Kentucky’s ex-Survivor lawmaker rues ‘embarrassing’ cousin gaffe in incest bill

A Kentucky state lawmaker and 2018 winner of the television competition Survivor had to hastily scrap a proposed measure that – if approved – would have unintentionally legalized sex between first cousins.

After correcting the gaffe within a day, Nick Wilson – a Republican representative in Kentucky’s house of representatives – expressed hope that the misstep would not doom a measure whose purpose is to combat familial abuse.

Wilson told the Guardian on Thursday that the entire episode was “frustrating” and “embarrassing”.

“Due to the subject matter of the legislation, it was obviously quite embarrassing,” Wilson said. “It was also frustrating that it blew up so quickly, just because I was on a TV show five years ago.

“I didn’t get a chance to fix the mistake – not even one day. I feel like most legislators would get that opportunity.”

Wilson introduced a bill on Tuesday which in effect proposed removing first cousins from a list of unlawful incestuous relationships.

A fierce backlash met the move quickly after a New York public defender and fellow Survivor alum, Eliza Orlins, went on TikTok to condemn Wilson’s proposal.

“Kentucky – like so many other places – is facing a lot of issues, and this is Nick’s top legislative priority,” Orlins said. “No matter what Nick’s weird priorities are, your voices matter, and when your voices are heard, it actually has an impact in local politics.”

After wishing a great day to her TikTok audience, she addressed Wilson directly. “Nick Wilson, I hope you have the day that you deserve,” she said.

Wilson subsequently reversed course and said it was an unintentional “mistake” to have omitted first cousins from a list of relationships that Kentucky law defined as incestuous if they involved sex.

“Dur