‘Naked and Afraid’ Alum Blasts Jeff Zausch Casting in New Competition Series: ‘All Hat and No Cattle’
A Naked and Afraid alum is blasting the show’s latest spinoff.
Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown features 14 survivalists who’ve appeared on past seasons of the popular series. Competing in teams of two and representing different parts of the world and regions of the U.S., they’ll fight to survive for 40 days in three distinct ecosystems in South Africa’s Zululand. The team that completes the challenge will go home with $200,000 – the largest prize in Naked and Afraid history.
Who’s in the ‘Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown’ cast?
So, who are elite survivalists competing on Global Showdown? The cast is a mix of franchise favorites like Ky Furneaux and Matt Wright, who will be familiar to fans of the show, and lesser-known faces who’ve appeared on international versions of the show.
- Ky Furneaux and Alexa Towersey representing Australia
- Rene Murad and Marina Fukushima representing Brazil
- Pablo Melin and Fernanda Perez representing Mexico
- Jeff Zausch and Kerra Bennett representing Texas
- Matt Wright and Gabby Balassone representing USA East
- Frank Eytcheson and Teal Bulthuis representing USA South
- Dan Link and Rachel Strohl representing USA West
But one Naked & Afraid alum who isn’t part of Global Showdown isn’t impressed with all of the participants. Steven Lee Hall Jr., who has appeared on Naked & Afraid and Naked & Afraid: Last One Standing, says allowing Jeff Zausch to represent Texas is fraud.
Steven Lee Hall Jr. calls out Jeff Zausch’s casting on ‘Global Showdown’
“So, Naked and Afraid is coming out with a new show, Global Showdown, where Brazilians represent Brazil, Mexicans represent Mexico, Australians represent Australia, and Texas is represented by a lifelong resident felon from Idaho and a chick that grew up on the West Coast of California and Nevada,” Hall, who is from Texas, said in a video shared on Instagram.
“You’d think you could find two Texans to represent Texas. I guess it just didn’t fit the storyline,” he added.
In another video, Hall said that being a true Texan involved embracing the state’s “lineage, history, [and] legacy.”
“We’ll let Texans decide if you’re a Texan,” he said, seeming to address Jeff directly. “Because there’s one thing we have down here. It’s a saying for people exactly like you: All hat and no cattle, buddy. And bud, you’re nothing but hat.”
Hall and Zausch clashed during the first season of Last One Standing, and their rivalry has continued off screen. Unsurprisingly, Zausch responded to Hall’s videos with one of his own. He was clearly delighted that his casting had sparked such a reaction.
“Have you seen how Steven Lee Hall Jr. is totally crashing out on the news of this new show right now? The man is losing it,” he said on Instagram, before going on to say that he did own land in Texas.
“Truth be told, I am joining you from my ranch here in Texas,” he added, before showing a brief view of his property.
“I am representing the great state of Texas. Steven is a little bit sad about that. He’s being a little bit of a princess,” he continued. “And he got his feelings hurt … I don’t think anybody told him that Texans don’t like quitters.”
“Texas isn’t about where you were born, he added, “It’s about grit. It’s about never quitting. It’s about never tapping out.”
Naked and Afraid: Global Showdown premieres Sunday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel.
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