Jonathan LaPaglia has clarified some of the details surrounding his shock axing as the host of Australian Survivor, weeks after he was unceremoniously dumped from the show ahead of its 2026 season.
ICYMI, LaPaglia — who has fronted Survivor since 2016 — was given the boot from the reality show in June, immediately sending the Aussie TV landscape into a tizzy.
From LaPaglia’s own shady announcement post to social media comments he ‘liked’ about his rumoured replacement David Genat, the entire ordeal was rife with speculation, helped along by insiders who claimed to be across the details of his axing.
Now, however, LaPaglia has come forward to clear the air, speaking with The Watchlist to debunk some rumours and reflect on where he’s at in the weeks since the fiasco made headlines.
In particular, LaPaglia refuted the rumour he was fired over email, revealing he was actually informed of the decision via his manager.
“The speculation online was that I received an email. But no, it was a call to my manager in Australia,” LaPaglia said.
“I didn’t get a direct call, which, I’ll be honest with you, was disappointing.”
While the specifics of the firing may have been murky, LaPaglia did admit that he was completely blindsided by the move, which insiders echoed at the time.
“After 10 years of helming their flagship show, it would have been nice to get a direct call from the people at the top, but I didn’t,” the former host said.
Elsewhere in the interview, LaPaglia acknowledged that Channel 10 might’ve been unimpressed with the bombshell Instagram post he shared about his exit, which contained the swipe that the network’s decision to fire him “hurts like a bitch”.
“I’m sure the network wasn’t happy,” LaPaglia said of the post, “but I’ve always been honest with the audience, and I think that’s part of what they appreciate about me”.
“Honestly, that’s who I am, and maybe that’s why I’m in this position, because I am a little too honest about stuff, and maybe I’m not very good at playing the game.”
Thankfully, we’ll still get to see LaPaglia on screens for one last Survivor hurrah when the upcoming season, Australia vs The World, premieres tonight.
“If you’re going to be dispatched as host of Australian Survivor, this is the one season that it should happen … because this is the one season that all the fans have been screaming for years [to see],” LaPaglia said.
Screaming is right, but for me it’s both in excitement and anger!
Lead image: Jonathan LaPagliaInstagram
