The news that Australian Survivor alum David ‘Golden God’ Genat would be taking over hosting duties from Jonathan LaPaglia this season has been making waves among fans and alumni alike
This article contains spoilers for Survivor: Australia V The World. You’ve been warned.
ICYMI, Genat was revealed as the upcoming Survivor Australia host after being booted from Survivor: Australia V The World in a shock tribal council last night.
“I love Australian Survivor. It truly is the greatest game on earth so getting to come back as host after playing three times is such an honour,” Genat said of the big news.
“But Survivor is not about me; it’s about the incredible players who put everything on the line to outwit, outplay, and outlast.
“I am pumped for the fans to meet the new crop of Survivors next season.”
While Genat has proved himself as a contestant — through his charisma and strategic gameplay, which saw him back on the show three times — the decision to axe LaPaglia, who’s hosted the show since 2016, has fans pissed.
Since then, fans have took to Network 10’s official announcement to vouch for LaPaglia and his legendary place on the show.
“I love David as a player, but much prefer JLP as a host. It’s just too much bad karma what happened to JLP,” one fan wrote.
“I’d much rather see JLP continue to host, he is much more humble and funnier than David,” another commented.
“The fans are not happy. Not a word of feedback from ten on how devastated the fans are about this decision. Never ever bring a player in as host. Good luck,” wrote a third.
Alongside pleas for the return of JLP, fellow Australian Survivor stars took to the comments to defend Genat’s new gig, expressing that he’s the perfect person to take on hosting duties.
“David is a [true] lover of the game. He will do a great job of [sic] host as he understands what makes the game tick. Great news! Loved JLP, but an awesome replacement in the GG. Congrats,” Janine Allis, who’s currently on Survivor: Australia V The Tribe, shared.
“This will be epic! Now we get to see the Golden God every season,” Survivor South Africa‘s Rob Bentele commented.
While it’s not exactly known why JLP had his hosting torch snuffed out by the network, he did reveal that he was informed of the news via a phone call from his manager after rumours surfaced he was informed by email. However, he did express that he was “disappointed” by how it was handled.
“The speculation online was that I received an email. But no, it was a call to my manager in Australia,” LaPaglia told The Watchlist ahead of the premiere of Survivor: Australia V The World.
“I didn’t get a direct call, which, I’ll be honest with you, was disappointing.
“After ten 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 Survivor zaddy has since congratulated Genat on his new role, stating that if he knew the Golden God was becoming host, he would’ve handed the iconic snuffer “like an Olympic relay”.
“Oh well. Good Luck out there, brother. Stay Gold PonyBoy!” LaPaglia wrote in an Instagram Post that was shared on Tuesday.
Again, it truly is a bittersweet reality TV tea, but it’s apparent that Genat will have to pull out all the stops to fill the JLP hole Australian Survivor now has.
You can watch JLP’s last season as host, Survivor: Australia V The World, on Sundays at 7pm and Mondays and Tuesdays at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play.
