Sia donated $100,000 (£78,000) to her favourite contestant on the 2019 season finale of U.S. reality series Survivor on Wednesday night (15May19).
Sia didn’t appear in person on the live episode, but host Jeff Probst stepped in to announce the winner of the big cash prize.
“We happen to have a superfan, who is Sia, this global pop star. She just loves Survivor. And every season, she created her own award. The Sia Award, which she gives to the contestant she was most entertained by,” he said.
“And I’m happy to say, Rick Devens, this season, the Sia Award goes to you. It’s a very nice award. It is $100,000. And the reason is, I want to be really clear, because it sounds crazy. This is the truth, Sia says, ‘I’ve been so lucky in my life. I like to share my success and I get a lot of enjoyment from this show.'”
TV anchor Rick, from Macon, Georgia, finished fourth in the 2019 TV competition, which follows a group of castaways left on an island where they have to provide themselves with food, fire and shelter, while also competing in various challenges for rewards and immunity from elimination.
Chris Underwood was crowned the winner of the latest series, and headed home with a grand prize of $1 million (£780,000) after being named the “Sole Survivor”.
But Sia was still supporting Rick, taking to her Twitter page to write: “Hey @RickDevensWGXA you played a killer game, maybe as dastardly as @BostonRob but with humour and vulnerability. I love you keep going!”
Following Sia’s generous prize donation, Rick told Entertainment Tonight he was planning to “buy every (Sia) album I don’t already have.”
“My wife was in the front row sobbing. We can’t believe it. That’s a huge amount of money for us, and I’ve got a five-year-old and a soon-to-be two-year-old, and that’s going right into college savings. So thank you, Sia!” he smiled.
The pop star also donated $15,000 (£11,700) to contestant Joe Anglim after he cut his hair and donated the locks to a children’s cancer wig-making charity, and a further $15,000 to another castaway, Aurora McCreary.
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