Jonathan LaPaglia's wife speaks out after his brutal axing from Survivor Australia and slams Channel Ten: 'He doesn't deserve this'
Jonathan appeared to take a dig at his rumoured replacement, David Genat, in an Instagram post made earlier this week as the 55-year-old expressed his hurt at being punted from the hit show.
At the end of the lengthy post, LaPaglia wrote: 'Whoever said a blindside is the most humane way to put someone down is an idiot. It hurts like a bitch!'
Eagle-eyed fans noted that Genat famously uttered those exact words during an episode in 2019.
Ursula Brooks, who has been married to Jonathan for 27 years, made her feelings known in the crowded comments section.
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'Humbling to see all the love and outrage for Jonathan LaPaglia on this post,' she wrote.
'It has been horrible to witness the shock and confusion of this decision by Survivor AU from a front-row seat.'
Ursula did not mince her words as she tagged the official Survivor Australia account in her comment.
'You did not deserve this and it seems the real tribe has spoken, Jonny,' Ursula said.
'We and the Australian Survivor audience love you.'
The Australian TV host, who has helmed the Channel 10 show since its revival in 2016, was inundated with messages of support from his fellow celebrities and reality TV alums.
KIIS FM radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson said Jonathan is the 'Greatest Of All Time'.
'It won't be the same without you JLP,' Jackie said with a broken heart emoji.
Big Brother winner Reggie Bird typed out several dozen poop emojis and wrote: 'This is absolute bulls**t.'
'King George of Bankstown', whose real name is George Mladenov, said Jonathan is 'the best host in the business'.
The Sydney reality TV personality, who found fame on the Australian Survivor "Brains vs. Brawn" and "Heroes vs. Villains" seasons, wrote: '[You] let the game breathe, [were] impartial and iconically hilarious. Your excellent hosting let the Episode 7 tribal council unfold the way it did because you had the skills and experience to just let it happen and let it keep going.'
George's comment has been liked just shy of 2,000 times.
Meanwhile, American Season 43 contestant Owen Knight slammed the network's decision to fire Jonathan as 'boneheaded.'
'You were phenomenal and I can tell the players loved you. Respect from across the world,' he wrote, while Sydney chef Colin Fassnidge added: 'He is the show.'
Jonathan's sign-off all but confirms Genat, a former model turned professional reality TV game player, is stepping into his role.
It is no surprise Jonathan is furious after he was sacked via an email from producers at EndemolShine Australia, the company behind Survivor.
The Australian TV host, who has helmed the Channel 10 show its revival in 2016, was inundated with messages of support from his fellow celebrities and reality TV alums
This was before anyone from Ten had the chance to pick up the phone.
The message pinged in his inbox after he had wrapped filming on his last season of Survivor, Australia v The World, which is slated to air later this year.
'He got an email first. That was the initial comms from EndemolShine,' a source said.
'Then a call came from Ten, but by then it was already done. It's really not how you treat someone who's been part of the show for almost a decade.'
The decision to break the news via email, described by insiders as 'clinical' and 'cold', has shocked those involved with the show.
According to multiple insiders, the decision to replace Jonathan was made well before Australia v The World began filming in September last year, but was kept tightly under wraps to avoid overshadowing the season.
'It was locked in for months,' one spy said.
'They wanted to avoid a backlash during filming and post-production - but now the torches have been lit, and not just in Samoa.'
Soon after Daily Mail Australia broke the news of his axing, Jonathan issued a statement confirming he had been dropped - describing his exit as the one blindside he didn't see coming.
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