This week, Survivor star turned Republican state legislator Nick Wilson introduced legislation that would have legalized sex between first cousins. The Kentucky lawmaker introduced House Bill 289 on Tuesday. After it came to the attention of many on social media, Wilson announced he’d made a mistake. He now says the language exempting first cousins was an oversight.
Incest is illegal in 48 of the 50 states with age restrictions in Rhode Island and New Jersey. It is generally considered as taboo as child marriage and both are items that should be eradicated from contemporary pop culture.
Wilson now claims that his bill was in error, that it contained typos he didn’t see at filing. Wilson rose to fame during his appearance on Survivor in 2018. He holds a law degree from the University of Alabama and previously worked as a public defender.
Wilson told the Guardian that his gaffe was “frustrating” and “embarrassing,” adding “Due to the subject matter of the legislation, it was obviously quite embarrassing, … 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.”
The 33-year-old legislator serves on several House committees, most notably the Family and Children standing committee. The lawmaker has only sponsored a handful of bills in his time in office. Wilson earned some national notoriety in March 2023 for a bill he didn’t sponsor but did support. His vote caused outrage in the LGBTQ community.
This particular piece of 2023 legislation allowed teachers to continue to call students by their biological pronouns even if the student noted other preferences. This legislation also made it illegal to discuss gender identity in the classroom setting. Wilson was criticized by many for supporting this, including some of his former cast members on Survivor.
Wilson is part of a long tradition of actors and celebrities turned Republican politicians. Dr. Mehmet Oz, of Oprah Winfrey Show fame, ran for US Senate in Pennsylvania in 2022. And of course, America’s most famous celebrity turned conservative politician is The Apprentice star turned president, Donald Trump.
(featured image: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
