J.T. Thomas

James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. is the Sole Survivor of . He later competed on and .
Beloved by fans and fellow contestants alike in Tocantins, J.T. commanded very strong loyalties, even to the point that some players explicitly stated that helping J.T. win the game was as important as, or more important than, winning the game themselves. His force of personality helped him become the first castaway to play a "perfect game".
He returned to a leadership role in Heroes vs. Villains. He formed the Heroes Alliance early on, and found a Hidden Immunity Idol, but was perceived as untrustworthy. Shortly before the merge, he made one of the biggest blunders in history by giving his idol to the infamous villain Russell Hantz, believing he was in trouble. However, this gave Russell and Parvati Shallow the resources they needed to blindside J.T. with his own idol immediately after the merge.
In Game Changers, J.T. settled into a comfortable position in the original Nuku tribe. However, a tribe switch put him on the bottom of the totem pole, which was exacerbated when he leaked Nuku's plans to the rival tribe Mana at the Joint Tribal Council, leading to his ally Malcolm Freberg's unexpected blindside. Despite being a challenge asset and finding a Hidden Immunity Idol, J.T. was voted off when Sandra Diaz-Twine correctly surmised his betrayal and led the charge to blindside him, while he once again made a blunder by not bringing his idol to Tribal Council.
==Profile==
Retrieved from CBS.com
<tabber>Tocantins=
James "JT" Thomas Jr. (24)
Hometown: Samson, Ala.
Occupation: Cattle Rancher
A cattle manager raised in Samson, Alabama, JT operates a registered Angus Cattle Ranch. In addition to preparing the land and working the cattle, this southern charmer is responsible for all the paperwork and marketing associated with running the business.
This ambitious 24-year-old gets fired up when people insult his intelligence and says "I'm not a dumb hillbilly, so don't think it!" However, this may be just the strategy that JT chooses to use and isn't above playing the "dumb and innocent country boy role" in an effort to gain alliances with the women. JT attended Troy University and is the first in his family to earn a Bachelors Degree. His is in business administration.
A true family man, JT values his relationships and will work towards forming alliances that will take him very far in the game. This strong country boy is competitive and determined and will use manipulation in order to help him succeed and ultimately win Survivor.
JT is single and currently resides in Mobile, Ala. His birthdate is June 23.http://web.archive.org/web/20230530045333/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/23300/
==Survivor==
===Tocantins===
Assigned to the red Jalapao tribe, J.T. was popular and well-liked by all his tribemates and his physical prowess in challenges made him very valuable to fellow tribe member Stephen Fishbach. As of Day 2, they created a rock-solid alliance and with the help of Taj Johnson-George became the power-players, eliminating Sandy Burgin, Spencer Duhm, and Sydney Wheeler back to back in Jalapao's three straight Tribal Councils.
Despite his persona and the various ways he benefited the tribe, J.T. was on the losing end when it came to tribal numbers. When Jalapao merged with Timbira, Jalapao was down in numbers 4-6. It was Coach Wade who approached him and Stephen to create a new alliance, known as the Warrior Alliance. Due to the medical evacuation of Joe Dowdle and Timbira slowly self-destructing, J.T. was able to play up his social game and play hard when it came to individual challenges, earning the respect of those voted out.
In the final few rounds of the game, J.T. began winning consecutive individual Immunity Challenges sending strategies into a tailspin after he became a target. Despite all this, the original alliance he created with Stephen was honored when J.T. took him to the Final Two over Erinn Lobdell. In the end, he became the eighteenth Sole Survivor by a vote of 7-0, winning in the series' second unanimous jury vote and becoming the first Sole Survivor to play a "Perfect Game".
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode 	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type 	Sit-Out? 	Result
1 	rowspan=10 	A River, Run Through It 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	
2 	Basket Brawl 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	 	
3 	Blind Leading the Blind 	Reward 	No 	 	
3 	A Crate Idea 	Immunity 	No 	 	
4 	Shoulder the Load 	Reward 	No 	 	
4 	Try-Any-Angle 	Immunity 	No 	 	
5 	Dizziness as Usual 	Reward 	No 	 	
5 	Water Mortar 	Immunity 	No 	 	
7 	When Pigs Fly 	Reward 	No 	 	
7 	Sandstone Shootout 	Immunity 	No 	 	
colspan="6" 	 	 	 	 	
8 	rowspan=13 	Get a Grip 	Immunity 	 	
9 	Rock Block 	Reward 	 	 	
9 	Rope-a-Dope 	Immunity 	 	 	
10 	Swiss Cheese Please 	Reward 	 	 	
10 	Tocantins Shuffle 	Immunity 	Yes 	 	
11 	Jala-Powed 	Reward 	 	 	
11 	Snag, Drag and Bag 	Immunity 	 	 	
12 	Survivor Auction 	Survivor Auction 	Survivor Auction 	Survivor Auction 	
12 	Propellerheads 	Immunity 	 	 	
13 	Blind to Reason 	Reward 	 	 	
13 	Chimney Sweep 	Immunity 	 	 	
14 	Tarantula 	Immunity 	 	 	
14 	Simmotion 	Immunity 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.	Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.	Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.	Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.	Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.	Notes: J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.
|-|Voting History=
Episode 	J.T.'sVotes	Voted AgainstJ.T.
1 	 	
2 	 	
3 	 	
4 	 	
5 	 	
7 	 	
8 	colspan="2"	
9 	 	
10 	 	
11 	 	
12 	 	
13 	 	
14 	 	
14 	 	
Jury Votesfor J.T.	colspan="2"	
 	 	
</tabber>
===Heroes vs. Villains===
J.T. was assigned to the Heroes tribe due to being beloved in Tocantins. It was here that the farmer employed a far different strategy than his original season, creating conflicting deals with James Clement and Tom Westman. In the opening days of the competition, he was relatively comfortable within the tribe and nobody had begun to notice his intentions. Most of the tribe began to see him as their leader and tried to remain on his good side.
Just as it seemed that their rivals had the upper hand, after losing two consecutive Immunity Challenges, where Sugar Kiper and Stephenie LaGrossa were voted off the Heroes bounced back and won immunity. However, their luck ran out when they lost the next three Immunity Challenges, where Cirie Fields, Tom Westman, and James Clement were voted off. The now five-some were a force to be reckoned with and decided together that, after finding the Hidden Immunity Idol clue after winning a Reward Challenge, they would find the Idol together and use it to enable them to become the final five. J.T. upon returning to camp went looking for it alone and was caught by Amanda Kimmel, forcing him to reveal his find to the rest of the tribe. Some time later on, the Heroes began noticing that the men from the Villains were being systematically voted out, alluding to an all-female alliance. J.T. led his Heroes to the belief that if they were to give the idol to Russell Hantz and use it, they'll merge with a Villain on their side and still keep their final five deal.
J.T. wrote a note, wrapped it with the Hidden Immunity Idol and during the Immunity Challenge he handed it to Russell. When the tribes eventually merged, Russell stayed with the Villains and J.T. was blindsided after two idols were played at the first post-merge Tribal Council. He was the second of the four previous winners to get voted out, and only previous winner to get voted out after the merge. 
At Final Tribal Council, J.T. asked Russell whether he considered the jury votes while he was playing the game and told him getting to the end is only half of the game, and that the other half is getting the jury to vote for you, and he asked Parvati and Sandra Diaz-Twine to explain their own games. He gave his jury vote to Sandra who won 6-3-0 vote, and became the first two-time winner in Survivor history.
During the Live Reunion Show, Russell showed everyone the letter he got from J.T. when he gave Russell the idol; in response, J.T. tried to burn the letter in a fire set up in front of the castaways and the audience, but Russell managed to retrieve it, and he won the award for the "Dumbest Move in Survivor History" for giving up his idol to Russell.
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode 	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type 	Sit-Out? 	Result
1 	rowspan=16 	Battle Dig 	Reward 	No 	
1 	Lock, Load and Light 	Immunity 	No 	 	
2 	A Crate Idea 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	 	
3 	Sumo in Mud 	Reward/Immunity 	No 	 	
4 	Slip, Slide & Score 	Reward 	No 	 	
4 	Roll With It 	Immunity 	No 	 	
5 	Schmergen Brawl 	Reward 	No 	 	
5 	Blind Cube Crisis 	Immunity 	No 	 	
6 	Rope-a-Dope 	Immunity 	No 	 	
6 	Rope-a-Dope 	Reward 	Yes 	 	
7 	Basket Brawl 	Reward 	No 	 	
7 	Caught in the Web 	Immunity 	No 	 	
8 	Fauxconut Bowling 	Reward 	No 	 	
8 	Mud Slide 	Immunity 	No 	 	
9 	Chimney Sweep 	Reward 	No 	 	
9 	Strung Out 	Immunity 	No 	 	
colspan="6" 	 	 	 	 	
10 	 	Get a Grip 	Immunity 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.	Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.	Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.	Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.	Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.	Notes: The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.
|-|Voting History=
Episode 	J.T.'sVotes	Voted AgainstJ.T.
1 	 	
2 	 	
3 	 	
4 	 	
5 	 	
6 	 	
7 	 	
8 	 	
9 	 	
10 	 	
 	 	
Voted forSole Survivor	colspan="2"	
 In , Jerri used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating J.T.'s vote against her.</tabber>
===Game Changers===
J.T. started on Nuku which won the first two challenges. He was the only member on Nuku to remain on Nuku after the Tribe Switch. He was joined by Mana's Malcolm Freberg, Jeff Varner, Aubry Bracco, Michaela Bradshaw, and fellow castmate Sandra Diaz-Twine. J.T. stranded his new tribemates out on the ocean while on a snorkeling trip in order to look for a Hidden Immunity Idol, but failed to find it.
On Day 10, he tried to convince Malcolm to target Sandra. On Day 11, Tavua won immunity, but the losing tribes, Nuku and Mana, had to go to a Joint Tribal Council and vote out one member instead of two. J.T. wanted Tai Trang out for being sneaky, but Sandra wanted Sierra Dawn Thomas out. At Tribal Council, J.T. leaked to Mana member Brad Culpepper that Sierra was the target and they should vote for Sandra. However, this backfired when Tai played his Hidden Immunity Idol on Sierra and Mana's votes sent Malcolm out of the game.
After returning from Tribal Council, J.T. was confronted of leaking their plan to Brad, but he denied it. The next day he managed to find a Hidden Immunity Idol. After the Reward Challenge, J.T. and Michaela squabbled over the latter's consumption of the sugar they had previously won. In order to keep the two fighting, Sandra ate the rest of the sugar, causing J.T. to accuse Michaela of the act.
Nuku lost the Immunity Challenge. J.T. talked to Aubry, Jeff, and Sandra about voting out Michaela. Aubry sided with him while Sandra plotted with Michaela to blindside J.T., so Jeff was the swing vote. J.T. decided not to bring his idol to Tribal Council. However, this backfired as Jeff sided with Sandra and Michaela, blindsiding J.T.
<tabber>Challenge History=
Episode	TribeAffiliation 	Challenge 	Challenge Type	Sit-Out?	Result
1 	rowspan=8 	The Marooning 	Reward 	No 	
1 	Blue Lagoon Bustle 	Reward/Immunity	No 	 	
1 	Serpent Turf 	Reward/Immunity	No 	 	
2 	Austin's Elemental Obstacle Course	Reward/Immunity	No 	 	
3 	Ram-Ball On 	Reward 	No 	 	
3 	Ow-Pairs 	Immunity 	No 	 	
4 	Unchained Medley 	Reward 	No 	 	
4 	Box Car Blues 	Immunity 	No 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
|-|Voting History=
Episode	J.T.'sVotes	Voted AgainstJ.T.
1 	 	
1 	 	
2 	 	
3 	 	
4 	 	
 	 	
 In , Sierra used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating J.T.'s vote against her.</tabber>
==Post-Survivor==
* In the summer of 2009, J.T., along with the other first eighteen winners, appeared on a TVGuide special "Survivor Millionaires: Where Are They Now?".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be122Jgy3xg
* At the Reunion Show, J.T. won the award for the "Dumbest Move in Survivor History" for giving up his Hidden Immunity Idol to Russell Hantz, the leader of the Villains tribe who was not in any danger like J.T. thought he was.
* When asked about his winnings in a 2011 interview, J.T. replied: "I bought my sisters some new cars and some of my sisters' kids; I decided to help them out with their school tuition costs. I also gave my mother and father some money to help them out, and the majority of it, I invested. I wanted to help my family out and because I have a lot of nephews and nieces, I promised my family I'd pay for my nephews and nieces to go to college one day. I'm just trying to invest in their future and give back to my family."
* On January 9, 2010, J.T. attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party along with all of his Heroes vs. Villains castmates.
* In February 2010, J.T. appeared on as Top Ten List Presenter #3 along with nine of his Heroes vs. Villains cast mates.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1599664/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
* J.T. married his longtime girlfriend, Cameron, on April 12, 2015, with castmate Stephen Fishbach as their wedding officiant.https://instagram.com/p/1YWn57BaGJ/ In turn, J.T. attended Stephen's own wedding June 9, 2018.https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/8q177k/survivor_alum_at_fishbachs_wedding/
==Trivia==
* J.T. has taken part in every post-merge reward in . He won three of four post-merge Reward Challenges, and he was picked by Stephen Fishbach to join him on his reward.
* J.T. became the second Sole Survivor to receive every jury vote in a season, following 's Earl Cole, and was the first contestant to have played a "perfect game", having had no votes cast against him during Tribal Council while receiving every jury vote.
** He would be followed by John Cochran (), Jeremy Collins (), and Adam Klein ().
** J.T. is currently the only person to win with every jury vote in a Final Two.
* Among all winners from seasons with as a season-long twist, J.T. is the only winner to never be exiled.
* J.T. lost 17 lbs. during his time on Tocantins.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2sMTVJALJo
* J.T. is the youngest man to compete on .
* J.T. is the only Hero to vote with the majority at all five Tribal Councils the tribe attended.
* J.T. is the first former winner to be a jury member in a subsequent attempt of .
* J.T. was the only previous winner in Heroes vs. Villains to be on the jury as Tom Westman was voted out pre-jury, while Parvati Shallow and Sandra Diaz-Twine made it to the Final Tribal Council.
* J.T. lost 13 lbs. during his time in Heroes vs. Villains.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMkO2mcwxPk
* J.T. is the only member of the original Nuku tribe to remain on Nuku after the first tribe switch.
* Both times J.T. lost:
** J.T. started out on a blue tribe with Cirie Fields.
** J.T has only received elimination votes at Tribal Councils where he was voted out; both times, one of these votes was from Sandra Diaz-Twine.
* J.T. is the only member of the original Nuku tribe not to make the merge.
* J.T. is the fifth castaway to finish the game as a finalist, a juror, and pre-jury boot in their Survivor career, following Stephenie LaGrossa, Colby Donaldson, Tina Wesson, and Tyson Apostol.
==References==
Category:Contestants
Category:Male Contestants
Category:Contestants Appearing in Multiple Seasons
Category:Tocantins Contestants
Category:Heroes vs. Villains Contestants
Category:Game Changers Contestants
Category:Finalists
Category:Heroes vs. Villains Jury Members
Category:Jalapao Tribe
Category:Forza Tribe
Category:Heroes Tribe
Category:Yin Yang Tribe
Category:Nuku Tribe
Category:Winners
Category:10th Place
Category:16th Place
Category:Fan Favorite Award Winners
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Contestants
Category:Survivor: Tocantins
Category:Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Category:Survivor: Game Changers
Category:1984 births
Category:Living people