Jonny Fairplay’s grandmother has died– for real this time.
The Survivor star announced Saturday on social media that his grandma, Ellen Jean Hauser, died on Friday, more than two decades after Jonny infamously lied about her death to gain an advantage on Survivor: Pearl Islands in 2003.
Jonny– who recently starred on Season 1 of E!’s House of Villains– told TMZ that his grandmother, who went by “Jean,” died of kidney failure while in hospice in South Carolina. She was 90 years old.
“ … I’ll miss her every day,” Jonny told the outlet. “It’s easy to think she was just part of one of the biggest lies in TV history, which made me famous, but I look at her place in my life as a loving grandparent who only wanted the best for me in my life and she’d do anything to help me get it, which she did.”
While fans of ‘Survivor’– and even longtime show host Jeff Probst– have often called Jonny’s “dead grandma” game play one of the greatest lies told in the show’s history, Jean herself leaned into the move, even rocking a “DEAD GMA” vanity license plate on her car.
Similarly, Jonny claimed that Jean’s final words were for him to continue his reality TV run.
“ … Her dying words were something like, ‘Jonny, I want to see you on Survivor 50, [The] Traitors and Deal or No Deal Island,’” he said. “I had no idea that she had so many streaming services.”
On Sunday, Jonny posted a screenshot of the TMZ article on his grandma’s death, along with the caption, “Everyone run tell your grandma you love them today!”
The ‘Survivor’ vet received many words of condolences on social media from fans and reality TV friends after announcing his grandmother’s death, many referring to Jean as a ‘Survivor’ “legend.”
“Sorry to hear that man she’ll forever be remember[ed] as a @survivorcbs legend,” wrote Davie Rickenbacker of ‘Survivor’ Season 37.
“Is this real? It’s hard to tell with you,” former ‘Survivor’ star Jerri Manthey added. “If it is.… I’m so sorry for your loss…. If it’s not…. I’ll deal with you the next time I see you.”
“Oh no, but I know she would be proud you got a headline out of this 😂❤️❤️,” joked Trishelle Cannatella of The Real World, The Challenge and ‘The Traitors’ fame.
While Jonny’s “dead grandma” strategy was deemed controversial by some, Jonny told Entertainment Weekly in 2020 that he had no regrets about pulling the stunt, claiming it was done in-part to “create the first reality villain.” Jonny went on to give production credit for allowing him “every opportunity to run with my notorious ways.”
“ … It was like getting a permission slip to do evil,” he added.
Watch Jonny pull his “dead grandma” stunt below.
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(Photos: Instagram; CBS; YouTube)
