Australian Survivor zaddy Jonathan LaPaglia has officially responded to the ‘yuge hullaballoo surrounding David Genat‘s new role as host, and honestly, the whole situation is truly bittersweet.

This article contains spoilers for Survivor: Australia V The World. You’ve been warned.


After brutally snuffing out his torch after Tuesday night’s brutal tribal council on Survivor: Australia V The World, Network 10 officially confirmed that the Golden God would be taking on the reins as Australian Survivor host for its 12th season, Australia Survivor: Redemption.

The news comes months after LaPaglia — who is essentially the face of Australian Survivor, as he’s hosted the iconic show since 2016 — was brutally axed from hosting duties, which outraged the Survivor fanbase.

Now, the Australian Survivor legend has come forward, officially passing the torch to the Golden God.

“Damn DAVID!” the host began his Instagram statement alongside a video of Genat’s recent elimination.
Zaddy, no!!!! (Image source: Instagram / @jonathanlapaglia)
“If I’d known I could have just handed you the snuffer like an Olympic relay. Oh well. Good luck out there brother. Stay Gold Ponyboy!”, he continued.

LaPaglia went on to poke fun at last night’s elimination, stating that his one-liner in the brutal elimination was lowkey a message to himself, which was a little bit… shady, IMO.

To give you a mini recap on what the Australian Survivor host said during his replacement’s elimination, LaPaglia told the remaining Australian tribe, “Well, this tribe might be full of relationships, but shack up with the wrong people, you might find yourself dumped”.

HMMMMMMMMMMM.

In response to JLP’s IG tribute, Genat wrote, “I stand on the shoulders of giants, thank you for what you gave to this show. Nobody can do it like you J”.

Prior to the premiere of Survivor: Australia V The World, LaPaglia opened up about his brutal axing to The Watchlist, revealing that he found out about the sack via a call from his manager.

“The speculation online was that I received an email. But no, it was a call to my manager in Australia,” LaPaglia said.

“I didn’t get a direct call, which, I’ll be honest with you, was disappointing.

“After 10 years of helming their flagship show, it would have been nice to get a direct call from the people at the top, but I didn’t.”

Why was Jonathan LaPaglia sacked as host of Australian Survivor?

While the reason behind Network 10’s decision to sack LaPaglia has not been revealed, an industry insider claimed that it was both a cost-cutting exercise and a creative decision, with one person alleging that JLP had been clashing with the show’s creators for a while.

When news of LaPaglia’s axing first broke the internet, the host was spotted liking shady comments towards (at the time rumoured) replacement, Genat.
(Video source: Instagram / @jonathanlapaglia)
(Video source: Instagram / @jonathanlapaglia)
While it’s evident that Genat can capture an audience through his charisma and cheeky, cheeky Survivor tactics, no one will ever replicate the smooth hosting styles of JLP.

You will be missed, OG Australia Survivor zaddy.