Who is Emily Flippen on ‘Survivor 45’ and why is she so controversial?

If you caught the premiere of Survivor 45 last night, chances are the one and only Emily Flippen stuck out to you (and not in a good way).

Consistently speaking her mind, calling out fellow castaways like Bruce Perreault, Kaleb Gebrewold, and Sabiyah Broderick for their “shady” gameplay, Emily has not only caused drama within her tribe (the Lulu tribe), but she has also sparked controversy amongst several Survivor superfans.

Why, you may ask? Keep scrolling to find out everything you need to know about Survivor‘s newest supervillain, as well as why she is so controversial amongst viewers…

Who is Emily Flippen on Survivor 45?

Born and raised in McKinney, Texas, Emily currently resides in Laurel, Maryland, working as an investment analyst who passed all three levels of her CFA exams on her first attempt — she is truly a genius!

According to her official Survivor biography, which was shared via Entertainment Weekly, the 28-year-old is “direct, genuine, and aggressive,” and enjoys “doting over her cat, playing video games, and meal-prepping,” and she has a great deal of life experience that has prepared her for the game.

Prior to the premiere of Survivor 45, Emily shared one of her most notable adventures, as well as how it will likely help her throughout her Survivor journey.

“When I was 18, I moved to Shanghai to be part of the inaugural class of the first joint Sino-American University in China. I’m accustomed to working with (and competing against) people with many different backgrounds and life experiences.”

This competitive nature has already began to shine, painting herself as the villain of Survivor 45 after just one episode. With the adorable Carson Garrett of Survivor 44 saying so himself via Twitter/X, it seriously does not get more official than that!

Speaking of villains, Emily admitted that the previous Survivor castaway she identifies with the most is the one and only “Chaos Kass” of Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Cambodia.

“I’ve been told my personality is extremely similar to Kass [McQuillen]. I take that as the complement that it is, however, I plan on playing my own game and making an entirely unique set of mistakes… I lack a lot of the traditional qualities that make a good Survivor player: I’m out of shape, don’t really like the outdoors, and people can find me off-putting. Which is exactly why they’ll never see me coming!”

To learn more about this infamous Survivor 45 castaway, you can connect with Emily on Instagram @flippenemily.

Why is Emily Flippen so controversial on Survivor 45?

Aside from simply being “off-putting,” Emily has been criticized by several Survivor superfans for something much more extreme than simply having a brash personality.

After just one episode, where she belittled Bruce within the first five minutes of the show, as well as accused her tribemates, Kaleb and Sabiyah, of having an alliance after mere hours on the beach, the 28-year-old has been accused of targeting Black individuals during her time on Survivor 45.

With all of this unfolding during last night’s premiere, viewers have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, with some not-so nice words geared towards Emily.

@MojoFerocious: “Emily could have been the type of villain that’s good for viewers to hate, but the first 3 targets of her are certainly make her seem like a more sinister type of villain that shouldn’t be platformed. #Survivor45”

@Philly_Gavin: “Looking back on last nights episode, it’s very weird how Emily was trying to put a target on Bruce’s back 5 minutes into the season, and then immediately lumped together Kaleb and Sabiyah as a ‘threatening’ duo when Brandon and Hannah were also clearly a duo. #Survivor #Survivor45”

@Sasha_Smierce: “Emily ’bout to get on my bad side. Keep the Black folks names out your ugly mouth b***h. #Survivor45”

To see how the rest of Survivor 45 unfolds, and to see Emily Flippen’s controversial behavior continue to come to light as the season progreses, tune into CBS Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT.