The appearance on the show of the 48-year-old health-care worker from Houston, Texas, was long anticipated, as he is the first openly transgender contestant in the series’ history. However, his run came to an early end after host Jeff Probst made a rare trip onto the island.
Probst’s visit shocked Fox’s fellow members of the Taku tribe, and led to a frank conversation about mental health and medication.
Why Did Jackson Fox Leave Survivor?
In the episode (streaming now on Paramount+), we learned that Survivor contestants have to disclose medical information to producers – and that Fox failed to disclose one key piece of his history.
Specifically, he was taking lithium, a medication he had been using since 2016 to help him sleep and to deal with anxiety symptoms. As Probst explained, this was a problem, as the stress of the Survivor experience could lead to some negative side effects – especially as the process often leaves contestants dehydrated and sleep deprived.
Probst said: “The cumulative effect of the show would have a potentially very bad impact on you. And we don’t want that. Your safety is paramount. We can’t do it. We can’t.”
The University of Michigan Health website notes: “You can easily become dehydrated while taking lithium, which may affect your dose needs.” It recommends that lithium users drink extra fluids to prevent this happening – something that could be difficult to do while surviving on the island.
Asked why he had not disclosed his use of the medication, Fox said that he had hoped he would be able to wean himself off of it before starting the show: “I remember talking to my wife – she’s a nurse – and I said, ‘Well, I’m on lithium,’ and she’s like, ‘Well, you’re weaning yourself off of it. You’ll probably be off of it [when Survivor begins].”
He later added: “It’s a stigmatism [sic]. I’m a human to know the fear is everyone hears the word, lithium, and they go way back in time. And they’re like, ‘That was a huge drug back in the day.’ That was a scary drug to be on.”
What Has Jackson Fox Said Since Leaving Survivor?
In an Instagram post, he paid tribute to his fellow tribe members. Alongside an image of him smiling while on the show, he wrote: “To say this was a once in a lifetime experience is an understatement..absolutely changed my life and met some amazing people that I now consider extended family. This smile is as genuine as they come.”
Survivor 42 continues Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
