Survivor 42 contestant was forced to leave after less than 48 hours

People

Jackson Fox, a 48-year-old healthcare worker from Pasadena, Texas and the show's first openly transgender contestant, was removed because he failed to disclose until the last minute that he was taking lithium, a psychiatric medication, to help him sleep and manage his anxiety. Host Jeff Probst made a rare appearance on the beach to have a one-on-one with Jackson about the medical issue, explaining that Fox's lithium use may impact Survivor's ability to treat Fox should he experience a medical issue. "There's another element throughout the casting process where we ask you to always keep us updated with anything that changes with your medical situation — doctors visits, anything," said Probst. "That's because we have to make sure we can take care of you when you're out here. The day before we're going to shoot, you disclose some new medical information and we all decided, let's let Jackson start the game because nothing is going to happen in 24, 48 hours. So nobody's worried about you at this point. Everybody for the last two days has been trying to figure out how we can do this." Fox said he was trying to get off lithium before joining Survivor, pointing out there's a "stigmatism" surrounding lithium medication. Everyone hears the word, lithium, and they go way back in time," Fox said. "And they're like, 'That was a huge drug back in the day. That was a scary drug to be on.'" ALSO: Survivor 42's premiere was a huge improvement over Survivor 41's.