strong Eva is and what she was able to do
02:06kind of on the spot in that situation.
02:10It taking off to me is like, I'm happy,
02:12but I'm also so thankful to just be a part of it.
02:15So it is surreal how it's taken off,
02:19but it's a good thing, right?
02:20I feel like it supports my theory that humanity,
02:24we're all good, you know?
02:25So it's good.
02:26We needed it.
02:26It was good.
02:27Absolutely.
02:28And Eva, like you said, in all 48 seasons,
02:32Jeff hosting Survivor, we've never seen tears like that.
02:37What did that impact mean to you?
02:39Yeah.
02:39Yeah.
02:40I had no idea because I mean, yeah,
02:42like I wasn't alive when this started.
02:43So I'm not the biggest like Survivor nerd,
02:46don't know everything,
02:47but hearing that this is like the first time
02:49that he's like really cried,
02:50I was so amazed and just honored to be that person
02:54that brought him to tears
02:56and tears of joy at that too is so beautiful.
02:59Now, Eva, you bravely explained in the episode,
03:01as we all saw,
03:02that you didn't have the capability in that moment
03:04to ground yourself because you were overstimulated.
03:08Was it frightening for you,
03:10especially because there were so many cameras
03:12capturing that moment?
03:13Honestly, I had grown very accustomed to the cameras.
03:17It's very surprising how quick you get used
03:19to being filmed all the time.
03:20For me, I wasn't aware of the cameras,
03:23the fact that this was gonna be on TV.
03:25I was just so like fixated on this horrible table maze
03:30that I have in my brain,
03:31my mind is just spinning and it's stuck in the cycle.
03:33That's what happens when I get these episodes
03:35is that I just can't get out of this cycle
03:37of being like, what's wrong with me?
03:38Why can't I do this?
03:39What's going on?
03:40And it just was really building and building
03:41and all this pressure,
03:43both that I've put on myself
03:44as well as the situation has put on me,
03:46that if I can't land this last most important ball,
03:50somebody on my tribe is going home and that could be me.
03:52And I just didn't wanna let my tribe mates down.
03:55I didn't wanna let myself down.
03:56And it was really all this just huge pressure
04:00that had built and the stimulus is so huge too
04:04that that second that it's over,
04:06I get even more overwhelmed
04:08because all of a sudden everyone's screaming
04:09and they're jumping and they're excited and it's happy
04:11and they're trying to comfort me,
04:12but they don't understand what's happening.
04:14And it's just so much that my brain is elsewhere.
04:18My brain is gone.
04:18I am ungrounded.
04:20I cannot control myself
04:22and I'm not even aware of the situation.
04:23I'm not aware of what I'm doing.
04:25I just know that like my brain is just going
04:27and going and going.
04:28Now, Joe was the only one that you had kind of confided in,
04:34the only one you told about your autism
04:36and the episodes that you have.
04:38What was it about Joe
04:40that made you have that trust in him?
04:42I knew the second that I met him
04:45when we stepped off those boats
04:46and everybody is first talking to each other
04:48and explaining like where they're from,
04:50what their name is,
04:51like what their family's like, this and that.
04:53And people, they start by saying like what their job is
04:55and all these things, their accomplishments.
04:57But Joe is an extremely accomplished man.
04:59He's done so many great things
05:00and he really is a real world superhero in his work,
05:03in all the things he does.
05:05And instead of listing all these accomplishments
05:07as a firefighter and doing national search and rescue
05:10and his football career from college,
05:12like none of those things were the most important to him.
05:14The first thing he wanted to tell us
05:16was how much he loved his kids,
05:18how amazing of a wife and children
05:20that he had back at home for him
05:22and how proud he was to be a father.
05:24And I could just tell from how he spoke of them
05:28that this was a strong, caring man.
05:30And I knew immediately that this was the person
05:33that I was going to tell.
05:34I knew I wanted to tell someone going into the game
05:36and Joe was 100% the perfect person for that.
05:41Joe, what does it mean to you to hear that?
05:43You know, it's just hard not to get emotional
05:48because I love, even care about her so much.
05:52And in life, right, you just,
05:55you hope that people get to see you for who you really are
06:00and that you make genuine connections in life.
06:03And to hear her say that from a stranger, right?
06:05Like we all were strangers.
06:07To hear that, it just,
06:10it's the most powerful compliment
06:12I've ever received in my life.
06:13So it means a lot to me.
06:15Jeff allowed you to cross tribal lines,
06:18which is not something that happens.
06:20What did you think of him allowing you to do that
06:23and be there for Eva in that moment?
06:25You know, I can't say enough about Jeff.
06:28He's such a wonderful person.
06:29And I just mean that him allowing that to happen, right?
06:33Obviously we're all doing this on the fly.
06:35This is something that's happening in real time.
06:37It's a natural event that who would have known, right?
06:41And even though, even I had discussed, you know,
06:45what she needed, I hadn't seen it.
06:48And so we're all processing this, like,
06:51and she's so tough, she's so talented
06:53that you also don't want to take away, am I overreacting?
06:57Like, is this just something she's working through
06:59because she's a competitor?
07:00So it's also like, hey, she's going to get through this.
07:02This is just her like working through as I would be.
07:06And so you're looking at this, Cusin,
07:08I think that Jeff's ability to sense the moment
07:12and take this chance of like,
07:14hey, I'm going to, I feel this is where it's going.
07:17I'm stuck.
07:18We're all kind of stuck.
07:19And the fact that he allowed me to do that
07:21just speaks of his character too.
07:22And his ability to be so good at what he does.
07:25You know, I wish people could understand
07:27there's so much going on in the moment.
07:29We're in the middle of a competition, you know?
07:30And even though it might seem small to some,
07:33it's not in the game.
07:34And that we tried so hard to be a part of,
07:36to have this person go through this
07:39and have him respond like that without hesitation
07:41just speaks to him.
07:42And I was so grateful that he allowed,
07:44because I was ready 10 minutes before that.
07:47I was like, let's, and I'm so glad it didn't
07:50because she was kicking butt and she did, she did it.
07:53But to allow me to help at the end,
07:56I will never be able to explain
07:59how thankful I am for Jeff for that.
08:01Yeah, I mean, watching you the entire time
08:04looking over at her, you could tell that you just,
08:06you wanted to go over there and help her,
08:08but she did it and then you were there for her
08:10when she needed you.
08:11It was a great moment.
08:13Eva, what does this moment mean for you?
08:17Not only in raising awareness really,
08:19but also giving hope and a sense of relatability
08:22to anybody at home that also has autism
08:25and experiences similar episodes
08:27and maybe doesn't feel seen by it.
08:29Yeah, absolutely.
08:30I mean, I feel that in most mainstream media,
08:33autism is displayed in a very specific way.
08:37And I am very different than what that stereotypical
08:41version of autism is.
08:42I have lived an extremely successful life
08:45where I have achieved great things academically,
08:48I'm getting my PhD, I'm an athlete,
08:50I've had great success in so many ways.
08:53And many people don't even know that I have autism.
08:57And then to see me, someone who many people look up to
09:00and see that I struggle with the same things that they do,
09:04that that's something that I go through
09:06and that I can recover from
09:07and still find success and acceptance,
09:10that I think will mean the world to so many people
09:13because I have certainly never seen any show,
09:18any movie, anything that has shown somebody
09:20having a episode in this way.
09:24And it's so real and it's such a part
09:27of so many people's lives that they go through this.
09:30And now not just people with autism seeing this
09:33and seeing themselves,
09:34but people who know someone who has autism
09:36and seeing this, or even people who don't,
09:39but now they understand more about what autism looks like
09:43and the signs and understanding that like,
09:45this is a thing that people deal with
09:47and that they can get through.
09:48And that I got through it, I did what I needed to do
09:51and that not only did I get through it,
09:53and that not only was I so vulnerable to show this,
09:56but I received so much support when I did
09:59and that people will accept you.
10:00And the entire cast and crew have been so accepting of me
10:04and so understanding and caring.
10:06And I had been worried about that.
10:09Like Joe was the one person I told to begin with
10:11and he had immediately accepted me
10:13and shown me so much love,
10:15but telling everyone else, all these strangers,
10:17people I'd never met out there on other tribes,
10:19them seeing this and hearing these things from me
10:21for the first time,
10:23I was worried, like, what will they think of me?
10:25But not a single person looked at me like I was crazy
10:29or like they pitied me.
10:30They all showed me so much care and respect
10:33and looking around at people I'd never met crying
10:35because they are moved so much by my story.
10:39It's an amazing experience.
10:40And I think it's an amazing thing for other people to see
10:43that you can be accepted,
10:45that autism is not something wrong with you.
10:47And that it is something that you can have success in
10:50and celebrate and that it is just part of who you are.
10:53And that's really the message that I wanna get across.
10:56And then further beyond on that is that Joe,
10:59the way he reacted to me,
11:00that I had told him what I needed
11:03and that he was willing and able to help me.
11:05And that so many people will see that and be like,
11:08I wanna be the Joe for someone else
11:09and that they will look up to him and be like,
11:11how can I be somebody else's superhero like Joe was for me?
11:15The guest essay for Variety that Jeff wrote,
11:19I think there were some really poignant things in there.
11:21Obviously we know that this moment touched him.
11:23I'm gonna read you things that he said
11:25and just get your thoughts on it.
11:26He said that this moment doesn't belong to Survivor,
11:29it belongs to all of us.
11:31And that what followed was one of the most beautiful
11:34and powerful moments he's ever witnessed,
11:36not just as a producer of Survivor, but as a human being.
11:41What are your thoughts on that
11:43and the lessons that people are gonna take from this?
11:46I'm speechless, that coming from him,
11:51it's just simply put,
11:56in order to have the ability to do
11:59what I think are great things,
12:00you have to have the person
12:01that's gonna give you that opportunity.
12:04And Eva was that for me.
12:06I just had some tough things in my life
12:09and things were turning around
12:11and to meet someone like that is a blessing.
12:13So it really starts with her
12:14and had Eva not been willing to tell me,
12:17had she not, or tried to keep it to herself
12:19or chosen someone else like that,
12:22it allowed me to have this connection with her.
12:25And when I hear Jeff say something like that,
12:29I'm so thankful I was able to be a part
12:31of something like that
12:32and that it's gonna help other people.
12:34It's just, that's what living is all about.
12:38So that's really cool.
12:40Yeah, I certainly, I didn't go on to Survivor
12:42with the quest of inspiring people.
12:45I went on to Survivor because I loved the game,
12:47because I was excited by it.
12:48I thought it was an amazing opportunity,
12:50adventure of a lifetime.
12:51And then along the way,
12:53I happened to have this true human experience
12:57and Survivor really is a representation of our lives.
13:01And it's, we make this society,
13:03we build it out there from the people
13:05that we're put in this situation with in the crazy game,
13:08but it's still, it shows our life.
13:11And in this episode, we see that in so many ways.
13:14I think just the entire episode in general,
13:16we see the beautiful conversation at Vula earlier,
13:19which shows the key points of other people's lives
13:22from Shaheen and Joe's backstory of his parents
13:25and the things that Camilla's family went through.
13:28And that that is life.
13:30And then we see my experience later,
13:33and that is my life.
13:34And we're able to capture so many parts
13:36of people's human experiences out there.
13:38And it goes beyond the game in so many ways.
13:41And so getting to be one of those people
13:43that shows my true life and shares that with the world
13:47and that this is something that can help so many,
13:50it is so amazing and is nothing I ever expected
13:53to have in my life.
13:55And Joe, you mentioned your kids on the show
13:59and how you would want someone to do that for your daughter.
14:02Did you get to watch this episode with your family?
14:05What was their reaction?
14:06Yeah, we went to a small event
14:10because we wanted to make sure
14:12that it was just such a moving piece
14:14that all the proceeds of the night
14:16are gonna go to Autism Speaks in honor of Eva.
14:20So once we got home and my daughter was waiting there
14:24and she was super excited
14:26and just wants to watch the challenge
14:28because she wants to see Eva dominate.
14:30And she thinks that the world of Eva.
14:32So that was really cool.
14:33And watching it, it's hard to get out,
14:36but she just, excuse me,
14:42she just said, that's my daddy.
14:44So she was super proud, super proud.
14:47So that's, you know, as a father, like, you know, that's it.
14:53That's the highest point of the mountain you could be at
14:56is feeling your kids be proud of you is like, is gold.
15:03It's just pure gold.
15:04So I'm so thankful that I was able to be in that situation
15:06and help them.
15:07So it was great.
15:08She thinks the world of Eva.
15:10So it was really cool to see her finish it
15:13and then get some help from dad too,
15:15is like, what else do you want?
15:17You know, it's great.
15:19You guys gotta stop making me cry.
15:21I know, I'm crying too.
15:22It's so, oh, so beautiful, Joe.
15:27And Eva, you're home now
15:29because you wanted to watch the episode with your family.
15:31I heard, so what was that like
15:33watching it back with your family?
15:35So my parents are unspoiled.
15:37They don't know what happens in this season.
15:39And so I told them that like,
15:41there was going to be a big autism related incident
15:43in this episode and they were prepared for that,
15:45but them watching the challenge
15:47and I was with my parents, with my sister,
15:49with my amazing boyfriend and one of my best friends.
15:52And every person was showing me so much love and support,
15:57like holding my best friend's hand
15:58and my boyfriend's hand and just squeezing them
16:00as I'm watching this and everybody's crying.
16:03And my parents, like my mom afterwards,
16:05like it was silent for a second.
16:07And then she turns to me, she's like,
16:08I knew you would never give up.
16:09Like, I knew you would push through this.
16:12And they had expected when I said
16:14there was an autism related incident
16:16that it was going to be,
16:17that I wasn't able to finish a challenge
16:19or I had to be pulled out for some reason or another
16:21that it was too much.
16:23And so them having that expectation
16:25and then seeing how I powered through
16:28and that I was able to get to the end
16:30and then how amazingly the situation was handled.
16:33My mom is just dying to meet Joe
16:36and wants to give him the biggest hug in the whole world.
16:39And truly believe that God was with me in that moment
16:43and that God had a plan for me
16:44in that I was given such an amazing guardian angel
16:47in Joe in this game.