Survivor 50 Bombshell: Emily Flippen Reveals What Contestants Really Thought of the Celebrity Cameos!

Survivor 50 contestants Emily Flippen and Q Burdette exclusively told E! News how they felt about the cameos from stars like Billie Eilish, Jimmy Fallon and more on the show’s milestone season.

Emily Flippen has no qualms with her celebrity alliances.

In fact, the Survivor season 50 contestant—who previously placed seventh on season 45—thought the celebrity cameos from the likes of Billie Eilish, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, and Zac Brown added a fun twist to the long-running series

“It’s made the show more dynamic, more interesting,” Emily exclusively told E! News at the live Survivor 50 finale May 20. “When you’re out there on the island, obviously you’re excited just because the show means so much to the players who are out there.”

And for the 31-year-old, it was nice to know that the show meant so much to celebrities, too, as well as all the fans and viewers at home.

“Watching it back, I think it adds a level of dynamicism,” she added, “that you don’t otherwise get.”

But while Emily was fully on board, fellow contestant Q Burdette was slightly more confused by the cameos, especially as he was not familiar with one of the stars.

“They were telling us about her—Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol,” he recalled to E! News at the finale. “And they was asking me about it, and I was like, ‘Oh, I love him. He’s awesome.’ And they was like, ‘Q, it’s a lady.’”

As the season 46 sixth-place finisher explained, he thought they were talking about singer Billy Idol.

Emily Flippen, Survivor, Season 50, Survivor 50

Robert Voets/CBS

“I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know who Billie Eilish is then obviously. Enlighten me,’” he said. “They start to say some of the songs. I’m like, ‘Don’t ring a bell.’”

“See, I’m from Mississippi,” he laughed. “We don’t listen to that, but I was excited she was a part of it.”

However, he was much more interested in singer Zac Brown’s Survivor appearance, although he was bummed that he’d been eliminated before the country star showed up. (Q was the third person voted out.)

And while Emily and Q were on board with the celeb cameos, some fans of the show were a little less amused—a take that longtime Survivor host Jeff Probst didn’t understand.

Q Burdette, Survivor, Season 50, Survivor 50

Robert Voets/CBS

“It’s fascinating to me that a couple of people, most of them either former players or people who will never play, criticize the show, and it gets momentum,” the 64-year-old told Variety in an interview published May 13. “I tell anyone who wants to listen: If that’s your goal, to somehow impact our point of view, it will fail. We trust what we’re doing.”

He emphasized, “If you think we’re going to re-edit because you thought there was too much Zac Brown, you’ve not been reading interviews with me.”

For a look at all the contestants who got to appreciate the celeb cameos on season 50 of Survivor, keep reading.

—Reporting by Daryn Carp