Black 'Survivor' Alums Call Out The Show For Racial Stereotypes
Ramona Gray Amaro is opening up about the treatment of Black contestants on Survivor.
During an interview with NPR, Ramona and other Black contestants spoke about their experiences on the show and she specifically remembered how she was the first Black woman on the competition series.
“We can’t swim…we butt heads, we’re athletic, but maybe not smart and strategic,” she recalled of the stereotypes the Black contestants were labeled as. “I’m just saying, ‘Do right by us.”
Ramona also recalled that as she was labeled as lazy on the show, when in reality she was very dehydrated.
“I became the lazy person, which is the furthest thing from the truth,” she says. “That really upset me, and it took me a long time to get over it. …To realize, we signed our life away. They can do whatever they want to do.”
Ramona, along with many other Black contestants have advocated for the show to put changes in place.
Their requests include to hire more people of color both in front of and behind the scenes, enforce a zero tolerance policy for racist acts, and avoid creating storylines for non-white contestants that play to racial stereotypes, among others.
Earlier this month, another reality series was called out by one of their own for not representing Black people.