In this image released by CBS, contestants, from left, Jeff Varner, Sarah Lacina, Zeke Smith and Debbie Wanner appear at the Tribal Council portion of the competition series Survivor: Game Changers. Survivor contestant Varner, who outed fellow competitor Smith as transgender on the Wednesday night, April 12, 2017, episode of the CBS reality competition, has been fired from his real estate job.Jeffrey Neira/The Associated Press
Survivor contestant Jeff Varner, who outed fellow competitor Zeke Smith as transgender on Wednesday night's episode of the CBS reality competition, has been fired from his real-estate job.
The Greensboro News & Record reports Varner was fired on Thursday from Allen Tate Realtors because he was "in the middle of a news story that we don't want anything to do with."
Varner made accusations of "a deception" before revealing that Smith is transgender on the episode. Varner was immediately criticized by other players. He repeatedly apologized, but was voted out of the competition.
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Smith explained that he didn't mention that he was transgendered because he didn't want to be known as "the trans Survivor player."
He writes in The Hollywood Reporter that by calling him deceptive, Varner invoked "one of the most odious stereotypes of transgender people."