Survivor 48 contestant Mary Zheng is asking fans to show a little grace.
After the substance abuse counselor, 31, was voted off the hit CBS game show during the May 7 episode, Zheng told the New York Post that fans have gone too far in voicing their criticisms and revealed that some of her cast members have even received death threats over her elimination.
“When you’re watching a show, you wanna be entertained, right? But when you’re playing the game, you wanna feel safe, you wanna feel seen and you wanna win,” she began. “And those are two completely different objectives.”
Related: Survivor Host Jeff Probst Reveals a Medical Intervention Occurred Minutes Into Season 48 Premiere but Was Cut from the Episode
CBS
Mary Zheng on ‘Survivor 48’
“I think everybody brings into the game everything from their past. Their strengths, their traumas, their egos. Everyone is literally playing the best that they can,” Zheng explained. “Nobody should be getting death threats.”
Though she hasn’t been on the receiving end of the hate online, the reality star said she felt compassion towards her fellow contestants — even though there were times she felt ostracized by some of them.
“I have a lot of grace for myself, but that means I also extend that grace to the people I played the game with,” she shared. “Everybody was playing for the first time and everybody was just trying to make the moves that they thought were best for them.”
Related: How Survivor 48’s Mitch ‘Curry’ Shot His Shot with 3 Past Survivor Winners to Score This ‘Bucket List Moment’ (Exclusive)
Robert Voets/CBS
L-R): David Kinne, Eva Erickson, Charity Nelms, Star Toomey, and Mary Zheng
“I don’t want anybody to think that I’m holding anything against anyone for the way that they played. Everyone’s just out there trying their best,” she added.
Season 48 of Survivor has seen it’s fair share of drama.
In April, contestant David Kinne revealed that he lost out on more than the $1 million prize after he was eliminated from the competition. Earlier this season, the reality star revealed that his girlfriend back home would not be continuing their relationship if he didn’t come home a winner.
Related: Survivor 48 Star Eva Erickson Unpacks Seeing Jeff Probst Cry After Her ‘Autism Episode’: ‘This Moment Broke Him’ (Exclusive)
He later confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that his girlfriend was “out the door” just “a few weeks after she found out I didn’t win” the season.
“People probably laughed at that whole thing, [but] it was unfortunately true,” he revealed.
Despite his breakup, Kinne said he was dating someone new.
“She’s phenomenal. I’m truly feeling blessed right now,” he said of his new partner, calling her the “most incredible woman.”
“I’m almost glad I didn’t win a million dollars,” he added.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
New episodes of Survivor season 48 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Read the original article on People
