Reality Rally 2017: Survivor, Big Brother alumni talk reality TV, giving back

For the second straight year, the CarterMatt team took the trip out to Temecula, California for the Friday Casino Night event at Reality Rally. The event is an annual fundraiser put on by former Survivor: Gabon contestant Gillian Larson for Michelle’s Place, a wonderful charity that helps as a resource for women battling breast cancer and their families. We hope that if you haven’t been out to Temecula before, you consider doing so next year. It’s a great event with a great cause, and it’s a tremendous amount of fun in addition to it being an opportunity to raise some money. Stars from a number of different reality shows participate in the event, and as both a reality TV fan and reality TV alum, it’s exciting to have so many people in one centralized place.

So what do some of these reality stars think about the event? We compiled a handful of quotes from the red-carpet portion of the event both in terms of the fundraising side of things, and also some assorted reality TV questions to boot. Enjoy!

On taking part in Reality Rally

Adam Klein, winner of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X (pictured above) – “I’m very impressed by everything Gillian has put together. The fact that this has been going on for seven years and raised a lot of money [is incredible]. And, it’s brought a lot of fun to people, as well.”

Jordan Parhar, Big Brother Canada 3 star and host of Reality TV RHAPpy Hour – “It’s good to see a lot of people giving back. It’s great to have a change to get together with these people, and the further cause behind it is great.”

Morgan Willett, Big Brother: Over the Top winner – “It’s been fantastic. It’s a great cause, and it’s been wonderful to learn about Michelle’s Place and be around people who I look up to from Big Brother. It’s nice to be a part of this whole Big Brother family.

Some assorted reality TV thoughts

Klein, on the enjoyment he still gets from watching Survivor after his win – “I’m just as big of a fan of Survivor now as I was before. I was just in Washington DC doing some advocacy work on behalf of the American Lung Association at Congress — I gave a speech on Wednesday evening, and I was still talking to some people afterwards. It was around 7:50, and I was like ‘I’m sorry, I have to go.’ I had to run upstairs to my hotel room since Survivor was coming on.” (Two of Klein’s former Millennials vs. Gen X castaways in Michaela Bradshaw and Zeke Smith are on Survivor: Game Changers.)

Parhar, on the recent Big Brother Canada elimination of Gary Levy – “I feel bad for Gary, but from my perspective I’m glad that the show didn’t use a huge twist to save him. I do think from the overall entertainment of the show, it sucks to lose Gary. He’s so funny. The show’s now in a weird spot. Who is the hero of the story? Neda’s edit is that she’s a huge villain and it sucks! Neda’s a close friend and she’s my hero, but she’s not being shown like that.”

Morgan, on if she or her sister Alex get a call to appear on Big Brother 19 this summer – “I think they’d call Alex before they called me. I hope they’d call Alex back.”

Finally, we’ll close with our fellow former Beauty and the Geek alum Dave Olsen, who, like us, is an enormous Survivor fan. He passed along the following message in professing his love for the show:

“What I enjoy about Survivor is the game design. Good game design is always about interesting decisions that the players have to make. Survivor is the best at having contestants be forced to make interesting decisions.”

This is one of the fun things about the reality TV world — just because you were on one show doesn’t mean that is the only one you love. Taking part in one almost enriches your love for others further, which is what makes being at the Reality Rally a unique experience. You give back, and celebrate all things reality TV in the process.

Suffice it to say, we’re looking forward already to being back in 2018. (Photos: Jessica Carter)