'Survivor' Host Jeff Probst Reflects on Show's Past Acceptance of Nudity, Says 'Culture' Has Changed

Richard Hatch, the first winner of the long-running CBS show "Survivor" back in 2000, was one of the first openly gay men on reality TV who was known for his wild antics, including walking around his fellow castaways in the nude. But host Jeff Probst recently opened up about Hatch and how "Survivor" now has a policy that prohibits any contestant from being naked, noting that the "culture" has changed over the past two decades, Gold Derby reports.

Probst explained that a nude contestant on a current season of "Survivor" "wouldn't get past our producers for half a second."

"It speaks to the fact that 'Survivor' is always of the moment because it's fresh," he explained. "Notwithstanding returning players, you typically have new people playing and whatever is happening in the culture is what's happening."

The four-time Emmy winner went on to talk about Hatch specifically, who sparked controversy when he returned for the show's first all-stars edition in 2003 and rubbed up against fellow Season 1 costar Sue Hawk while he was naked during a challenge. Hawk ended up quitting the season, saying she felt "violated, humiliated, dehumanized and totally spent," Gold Derby reports.

"I was sexually violated," Hawk said on "Survivor: All Stars" at the time. "To have some guy come up, he passed a half a dozen people on platforms and never touched 'em. It went too far. He crossed the line with me. I'm spent and I'm done with this game. There's no way I can continue with my emotions pushed to the ground that much."

Probst reflected on the moment and Hatch when speaking with Gold Derby.

"No one thought anything in that first season, other than it was not that attractive to look at. But we didn't think anything about it," he said.

"Survivor" made headlines last year when Dan Spilo, a contestant on "Survivor: Island of the Idols," was removed from the game due to an off-camera "incident." Though never naked on the show, Spilo was told a number of times to stop touching fellow castaways prior to his exit.