Joe Hunter is a caretaker by nature. As a fire captain, he's responsible for the lives of not only the people he rescues, but his entire team. As a father, he looks after the well-being of both of his children. But he had no anticipation for the role he would play in his tribemate Eva Erickson's time on Survivor 48.
Eva is the first openly autistic contestant in the CBS reality show's history. But, worrying her lack of social cues could be used against her, she chose not to initially tell anyone about it, with one exception. In the season premiere, she pulled Joe aside, revealing her autism diagnosis. Additionally, she told him that she would occasionally get overstimulated, leading to "episodes." In that moment, she asked for his help in consoling her through those times to get regulated again, to make her feel like herself again. And, dutifully, Joe processed everything he could, ready to be there for Eva 100%.
"I have made a decision," he says in a confessional. "She's with me. I got her. That was meant to be. Even if, whatever comes of that, or why that happened, I'm not gonna let her down. Even if that hurts my game, whatever. If I gotta go home early, I'm not gonna let her down."
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Neither Joe nor Eva, though, would realize that moment would come in the way it did. During the Episode 5 Immunity Challenge, a tense showdown put Eva on the spotlight, having to navigate a difficult table maze. As the tension mounted, so did her frustration, as she sounded on the verge of bursting into tears. All Joe could do was stand on the next mat over, encouraging his closest ally softly to push through.
Luckily, Eva was able to, sparing her tribe a trip to Tribal Council. But the lead-up to that moment prompted an episode. While she was embraced by her tribemates, she began to breathe heavily and sob. Joe could only stand helplessly, watching her struggle. That is, until Jeff Probst gave him the permission to cross tribal lines and help her.
In that moment, Joe used everything he had learned a mere week ago and put it into practice. He grabbed her tightly, alternating between squeezes and grabbing her hands. He quietly shushed her, giving her words of affirmation.
"You’re in a safe place," he told her. "See you on the other side."
It was an incredible scene, one that prompted a deep dive into the post-challenge "mat chat." When Joe was asked by Probst as to why he put a very tight relationship on display for his competition, he replied that this moment wasn't about the game. He wanted to show his kids the man he was, and the people they can be, even in moments of intense competition. "That’s what I do, and that’s who I am”
Eva, in turn, decided to disclose her autism to the rest of the cast. She was commended and supported immediately, with several people on the brink of tears. And that includes Probst, who lauded the moment as one of the few in Survivor history that transcends the game, and speaks to a larger moment in society.
While Eva was not available to speak with Parade, we did get the opportunity to talk with Joe about his first reaction when Eva disclosed her autism to him, managing that responsibility in the game, and how everything post-challenge went down.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 48
So let's go back to when Eva discloses to you about her autism. What was your initial reaction, considering these are the very early stages of the game?Obviously happening real time you're trying to process everything. It's such a real moment that I have always kind of dreamed of. Those moments right where you go, "Hey, I love helping people and being there for people." And it's not just an act. And so when somebody is that vulnerable, it's such a rare thing, especially the older you get. In life, you realize that the world can be pretty rough at times, and you have loss, and times can get really hard. And so when you have someone that's just being genuine, that's saying, "Hey, here is who I really am in a game that's built around deception and and lies and all these things." To have this thing kind of put at your feet, of like, "Hey, here's this gift." It was kind of surreal, to be honest with you. It's like, "Whoa. This is outside of the game. And I'm honored." So it was heavy, to be honest.Had you had any experience with someone on the spectrum before? Because I imagine when she's immediately telling you how to help her when she has an episode, it's a lot to take in to make sure you do it right.Right. And you step back and go, "Wow. Is this above my pay grade? This is so heavy that I don't want to mess it up. What do I do?" And I think people got to remember in the moment, I'm so intensely listening to her, because I truly am processing like, "Okay, I don't know what to do. And another thing is, I don't know what this is going to look like. Does it come up in subtle ways? And so I think what I would like to explain too, is I was constantly watching her at the tribe swap. Because is it like, "Hey, Joe, it's starting?" Or is it, am I supposed to just kind of key in on some of these things and go, "There it is," and then act? Because what if I'm wrong and I do this at the wrong time, and then everybody now knows? So I had never dealt with anything like this before, and I just wanted to make sure I didn't mess it up. The tough thing about this is that you have to manage this relationship and this information while also playing this cutthroat game, especially when you were involved in a majority alliance separate from Eva. What was it like negotiating all those elements on Lagi?Thank you for that question, because it's hard to explain sometimes. But this is my best way to kind of recreate my headspace. When I had said in one of the confessionals, this changed everything for me. And it was subtle. But it really did, and here's why. You might have a way of like, "Hey, if I ever play this game, there's some basic things I'm going to do." When I got that placed in my hands, I was behind the camera there. And my brain is thinking, "Okay, you literally have a choice to make right now. Because I don't see how you not honor this gift, and to honor it and be 100% devoted to this person. Now you're basically saying, 'Hey, this is where I'm at. This is what I'm going to do." California Girls, all that, fine. Bbut at the end of the day, what I'm saying then is I have to hold on to this as number one. And there will be consequences from that, period. And I think when everybody makes those decisions out there, [when they pick] an alliance, that's no different. I just made that decision, and it was real. Now, granted, you can play out the what if game. But in the moment, I was like, "Okay, whatever consequences come of this, the risk, it's worth it."So let's get to the reason we're talking today. Because you looked throughout the end of that challenge like you were ready to just jump in and help Eva. How helpless did you feel in that moment? And did you expect Jeff to allow you to go comfort her?Man, like I've always told you, these questions. You're good at what you do, my man, I'm telling you. Oprah will be calling you, I guarantee it, like, "Hey, back off!" So here's what it is. In the moment, what really was going through my head was I'm just thinking about Eva. She's also such a competitor. She is awesome, and she's talented. So I knew she's probably, to me, the best challenge beast out there, of all of us. And I'm thinking she's going to be okay. And as it's unfolding, I'm trying to process is, where's the competitive edge of like, "Man, this just isn't going well," versus this episode that she's spoken about. I have no reference point. And I'm mainly just hurt because she's hurting. Whether it's a moment of hers, or she's just sad about the challenge, or both, I'm intently watching for, "There it is." I'm maybe looking for the things she said. But her hands are occupied, so I can't tell what's going on. But I can hear the pain in any human being. Come on. Anyone outside the game or in the game, no one wants to see another person suffer. We all joke about this person might be the most hated, but no one wants to see someone suffer. And nobody on that tribe or that game wanted to see her suffer. And so I'm watching in this, and it's brutal. And in no way did I think I was going to get the opportunity. Because then what if I'm wrong and go over there and then expose her, and it hurts her? And I hate to say it, but you're so trained out there, it's like you're not allowed to. It's tough. I didn't have that script. I mean, hindsight, right? But I definitely did not think it would escalate, and I did not think he would give me the opportunity.So obviously you work in emergencies all the time. And this is a bit of apples and oranges compared to your day-to-day. But when you do get the opportunity to console Eva, was it similar in being able to walk into the situation with a calm head and go through what she taught you?In work, I mean, yes, like the fire service helps you in terms of you have to make split second decisions. But this really was outside of that. Maybe everything we've done in our lives always helps you in these moments. But the interaction with her and being able, being able to launch in...[Gets emotional.] You see, in other human beings, genuinely hurting, it's like, how do you not act? You want to fix it. You just want their pain to immediately end. Because we've all been in pain, all of us. And when you're in pain like that, you just want it to stop. So in that moment, it was just make it stop for her, get her back to base. And everything she had taught me to do, it was like, do it. And all I'm doing is trying to talk through just everything we talked about. It was like, "It's time. It's time Joe. Right now is the time to go."Even through that moment, I'm not sure you expected Eva to then tell everyone about her autism. What was that like for you to watch her open up about something you were privy to several days ago?Well, it even starts before that. Because when Jeff pitches it to me, like, "Hey, how do you feel?" what's really difficult in that moment is I'm kind of like, "What do I say?" Do I bust her out, or is she just going to roll through this? So I kind of give this its truth about my kids, but it's wrapped around her. So I just kind of left it with like, "Hey, I'm speechless, and I would want someone to help." Which is true, but I'm dancing around the fact. Thank goodness he pitched it to her. And when she took it, it overwhelmed me. I was so proud of her. And it wasn't even like, "What are you doing?" It was like, "Good. We're here. After that, you gotta let this out." And I was so proud of her and the way she spoke. I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. I was so impressed with just such a special human being. I mean, who has to go through that and with the fear of maybe yourself being seent? And no one I can think of has had that taped. And then to speak of it, that's why she's such a wonderful person. Jeff spoke about it on the mat about how there are moments like this that speak outside of the game. And I'm sure you even felt that in that moment. We're a little over 12 hours removed from the episode airing. What has been your reaction to the response that scene has gotten?That's a great thought. I'm still processing all of it, to be honest. Because, life of a dad. This morning, it's like, "Dad, I want my french toast sticks. I want scrambled eggs. Clean this up, laundry, off to work". And so there's an element of this that you don't really do a deep thought dive. And all of a sudden you start realizing, "Wow, this is having a bigger impact." And so it's a little surreal. But what's really cool is that it affected my daughter in such a positive way. She looks up to Eva, and she sees herself in Eva. And so it's really cool to see that. They just get to see real humans being good humans, in my mind. It strips it all down to that. And so the impact outside of the game, it's affected my family personally, which is just so cool.I also know you said in another interview you had raised some money for Autism Speaks through a viewing party you held last night. So you were able to take a bit of what you directly had a hand in on-island and extend it off the island as well.Without a doubt. And that's exactly it. And I wasn't sure if I was going to speak of that, but I wanted to encourage people to do the same as kind of the thing I thought of. It was more, not spur of the moment, but it was like, "You know what? Let's take one of these events and just go, 'Hey, if you can donate, donate." Outside of the game, it's like, who would have thought that we're here in just this little moment? I mean, in just in terms of speaking of autism and then realizing the impact of that. I mean, who would have thought, when you sign up for Survivor, that you get this wonderful opportunity to interwoven complicated issues of life that surface in the show as they should. And being a part of it is just awesome.
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