What did Colton Cumbie say to Bill Posley?

He called Posley "ghetto trash" and told him he should kill himself. The argument aired on CBS on 7 March 2012, in the Survivor: One World episode in which Posley was voted out.

How did Bill Posley respond?

The next day he said he had empathy and compassion for the lack of experience in Cumbie's life, that this was why he did not hate him, and that "that's his truth, that's his reality."

Did Bill Posley and Colton Cumbie reconcile?

No reconciliation has been located. Posley made one public statement the day after the broadcast saying he did not hate Cumbie. No later meeting, accepted apology or joint appearance is documented.

Did Colton Cumbie apologise?

His first public response said the comments were meant to be funny. After followers pointed out that he had not apologised, he wrote that this had been his way of saying he was sorry.

Was Colton Cumbie punished or banned by CBS?

No. There was no investigation, sanction or legal proceeding. He left Survivor: One World on medical grounds and CBS cast him again for Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2013.

Survivor: One World

Colton Cumbie's "ghetto trash" remark on Survivor: One World

In a Survivor: One World episode that aired on 7 March 2012, Colton Cumbie called tribemate Bill Posley "ghetto trash" and told him he should kill himself. Posley, voted out that night, responded the next day by saying he did not hate Cumbie. No sanction followed, and CBS cast Cumbie again in 2013.

Confirmed The remarks aired on CBS and can be quoted from the broadcast. No investigation, sanction or legal proceeding followed, and no reconciliation between the two men is documented.

What the record shows

Confirmed In an argument that aired on 7 March 2012, Colton Cumbie called his Manono tribemate Bill Posley "ghetto trash" and told him he should kill himself.
Confirmed In a separate confrontation Cumbie screamed at Christina Cha, called her an idiot, and told her she could enjoy her last two days, quit, or jump in the camp fire.
Confirmed Posley spoke publicly the day after the episode aired. He said he had "empathy and compassion for the lack of experience in his life" and that this was "why I don't hate the guy," adding "that's his truth, that's his reality."
Admitted Cumbie's first public response said the comments had been meant to be funny rather than offering an apology. When followers pointed out that he had not apologised, he wrote: "That was my way of saying 'I'm sorry.'"
Confirmed No investigation, disciplinary finding, sanction or legal proceeding followed. Cumbie left One World on medical grounds, and CBS cast him again for Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2013.
Unverified No later reconciliation between Posley and Cumbie has been located. What exists is Posley's statement the day after the broadcast. Pages that describe the two as having reconciled are asserting an event no source here supports.

What aired on 7 March 2012

Colton Cumbie and Bill Posley were on the Manono tribe in Survivor: One World, the show's twenty-fourth season. In an episode broadcast on 7 March 2012, Cumbie called Posley "ghetto trash" during an argument and told him he should kill himself. Posley was voted out in that episode, the third castaway voted out that season. E! Online covered it the next day, and its headline described the remark as a racist insult.

The distinction that matters for a page like this one is where the evidence sits. This is not leaked audio, a deleted post or a secondhand account. It is broadcast footage that CBS aired to a national audience, which is why the words can be quoted flatly rather than attributed to someone's recollection.

What Bill Posley said the next day

Posley's response is the part most retellings drop, and it is the most surprising thing in the record. Speaking the day after the episode aired, he said he had "empathy and compassion for the lack of experience in his life," and that this was "why I don't hate the guy." He added: "that's his truth, that's his reality." He also noted that Cumbie was better off financially than he was.

Read that as what it is. It is one public statement made within twenty-four hours of the broadcast, not a reconciliation. No later meeting, accepted apology or joint appearance between the two has been located, and this page does not claim one. Cumbie, for his part, first said the comments had been meant to be funny; when followers pointed out that he had not apologised, he wrote that this had been his way of saying he was sorry.

Christina Cha got the same treatment

The Posley exchange is the one that made headlines, but it was not isolated. In a separate confrontation Cumbie screamed at Christina Cha, called her an idiot, and told her she could enjoy her last two days, quit, or jump in the camp fire.

Cha stayed. She finished fourth, nine places above the point at which Cumbie left the game.

What never happened afterwards

There was no investigation, no disciplinary finding, no sanction and no legal proceeding. Cumbie did not leave the game over any of this either. He left One World on medical grounds in thirteenth place, and CBS cast him again in 2013 for Survivor: Blood vs. Water.

Most people reach this page by searching whether Colton Cumbie is racist. The honest answer is narrower than the question. What is documented is a specific act on a specific date: he called a Black tribemate "ghetto trash" on national television and told him to kill himself, and the outlet that broke his castmate's response called that a racist insult in its headline. That is a broadcast remark and a publisher's characterisation of it. It is not a court finding or a network finding, and no such finding exists.

People in this story

Questions people ask

What did Colton Cumbie say to Bill Posley?: He called Posley "ghetto trash" and told him he should kill himself. The argument aired on CBS on 7 March 2012, in the Survivor: One World episode in which Posley was voted out.
How did Bill Posley respond?: The next day he said he had empathy and compassion for the lack of experience in Cumbie's life, that this was why he did not hate him, and that "that's his truth, that's his reality."
Did Bill Posley and Colton Cumbie reconcile?: No reconciliation has been located. Posley made one public statement the day after the broadcast saying he did not hate Cumbie. No later meeting, accepted apology or joint appearance is documented.
Did Colton Cumbie apologise?: His first public response said the comments were meant to be funny. After followers pointed out that he had not apologised, he wrote that this had been his way of saying he was sorry.
Was Colton Cumbie punished or banned by CBS?: No. There was no investigation, sanction or legal proceeding. He left Survivor: One World on medical grounds and CBS cast him again for Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2013.
What did Colton Cumbie say to Christina Cha?: He screamed at her, called her an idiot, and told her she could enjoy her last two days, quit, or jump in the camp fire. Cha went on to finish fourth that season.

Sources

Survivor: One World Castoff Responds to Tribemate's Shocking Attack, and Racist Insult E! Online, 2012-03-08
Survivor: One World season article, retrieved 26 July 2026 Wikipedia, 2026-07-26

Checked on 2026-07-26. If something here is wrong or out of date, we want to know: get in touch.