Two-time Survivor castaway Jonny Fairplay is one of 10 notorious reality show figures competing on E!’s House of Villains. He’s the sole contestant representing the reality competition show, and that’s all thanks to one lie he told during his first Survivor stint during season 7’s Pearl Islands.
Although it’s been two decades since Fairplay’s dead grandma lie, it remains perhaps the most famous play in the franchise’s history.
So, what happened?
Fairplay, born Jon Dalton, had made it to the top seven of the franchise’s first season in Panama alongside the likes of future two-time Survivor winner Sandra Diaz-Twine, Lillian “Scout” Morris, and Burton Roberts. Like usual, the end game brought the loved ones’ visit, a Survivor staple. And the episode was appropriately titled “The Great Lie.”
Fairplay’s friend Dan, whom he called “Thunder D” and “the greatest guy in the world” arrived for the challenge. The two embraced in front of the cast, and then Fairplay asked, “How’s grandma?” “She died, dude,” Dan responded, asking Fairplay if he had received “the letter.” A tearing-up Fairplay then shook his head no.
The two dramatically embraced again while the camera panned to Scout, who was visibly upset.
Fairplay rejoined his fellow castaways and Scout immediately consoled him. “Jon, you went from really happy to really sad,” host Jeff Probst said.
“It was either going to be my buddy or my grandmother coming, and my grandmother’s not here for a reason,” a breaking-down Fairplay said.
“What happened?” Jeff asked.
“She’s not around,” he answered as Burton placed his hand on the grandma-less Fairplay’s shoulder.
“Sorry for that news,” Jeff replied. “I’m sure everybody here is sorry.”
Then, Fairplay said that he was hopeful to win the challenge so he could learn more about his grandma’s death.
Well, Fairplay did win the challenge. Besides Sandra, the rest of the cast chose to throw the challenge as well as their chance to hang with their loved ones to allow Fairplay and Thunder D to spend time together and debrief about the tragic passing. With the win, Fairplay and Dan were given 24 hours alone back at camp while the other six contestants were sent to another beach with only a machete and matches.
But, it was worth it to them to help Jon reach some sort of closure while in Panama and away from his family.
“Jon’s grandmother just passed away,” Burton said while at the new beach. “And we all kind of agreed that, ‘Hey, let’s let Jon take this.’ Our mothers, our husbands, wives, boyfriends, whatever, will be there when we get home.”
“Jon got his news about his grandmother,” a teary-eyed Scout also said. “I’ve gotten to know Jon. He hurts just as much as anyone. My husband has to understand that this is what we had to do — for him to have some time to talk over his grandmother’s death with his friend.”
Well, once Fairplay and Thunder D were alone on Balboa’s beach, they celebrated their “brilliant performance.”
“My grandmother’s sitting home watching Jerry Springer right now,” Fairplay laughed in what was a line that’s been etched into reality TV lore.
Dan then explained that Fairplay called him before he left to film Survivor and told him to unload the grandma lie if he made it to the loved ones’ visit. “This is a game for $1 million,” Fairplay said. “I have one chance in my life at this. You should take every single advantage possible. If you don’t, you’re a fool.”
Fairplay went on to use his grandma’s grave as a strategy to garner trust and strengthen his case to win the season. “One of her last wishes was that I win,” Fairplay said.
Unfortunately for Fairplay, his lie wasn’t enough to get him to the final two (this was when only two players would face the Jury, not three). Scout won the last Immunity Challenge and chose to bring Sandra with her to the end, not Fairplay.
Fairplay’s grandma Jean Cook is still alive and Fairplay regrets nothing
During the season’s live reunion, Jeff said Fairplay’s lie was “a move so low and so evil it definitely guarantees Jon a spot in the Survivor villain Hall of Fame.”
Jean Cook, Fairplay’s grandma, attended the live show and she was interviewed by the host. She said she didn’t know Fairplay was going to use her mortality as a move in the game, and she only found out when Survivor production called her.
“After that challenge, we were all devastated,” Jeff said. “So, we called back home to see if there was anything we could do, and you answered the damn phone.”
According to Fairplay, his lie didn’t just lead to stardom. It also led to death threats, violence, and feces, the price he had to pay for the “greatest moment in the history of reality television.”
“It made me the original villain of reality TV,” Fairplay told The U.S. Sun in Feb. 2023. “I’ve heard stories of people throwing things at their TV, breaking them and screaming ‘he’s lying!’ when that aired. It was such a big moment but not everyone liked it […] I had to change my phone number a few times, I received death threats on a regular basis, and multiple people sent feces to CBS addressed to me. I also woke up in the ER three times from being sucker punched from behind, knocking me unconscious. That happened in three different states […] that wasn’t cool.”
Regardless, Jean, who is now in her 80s according to the U.S. Sun, was a major fan of her grandson’s lie. In fact, she “loved” it, Fairplay said. And when Jeff asked for her thoughts on it at the reunion, she answered: “Well, you outwit and outsmart. So, it was a game.”
And when Jeff asked if he had any remorse for fooling the castaways and production alike with the controversial lie, Fairplay replied: “No way.”
From professional wrestling and podcasting to other reality show appearances — like his brief stint on Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites in 2008 — Jon has built an entertainment career on the shoulders of his grandmother. And now that he’s on House of Villains, it’ll be fun to see if he’s cooked up another ground-breaking lie. We’ve already seen him derail Vanderpump Rules’ Jax Taylor’s chance at earning safety in the first round of play. So, it’s clear Fairplay is more than willing to lean into the deceitful nature that made him into a reality show supervillain to score the $200,000 grand prize.