Survivor castaway Dan Spilo has made his first public comment since his removal from Survivor: Island of the Idols due to alleged inappropriate touching aired on CBS last week, and he says he's not allowed to talk about it -- but he wishes he could.
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A paparazzo caught up with Dan, a 48-year-old Los Angeles talent manager, in a driveway outside of a house on Thursday while the Survivor castaway appeared to be plugging in an electric car.
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Dan repeatedly insisted he's not allowed to comment even though it seemed he had a lot to say.
"Dan, how are you?" asked the paparazzo in a video of the exchange obtained by the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
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"Hey," Dan replied.
"Anything you can say about what happened on the show?" the paparazzo questioned, referencing Dan's stint on Survivor.
"Seriously?" Dan asked. "No, I'm not allowed to comment."
"But is there anything?" the paparazzo probed, as Dan began walking down the street. "Did the misconduct happen?"
"You know, I wish I could comment. Believe me, I wish I could comment. I really do," Dan said.
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"Do you deny the accusations?" the paparazzo asked.
"Like I said, I really wish I could comment," Dan repeated.
"Do you regret anything?" the paparazzo questioned as Dan stepped into another waiting car driven by someone else.
"I appreciate you coming to talk to me," Dan concluded. "I appreciate you coming to talk to me. I really do."
After the paparazzo asked Dan if he'd like to issue any apologies, Dan noted, "I apologized on the show, but again, there's really no comment. I appreciate you coming to talk to me."
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"The fans are disappointed," the paparazzo said as Dan drove off in the passenger seat of a car.
Dan has yet to comment publicly or issue a statement on the controversial events that unfolded during and after Wednesday night's episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols.
Dan was removed from the show on Day 36 "after a report of another incident, which happened off-camera and did not involve a player," according to a vague on-screen graphic that flashed on the screen at the end of Wednesday night's episode.
The broadcast showed Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst telling the season's remaining five castaways that Dan was out of the game and would not participate as a member of the jury, but he did not share any details of why Dan was gone.
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Both Jeff and CBS have thus far refused to share any additional details about the off-camera incident "out of respect for privacy and confidentiality," according to Entertainment Weekly.
However, sources close to production told People on Thursday that Dan allegedly groped a crew member's leg when entering a transfer boat after an Immunity Challenge -- presumably the challenge that occurred on Day 35 before Elaine Stott was voted out at the end of the latest episode.
Dan reportedly insisted the alleged groping was accidental and unintentional because he had lost his balance and while stepping into the slippery boat. (Three-time Survivor castaway Jeff Varner has voiced support of Dan after allegedly speaking with castaways from the current season about the incident).
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Survivor's production and legal team, however, weren't convinced Dan's gesture was innocent, People reported, and so he was forced to leave the game later on.
Jeff Probst told EW after Wednesday night's episode Dan was "not happy" to be booted from the show, but People's insiders claim Dan was actually furious and vehemently disagreed with producers' decision.
Dan is the first Survivor castaway ever ejected by producers from the game during the show's 39 seasons, which have featured hundreds of castaways over 19 years. (Past players who prematurely departed the game had been medically evacuated or chose to quit on their own accord).
In the first few days of Survivor: Island of the Idols during filming, castaway Kellee Kim had accused the talent manager of "extremely inappropriate" behavior. Kellee said she had been disrespected and felt disgusted by Dan's alleged attempts to touch her in the shelter and at camp.
Dan's behavior allegedly still continued afterward, resulting in Dan finally being issued a formal warning by the show's producers on Day 22 of the game.
However, Kellee was voted out of Survivor amid the scandal, and then talk of allegations against Dan subsided in subsequent days -- until the alleged crew-member incident -- since other female players on the show claimed to not be offended by his actions.
After the episode featuring Kellee's vote off aired on CBS, Dan was reportedly uninvited to the reunion special and finale of Survivor: Island of the Idols, which will not air live.
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The taped finale reunion will mark the first time in Survivor's near 20-year run on television that the reunion will not air live. Instead, Survivor: Island of the Idols' three-hour finale event will film earlier in the day and air on tape delay on Wednesday, EW reported.
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After filming earlier in the day, the three-hour finale of Survivor: Island of the Idols will still air on CBS from 8-11PM ET/PT.