Is Survivor's Russell Hantz Guilty of Revealing Spoilers?

It seems like Russell Hantz is always looking for the limelight. Hantz became famous when he appeared on Survivor: Samoa and set out to be the most ruthless and famous villain ever to play the game. From burning co-players socks to dumping out their drinking water he did all kinds of nasty things to keep the drama stirred up on the island. After losing Survivor: Samoa, mainly because he has no social game in my opinion, Hantz was invited back by CBS producers to participate in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains where he butted heads with a more famous villain, Boston Rob. (Read more here) Hantz will again participate in the game of Survivor on the upcoming Survivor: Redemption Island where he will get a second chance to go head-to-head against Boston Rob. (Read more here)

Being sneaky and conniving is all a part of the game of Survivor, but Hantz is proving that he can't be trusted in real life either. Jim Early, a message board commentator for Survivor on a website called Survivor Sucks, has let it be known to The Daily Beast that Hantz is guilty of leaking spoilers and other secret information about the game. Executive producer and Survivor creator Mark Burnett's DJB Inc. sued Early in December 2010 for releasing insider information and prematurely publishing the names of eliminated contestants participating in Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, the two Survivor seasons in which Hantz has been a participant.

After being sued, Early let it be known that Hantz was the one providing him the insider information via e-mails and phone calls. Early was able to back up his claims by producing the original e-mails for The Daily Beast where in one it was specified the elimination order of two Samoa contestants.

"He just started coming out and telling me what happened: who was leaving, who won challenges," Early said. "All I had to do was pick up the phone and say 'hello' and I had anything I wanted."

Early says he revealed Hantz to be his source for spoilers "because of his attitude about the whole thing, and because Russell tried to implicate another player as the leak, an innocent player, who wasn't giving information."

Because of his cooperation the charges against Early have been dismissed, but it is unclear whether any charges will be brought against Hantz. But why shouldn't charges be brought against him? It has already been proven that he broke his contract with Survivor. A Survivor cast members' contracts state that players aren't allowed to reveal the elimination of contestants nor any of the winners. The penalty for violating these rules is "liquidated damages" of $5 million. Hantz can be evil and conniving in the game of Survivor and get away with it, but he shouldn't be given a free pass in the real world.

All Hantz has to say is, "If you love the game, you won't go to spoiler sites. Like who really wants to know who wins the Super Bowl before you watch it play out? Don' t be a retard, just watch it play out and you will like what you see."

Did he just call you a retard? Yes he did if you frequent Survivor spoiler boards.

Hantz, who finished second in Samoa, and third in Heroes vs. Villains, is set to play the game a third time on Survivor: Redemption Island which begins on Wednesday, February 16 @ 8/7c on CBS.

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DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION

Sources:

Andy Dehnart, Survivor Spy Exposed, The Daily Beast

Survivor Sucks Message Board

CBS/Survivor