Zeke Smith Opens Up About Jeff Varner Outing Him on Survivor: "I Was Really Proud of How I Responded"

See what Zeke just revealed in an interview!

By Jess Cohen Apr 13, 2017 11:57 PMTags

Zeke Smith is opening up about the moment Jeff Varner chose to out him on Survivor: Game Changers.

On Wednesday night's episode, Smith revealed he's transgender after Varner chose to out him in front of everyone.

After the episode aired, Varner took to Instagram to apologize to Smith. "Yep. I did that. And I offer my deepest, most heart-felt apologies to Zeke Smith, his friends and life allies, his family and to all those who my mistake hurt and offended. I recklessly revealed something I mistakenly believed everyone already knew. I was wrong and make no excuses for it. I own responsibility in what is the worst decision of my life."

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Survivor Contestant Zeke Smith Reveals He's Transgender After Fellow Contestant Jeff Varner Outs Him On the Show

On Thursday, Smith appeared on The Talk and explained how Survivor granted him "unprecedented autonomy" in how the outing was handled on the show.

He told the co-hosts, "I've been granted unprecedented autonomy in how I want to tell my story. We started having conversations all the way back in Fiji nine months ago about the care with which this episode was going to be handled."

Smith went on to say that he was "really proud" of how he responded.

"I also thought that by showing what happened maybe it wouldn't happen to someone else and something good could come of it," he said.

Watch the E! News video above to see more updates on this story!