Minor spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Survivor.
The Open Era of Survivor is here, with new episodes of the 51st season airing weekly on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription). While some fans have complained about twists, I'm enjoying this season, especially certain characters like Kristin Flickinger. She recently got some backlash after opting out of eating two grubs in the last episode, and took to social media to explain her reasoning.
Folks often wonder about how much money Survivor contestants make, but in any given season there are number of other mysteries. Some fans have been wondering why Kristin let her grubs go free instead of having a chance at winning the Merge Feast, and over on her Instagram she offered some context. In a video she said:
I've studied a lot for a lot of aspects of Survivor and I know where my blindspots are. And one of them is the gross food challenge. I'm a vegetarian, so when you put something in front of me that's alive, that's next level.
I knew it. There was something about Kristin's crunchy vibe that signaled vegetarian to me. While she might have had some meat on a reward or while starving in Fiji, the act of eating a living creature was a step too far. So why compromise her morality when she might still end up losing the challenge and not even getting the merge feast?
Later in her same Instagram video, Kristin spoke more about what was going on in her mind when she decided to opt out of the gross food challenge on Survivor 51. In her words:
So when I saw these guys sitting on this plate in front of me, trying to get away, I was like 'I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do this, but let's think it through' I looked at the side of the plate, it was pretty sharp and I thought 'I could cut their heads off and then try to get them down.' And while I was making that plan I thought 'Wow. It is very unlikely that I'm going to pull this thing off.' So why would I kill creatures in a game of charcuterie that I wasn't gonna win?
Honestly, this makes a ton of sense. Eating something nasty is one thing, but it was another for Flickinger to kill a living creature. What's more, she might not be starving as much as other Survivor players; she was shown having a real understanding about what Fijian wildlife could be used as food. The Merge Feast also ended up being a glorified charcuterie, so I have to assume she wouldn't have eaten any of the cured meets that Brady and others were chowing dow on.
I assumed that Kristin's vegetarianism was at the heart of the matter, some fans were criticizing her decision to opt out of eating the grubs. Some responses from Twitter include:
- "i'm just shocked that kristin, who has been applying for 25 years and apparently learned all the survival skills, didn't even try to eat the grubs lmfao"
- "Kristin is so soft can’t believe she threw out her grubs"
- "Kristin training for years, yet won’t eat a grub??"
To be fair, the grubs weren't part of an actual immunity challenge. That might have motivated Kristin to give it a try, but in the end she was merely competing for one food reward. So it wasn't worth it to sacrifice her morals, especially with the two grubs alive and crawling around on her plate.
While she's gotten some hate online for this decision, Survivor fans have also immortalized Kristin's decision through some solid memes. You can check one out below:
Kristin with her plate of grubs: #Survivor #Survivor51 https://t.co/qxaQKsqYKVNovember 5, 2026
Survivor fans are known for being passionate, and often make the most memorable moment of each new episode into A+ memes. There were a bunch about Kristin refusing to eat the grubs, to hilarious results. We'll just have to wait and see what comes out of the next episode of the Emmy-winning competition series.
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesdays as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Kristin is still arguably my favorite player of the season, so fingers crossed she makes it deep into the game.
