‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34: Linton Defends Sharik — ‘Editing Left out a Lot’
Numerous contestants have had breakdowns on The Amazing Race over the seasons. From Rachel Reilly refusing to shave her head in season 20 to Colin Guinn’s ox outburst in season 5, fans have seen it all. But when Sharik Atkinson seemingly gave up in the middle of a Megaleg in The Amazing Race Season 34, many viewers were unhappy with her behavior.
Sharik almost quit in ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34 Episode 4
Sharik expressed at the beginning of The Amazing Race Season 34 Episode 4 that she had anxiety about doing a Roadblock. As a result, her father, Linton Atkinson, did the first three of the race. But a rule states that teammates must perform the same amount of Roadblocks by the end of the season. So on average, one racer can only complete six Roadblocks.
Sharik agreed to do a sculpting Roadblock in the second half of the Megaleg. However, the task was difficult for her, and she broke down. Sharik eventually completed the challenge ahead of two other teams, but the damage was done. She immediately shut down and expressed a desire to quit and return home. However, Linton encouraged her, and she reluctantly helped him with the next Detour.
The father and daughter duo ended up finishing in ninth place, and host Phil Keoghan asked them if they wanted to stay or leave. Linton and Sharik agreed to continue racing in The Amazing Race Season 34. And Rich Kuo and Dom Jones were eliminated after finishing in last place.
Linton comes to his daughter’s defense online
After The Amazing Race Season 34 Episode 4 aired, many fans expressed disappointment and annoyance with Sharik online. They were angry that she wanted to quit and frustrated with her attitude toward her father and Phil Keoghan. However, Linton quickly jumped to his daughter’s defense.
He made a Twitter account solely for this purpose and tweeted, “Being on [The Amazing Race 34] is different than watching it. Sharik, like many reality tv contestants, had a [REAL] moment on episode 4. We have all felt like giving up at some point, no matter the reason. Editing left out a lot about Sharik’s [mental health] and [anxiety].”
Linton added, “If you have never felt like giving up on anything in life, then I want to know your secret to living an alternate reality. [Mental health] is a reality for Sharik and so many others.”
Sharik retweeted her father’s posts on her account.
‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34 fans react to Linton’s tweets about Sharik
After seeing Linton’s tweets, some fans of The Amazing Race Season 34 jumped on Reddit to discuss the situation.
One Reddit user wrote, “What a supportive, patient, and understanding dad. Linton seems like an awesome parent to have.”
“He’s a good dad,” a fan commented. “It probably kills him to hear people speaking negatively about his daughter. My momma bear would be coming out strong if people were speaking negatively about my kiddo, too. The way I see it, whether what we saw was the whole picture or not, she is so young and has a lot of life experience to gain and resilience to learn. I give her grace for that reason.”
Another person added, “Anxiety is awful. Severe anxiety can cause a person to isolate themselves from others and experiences they would otherwise enjoy doing. Also, people can’t always predict when they will reach ‘that point.’ I think it’s OK that she tried something new, but also would say, in hindsight, that her starting point to overcoming her anxiety probably shouldn’t have been The Amazing Race.”
A new episode of The Amazing Race Season 34 airs Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
