Elizabeth Beisel issued an apology for her controversial conduct on an episode of “Survivor” where she and another contestant, Missy Byrd, played up charges of inappropriate touching against another player for strategic advantage.
The three-time Olympian issued a statement on Twitter about the situation.
“If you are reading this, I am assuming you have watched the most recent episode of Survivor and are looking for answers,” Elizabeth Beisel wrote in the statement. “After watching the episode, my eyes were opened to a completely different truth, and I received an abundance of information that I was entirely unaware of while playing the game.
“To Kellee. I was sick to my stomach watching the episode and seeing how much pain you were in,” she continued. “I wholeheartedly apologize to you for using your accusations against Dan for gameplay.”
The full apology is below.
On the show, Kellee Kim told bird that another contestant, Dan Spilo, a Hollywood agent, touched her inappropriately even after she told him to stop.
During Wednesday’s tribal council meeting on the show, Elizabeth Beisel and Byrd talked about Spilo making them uncomfortable.
But Kim was voted off the island on the show and Beisel and Byrd admitted to creating their stories for competitive advantage.
Elizabeth Beisel is a three-time Olympian, competing in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 games for the U.S. In 2012, she won the silver medal in the 400 IM and a bronze in the 200 back in London.
She competed collegiately for Florida and last competed a the 2017 World Championships.
She is not the first Olympic swimmer to appear on the show. Katrina Radke appeared on the show in 2017. She was an Olympian in 1988.
Swimmers have been on other reality TV shows, most notably Natalie Coughlin on Dancing With the Stars and Ryan Lochte on Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing With the Stars and his own show in 2013, What Would Ryan Lochte Do?
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