Australia is still reeling from Luke Toki’s devastating elimination ahead of the Australian Survivor finale that resulted in Pia Miranda, Harry Hills and Baden Gilbert all voting him out.
But one finalist is copping a lot of hate for her controversial decision to think with her head over her heart.
Indeed, actress Pia Miranda’s social media accounts have been flooded with snake emojis and messages of hate, slamming her for her game play. But the Looking For Alibrandi star is hitting back against her haters.
“This game is brutal 💔💔💔,” Pia captioned a photo of her teary self hugging Luke with Baden sitting on Luke’s other side.
“I didn’t expect to have to make a decision that tore me apart like this but Survivor will do that to you. At the end of the day we are all out there playing to change our lives and Harry, Baden and I made a choice that was strategically right but morally painful. So send me all your snake emojis and know that I get it. ❤️👑🌴@survivorau #SurvivorAU.”
“I didn’t expect to have to make a decision that tore me apart like this but Survivor will do that to you.”
(Image: Instagram @_piamiranda)Amongst the snake emojis, fans praised Pia for her strategic play and sympathised with her for making such a tough decision.
“Can’t imagine how hard that would’ve been,” supermodel Megan Gale, whose partner Shaun Hampson is sitting on the show’s jury, replied.
Another fan commented: “Funny how the comments are attacking Pia for voting out Luke as if Baden and harry didn’t vote him out too. Anyways Pia did the best move for her game and she’s an amazing player.”
WATCH: Survivor‘s Luke Toki opens up about his family. Post continues after video…
Former AFL player Shaun, who was voted out earlier in the show, also penned a tribute to Luke and shared his support for Pia.
“@luketoki I don’t think you are just one of the best players to play Australian survivor, I think you are one of the best to ever play Survivor full stop,” he stated in his caption.
“I thought I was playing really hard out there until I got stolen to the champs and I found out first hand how hard and smart you were playing. Whilst the 3 left are all deserving, unfortunately, survivor rarely gets won by the person who most deserves it. Unbelievable game mate. @_piamiranda you absolutely did the right and smartest thing in voting Lukey out. I think he would have had every vote on the jury. You handled it with a lot of class. Good luck to the final three,” he finished.
Shaun shared his support for Luke and Pia via Instagram.
(Image: Instagram @shaun_hampson16)Even Luke himself has no hard feelings against Pia, sharing an Instagram post that highlights his trademark larrikin sense of humour.
Captioning a photo of himself and the Aussie actress in a previous challenge where Luke is using Pia’s back for physical support, the dad-of-three wrote: “When someone tells you that you don’t deserve to be in top 3 @_piamiranda Just show them this photo hahaha 🤙 @survivorau Good luck tonight again to the remaining top 3.”
Onya Lukey!
Luke has no hard feelings towards Pia after she voted him out of the competition.
(Image: Instagram @luketoki)Contender Baden also penned a heartfelt tribute to Luke on Instagram, sharing a video of the heart-wrenching vote plus some snaps of the two during their time together on the show.
“This vote broke me. I pride myself on being able to separate my emotions from my decision making, but after 47 days this got to me, and I cried for the first time since the game began,” the science student confessed.
“@luketoki, you are an absolute legend, and it was a pleasure beyond words to play with the #kingofthejungle, forming the #starsalliance together for 30 days. The fact that this vote was so gut-wrenching for everyone shows what an amazing person you are. #survivorau 🤙”
“I pride myself on being able to separate my emotions from my decision making, but after 47 days this got to me, and I cried for the first time since the game began,” Baden confessed.
(Image: Instagram @baden.gilbert)Nicknamed the Golden God and the King of the Jungle respectively, David Genat and Luke were the ultimate power couple of the season so the male model was quick to post a tribute to his better half.
“Damn, gutted for you bro 😔,” David mused in his caption.
“Luke, from day 1 we dominated this game! Theres never been a better Survivor player full stop! If i wanted anyone to win it was @luketoki and man was i disappointed at this result. We had so many good times on the beach! The true #kingofthejungle! The real #peopleschamp. The better half of #duke and my friend for life! What a game homie, respect ✊#goldengod #dreamteam @survivorau #survivorau.”
Long live the King of the Jungle and the Golden God!
(Image: Instagram @davidgenat)Winning for Luke would’ve been a life-changing feat for 30-year-old Luke whose two sons Nate and Lennox have autism while his newborn daughter Madeline was born with cystic fibrosis.
Since his elimination on Monday night, Survivor fans have rallied and created not one, but 31 GoFundMe pages, with one being officially endorsed by Luke himself.
And in news that will restore your faith in humanity, the official page has raised over $115,000 and that number is only going up.
Dave Skow who set up the page wrote: “Whilst Luke stumbled near the finish line and was voted out in the top 4, true Survivor fans will recognise that he is the greatest Australian player ever to grace our screens. So let’s rally behind this Aussie legend and change this awesome young family’s life.”
Click here to donate to Luke’s GoFundMe account.
Luke and his wife Mary have received over $115,000 for their family.
(Image: Instagram @luketoki)
