For the past several seasons (not a Jelinsky several), a hallmark of Survivor has been the Sia Prize — the money that superfan Sia would dole out to her favorite player or players at the end of each season. But now, as season 46 came to an end, host Jeff Probst has announced that the Sia Prize has too concluded.
“After eight years, 14 seasons, 19 players and over $1,000,000 awarded, Survivor is officially bringing the Sia Prize to a triumphant end!” he shared on his Instagram Story. “Over the many years, Sia has brought so much joy to so many players and it was always straight from her heart. So it is with tremendous gratitude and admiration to Sia that we bring to a close one of the most unique relationships a TV show could ever have with a pop star of Sia’s global wattage. I’m really honored for Survivor to have this one of a kind association with Sia. She’s in the Survivor Hall Of Fame of Superfans!”
The tradition began in 2016, when she awarded player Tai Trang $50,000 at the Survivor: Kaôh Rōng (season 32) finale. “I still vividly remember the day Sia stood up in the audience during the live finale and made her way onstage,” Probst remembered. “She was so taken by Tai’s commitment to protecting a chicken from being eaten that she awarded him $50,000 of her own money.” The singer also awarded him another $50,000 to donate to the animal charity of his choice. Since then, the singer and reality television fan has given away a total of over $1 million. Maybe if Charlie had been quoting “Chandelier” all season instead of Taylor Swift it wouldn’t have come to this.