Jeff Varner, ‘Survivor’ Who Outed Transgender Contestant Zeke Smith, Fired from His Job

Jeff Varner, the openly gay Survivor: Game Changers who outted a fellow contestant as transgender, reportedly has lost his job.

Varner was fired from the Greensboro, N.C., real estate agency because the employer didn’t “want anything to do with” the news story he got involved in.

Allen Tate Realtors didn’t give any further comment. Varner joined their agency only last month.

Varner, 50, is a former news anchor for CBS and Fox affiliates. This marked his third appearance on a season of Survivor.

The incident took place on April 12, when Varner told the rest of the Survivor contestants at tribal council that “there was deception here.” Then, he turned to fellow contestant Zeke Smith and asked, “Why haven’t you told anyone here that you’re transgender?”

Smith said he “didn’t want to be the ‘first transgender ‘Survivor’ contestant,” and he just came there to play the game.

Many people took to social media to condemn Varner’s actions. Varner himself also took to Twitter to post a sincere apology.

“I offer my deepest, most heart-felt apologies to Zeke Smith, his friends and life allies, his family and to all those who my mistake hurt and offended,” he wrote. “I was wrong and make no excuses for it. Let me be clear, outing someone is assault. It robs a strong, courageous person of their power and protection and opens them up to discrimination and danger. It can leave scars that haunt for a lifetime. I am profoundly sorry.”