- - ‘Survivor’ Contestant Kristina Mills Opens Up About Her Controversial ‘Uncle J’ Nickname for Jeff Probst

Grace GalanteDecember 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM

0

Photo by CBS Photo Archive on Getty Images

Survivor 49 contestant Kristina Mills is addressing critics of her "Uncle J" nickname for Jeff Probst.

In a TikTok posted Monday, Dec. 8, the castaway explained the origins of the moniker and why she doesn't care about fan's opinions of it.

"I did not think this was something I would ever have to address or talk about, but I've seen Reddit threads, and I've seen articles, and lots and lots of comments," she began. "If it bothers you, if it gets on your nerves, if it's cringe for you, I'm very, very sorry. But from the bottom of my heart, truly, and I cannot stress this enough, I don't care."

"I'm really sorry, there are more things in the world to care about than someone being called uncle on TV," she continued. "Also, like, please stop saying, 'Stop it.' Like what do you guys want us to do? Do you want us to go back and film everything we filmed months ago? I can't just magically stop."

RELATED: Meet the ‘Survivor 49’ Cast! Kristina Mills Says the Game is a ‘Recharge’ from Recent Family Events (Exclusive)

Survivor 49 filmed earlier this year in the Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, from April 20 to May 15. Mills also revealed her inspiration for the nickname, which came from a fellow CBS reality tv show contestant.

"For those genuinely interested in the 'Uncle J' origins, I'm a huge Big Brother fan, and from the first time Chelsie [Baham] called Julie [Chen Moonves] auntie, I looked over to my husband and I said, 'Hey, if Julie is the OG auntie of reality TV, then Jeff is for sure the OG uncle,'" Mills explained. "And I said, if I ever get the chance to meet him, then I'm going to tell him that."

"Fast-forward, and I actually get to meet him. And so in my first interview with him, I called him Uncle Jeffrey, and he had no problem with that," she continued. "He's told you guys that he doesn't care about it. And also, if he did, then I wouldn't have made it on the cast, because this was the entire casting process that I called him that."

Mills added that the producers and crew have no problem telling contestants to "knock something off," so if the nickname was a problem, she either wouldn't have been cast or would've been asked to stop saying it. She also explained how it's common for people in the South to refer to people older than you with a modifier like "auntie" or "uncle," even if they're not related to you.

"I'm a southern girl raised by a Black mama, if I ever tried to call someone by their first name, my mom would literally look at me crazy and say, 'You better put a handle on it,'" she said. "At this point, it's ingrained in me if I meet you and you're older than me and we're not colleagues or friends, or anything like that, then I'm probably going to put a handle on it until you tell me otherwise."

RELATED: ‘Survivor 49’ Contestant Says He’s in Therapy to Process Black Players’ Eliminations

She also explained how the nickname was a source of comfort for her while filming the grueling reality competition show. Throughout the season, Mills has been vulnerable about the recent passing of her mother and how being on the island forced her to deal with feelings of grief.

"You are all by yourself on Survivor, and you do not have a village, and that's something I've never experienced in my entire life," she said. "Honestly, at the end of the day, it became kind of a comfort thing. And that's actually how we went from 'Uncle Jeffrey' to 'Uncle J.'"

Mills noted that Survivor 49 filmed while season 48 was airing, so she was unaware that Star Toomey called Probst "Uncle JP" during that season until after she got home. And, she's not the only 49 castaway to call Probst uncle either — fellow contestant Jawan Pitts also called him "Uncle" starting from the very first episode.

"I looked around and was like nah-uh, that's my name," Mills joked, referring to the very first time she heard Pitts use the nickname. "People actually thought we had legit beef because of it."

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Episodes are available to stream next day on Paramount Plus.

🎬SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬

This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”