Survivor's Russell Hantz Accused of Leaking Show Secrets

From the moment he burned Jaison Robinson's socks on Survivor: Samoa in the fall of 2009, Russell Hantz made it clear he couldn't be trusted during the game. It turns out he can't be trusted anywhere.

Jim Ealy, a Survivor message board commentator, told The Daily Beast that Hantz, 38, is guilty of leaking spoilers and other secret information.

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Ealy says he was sued by CBS and Survivor producers in December for prematurely publishing the names of eliminated contestants and other spoiler information about Seasons 19 and 20, both of which seasons Hantz competed on. After he was sued, Ealy claimed he had received the information from Hantz via e-mail and telephone. Ealy produced those e-mails for The Daily Beast, one of which specified the elimination order of two Samoa contestants.

"He just started coming out and telling me what happened: who was leaving, who won challenges," Ealy said. "All I had to do was pick up the phone and say 'hello' and I had anything I wanted."

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CBS and Survivor producers dismissed the charges against Ealy earlier this month because of his "cooperation." However, it remains unclear whether they plan to pursue charges against Hantz. Survivor cast members' contracts state that players aren't allowed to reveal the elimination of contestants nor any of the winners. The penalty for violating these rules is "liquidated damages" of $5 million.

Ealy says he revealed Hantz to be his source for spoilers "because of his attitude about the whole thing, and because Russell tried to implicate another player [as the leak], an innocent player, who wasn't giving information." Hantz, who finished second in Samoa, and third in Heroes vs. Villains, is set to play the game a third time on Survivor: Redemption Island.

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Hantz recently took to his Facebook page to promote Redemption Island, which premieres Feb. 16: "If you love the game, you won't go to spoiler sites. Like who really wants to know who wins the superbowl before you watch it play out? Don' t be a retard, lol just watch it play out and you will like what you see."

Hantz, who also won $100,000 for being voted the fan favorite of Survivor: Samoa, was arrested on charges of battery in Louisiana last April.