‘The Challenge 40’ Cast Dealt With Horrible Living Conditions and Only 2 Porta-Potties
MTV’s The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras is here, and fans get to see past competitors from four eras of the show compete for big prize money. Fan-favorite competitors like CT Tamburello, Tori Deal, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, and Cara Maria Sorbello returned in the hopes of winning. However, all of the competitors might have had to deal with horrible living conditions. Here’s what an insider alleged.
‘The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras’ competitors lived in ‘horrible’ living conditions, a source says
Producers filmed The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras in Vietnam with 40 returning players from four different eras of the show. The season began with competitors competing within their own era comprising 10 players first. As the season progressed, the players ventured into an individual game until the final.
Unfortunately, the living conditions this season were allegedly less than desirable. GamerVev, a known Challenge spoiler guru, tweeted that the players complained of “horrible conditions” while competing.
“Supposedly living conditions are horrible …. There are two bathrooms (Porta-Potties), showers are awful, and food is terrible,” GamerVev tweeted.
Jordan Wiseley, one of the most formidable competitors in season 40, also posted about the bad conditions on social media. “When I say ‘a Challenge house is one of the worst environments to be in,’ I’m not exaggerating,” Jordan posted, according to a Reddit screenshot. “This one was by far the worst treatment we’ve ever received as a cast, and it’s taken a toll (more on that later). But now, we gotta work together to get off the couch and going again!”
Others commented about the situation on Reddit.
“It’s been said the 40 house looked nice, but it wasn’t functional at all,” a user wrote. “It didn’t have a functional kitchen, so the cast had to eat in their beds. The cast had two Porta-Potties to split for bathrooms, and the food was awful.”
The president of Bunim/Murray Productions said the crew ‘bends over backward’ for the cast
Julie Pizzi, the president of Bunim/Murray productions, spoke to Variety about the difficult living situation that the cast described. Pizzi said she and the team “try to create a fantasy location” for the cast, which sometimes comes with growing pains.
“We end up in castles. We’ve been in bunkers. We end up in places that we have to bring in bathrooms because their plumbing can’t sustain. We’ve had to bring in generators. It’s always about trying to find a location that feels like a fantasy,” Pizzi said.
Pizzi confirmed that the crew filmed The Challenge 40 in a castle in Vietnam, so the crew had to bring in bathrooms for the cast and use local caterers for food.
“There’s always an adjustment to people’s pallets,” she continued. “What we really try to do is take good care of our cast. We have a whole talent team that’s dedicated to getting them aspirin and ice packs and more forks and plates and cups. We really try to bend over backward to keep our cast happy, and I’m sure that the majority of them would confirm that.”
Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio talked about the horrible living conditions in past seasons
The Challenge cast members discussed their difficult living scenarios in past saeasons. Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio said that filming The Challenge: Total Madness in an underground bunker was by far the hardest environment he ever had to compete in.
Living underground, breathing artificial air, no natural light,” he said on the Challenge Mania podcast. Seasonal affect disorder, you not being able to see actual light, really does a number on the human body and on the mind. And I got to a point on this show where … I felt like I was depressed, dude. I have nothing to look forward to. It was miserable, dude.”
This article was originally reported by PinkRose on Vevmo.
The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras premieres on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
