Survivor: Swayed by Producer

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday May 29, 2001 11:31 AM EDT

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Original Survivor contestant, Dirk Been, said that executive producer Mark Burnett "suggested" that he kick fellow player Stacey Stillman off the CBS reality show, according to a deposition Been gave earlier this year in Stillman's vote-rigging lawsuit against CBS and Burnett. Though conceding that he was not manipulated by Burnett, Been ultimately did join an alliance to give Stillman the boot and to keep contestant Rudy Boesch, he said. "Instead of doing what I thought was right," said Been's deposition, "I had voted (for) Rudy -- or voted against Stacey directly because of the influence of Mark Burnett." Burnett has denied Stillman's charge, testifying that he had routine conversations with players about their survivor strategies. Stillman, a San Francisco lawyer (who was ousted from the island on its ninth day of filming), is seeking $75,000 and punitive damages in a California civil court case. Earlier this year, Burnett's production company counter-sued for $5 million, claiming that Stillman breached a confidentiality agreement by revealing information about Survivor on ABC's Good Morning America.