'Outlast: The Jungle': How Wes Is Dealing With Backlash
Outlast: The Jungletook the survival show to the Panamanian jungle. Camps compete to outlast the others in hopes to win $1 million.
Finding food, fire, and shelter is essential, but so is getting along with your fellow teammates. Wes Saunders got into multiple arguments with someone from his team and he revealed how he's handling the backlash.
Spoiler for Outlast: The Jungle Episode 1!
Wes Saunders Ignores Angry Fans of 'Outlast: The Jungle'
Wes, 37, was a tight end and played with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His strength came in handy when Camp Charlie built their shelter. But things didn't go as smoothly after that.
Wes posted multiple pictures of himself celebrating the release of the Netflix show on Instagram. His caption hinted that he is dealing with the backlash by avoiding it.
"Last night was special!" it read. "It was a reminder of something important: real life speaks much louder than the internet. Ain't nothing like human connection!"
The athlete thanked people for their support. "I see that when the noise gets louder, the value of a good woman becomes clearer. Appreciate you shawty [sic] @midia_the_artist The brains behind the operation."
The caption ended with, "I signed up for a crazy experience in the jungle that most people would never try which is why it's easy to ignore 99% of people's opinions."
He clashed with Sarah Awad, whom he described as "hyperactive." The football player preferred people who didn't talk as much. Wes also surprised the rest of the team when he was open to voting on whether to replace one team member with Mary Wedell.
Sarah, 26, later accused Wes of being lazy. Wes accused her of being passive-aggressive. That led to multiple arguments at camp.
Some viewers reacted to the episodes on Reddit and called him a bully. The same thread also wasn't impressed with Braxton Fish and Brett Johnson on Camp Charlie.
The first six episodes of Outlast: The Jungle is now available to stream on Netflix. The last two episodes will be released on June 17.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 1:03 PM.