Hatch, on trial for tax evasion in Providence, R.I., caught fellow "Survivor" contestants cheating, lawyer Michael Minns said Friday. When Hatch told producers about it they made a deal to pay his taxes if he won the $1 million prize, he said.
Hatch supposedly caught some of his opponents trying to have friends sneak food to them at their tropical location.
CBS refused to comment on the charges Friday, and a spokesman for "Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett -- who testified earlier at Hatch's trial -- said he would not comment while the trial was in progress.
"Survivor" has been a mainstay of CBS' lineup ever since it became a sensation in the summer of 2000 and, after "American Idol," is consistently television's most popular reality game. The 12th installment of the show, set in Panama, begins on CBS Feb. 2.
It would be disturbing for television viewers if Hatch's charges were true, said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. People want the game played by the rules.
And if such charges came out five years ago, it might have really hurt the show, he said.
Now, he's not so sure.
"I think most people consider the reality of reality TV as they do the reality of Santa Claus," Thompson said.
A poll conducted by The Associated Press and TV Guide last September found that 82 percent of Americans believe that reality shows are either "totally made up" or "mostly distorted."
Yet they watch them anyway. The fifth season debut of "American Idol" on Tuesday drew nearly 36 million viewers -- the most-watched entertainment show this TV season -- despite last year's charges that contest judge Paula Abdul had slept with a previous contestant (Fox concluded the charges were unsubstantiated).
Two of Hatch's first-season "Survivor" competitors disagreed sharply Friday with Hatch's assertion. "What friends could bring them food? There ain't no friends on the island," Rudy Boesch told the Internet site TMZ.com. Dr. Sean Kenniff told TMZ he "never witnessed any cheating" by anyone involved.
The heart of "Survivor" is putting real people in stressful situations and watching how they react to one another, Thompson said.
"I don't know if (viewers) care if they have the integrity that you would expect on a journalistic documentary," he said.
"Survivor" had one brush with security in 2003. An offshore bookie suspended betting that year on who the "Survivor" winner would be when he noticed a large number of people betting on contestant Sandra Diaz-Twine, the eventual winner.
The most recent "Survivor" edition, based in Guatemala, averaged 18.3 million viewers, placing it among Nielsen Media Research's 10 most popular shows of the year. The show leads off CBS' Thursday schedule, the most lucrative night of the week for advertising revenue.
The revelation from Hatch's lawyer came during a break in Hatch's testimony on Friday. He told U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres that Hatch would testify about the deal. Hatch had been on the stand defending himself against charges that he failed to pay taxes on his "Survivor" winnings.
Minns did not return to the allegations when he questioned Hatch later in the day in front of jurors. It was not immediately clear whether the judge had excluded questioning about the topic. Prosecutors started to question Hatch Friday afternoon and plan to resume Monday.
Hatch is also accused of failing to pay taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars of other income and using money donated to a charity on himself.
On Friday, Hatch spoke about how the behavioral problems of his son, Christopher, have weighed on him. Minns has said Hatch was distracted by problems with his son and was a terrible bookkeeper, but he never meant to commit tax fraud.
