‘The Challenge’: A Competitor Said There Are Major Repercussions for Quitting the Show
Fans are loving The Challenge: Total Madness so far, as it’s the first time ever that competitors are living in an underground bunker. And we’re even seeing plenty of unlikely duos teaming together for big wins, like Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Wes Bergman. But there are a few things that will always stay the same season after season — and that’s that some competitors are already threatening to quit.
We recently saw Jenna Compono get into a fight with her boyfriend, Zach Nichols — and it made her want to leave the game altogether. Thankfully, Compono stuck it out. And one ex-Challenge competitor talked on the Challenge Mania podcast about the major repercussions of quitting the show. Here’s what he said.
‘Challenge’ host T.J. Lavin hates quitters
There are typically a number of players each season who threaten to quit the game — and it always irks host T.J. Lavin. Lavin is far from an impartial host, as he’s seen his fair share of hard workers and losers who never put up a good fight. And he always prefers to see fearless competitors go into battle for the big money over those who would rather skate by all the way to the end.
“I really don’t like cheaters and quitters. But the quitting thing is probably worse,” Lavin told UrbanDaddy. And he also spoke about the worst quitter ever on the show who left because he missed his girlfriend.
“It’s, like, dude, there are a lot of people that would love to be on the show and you’re just going to throw it away like that?” Lavin added. “That’s why it bothers me so much. You’re taking the space of someone who’s really going to try.”
Jenna Compono nearly quit the show due to drama at home with Zach Nichols
Compono is a tough competitor, but her fight with boyfriend Nichols nearly cost her her game. Nichols accused her of cheating and gave her an ultimatum stating she could either come home and fix their relationship or stay and forfeit everything they built together. Compono ultimately decided to stay, and she worked hard to earn a red skull to give her a reason to keep fighting. And it was Lavin’s hatred for quitters that seemed to be a driving force.
“Jenna was like, every day like, ‘I want to go home.’ I mean, she was not in a great space, so we all thought, you know, at some point, she was gonna go,” fellow competitor Aneesa Ferreira said to the Challenge Mania podcast. But she then mentioned that it was Lavin’s disapproval that made Compono change her tune.
“And Jenna was talking about it, she was like, ‘I hate when T.J. calls me out.’ And it just lit a fire under her a**,” Ferreira added.
Ex-competitor Derrick Kosinski said quitters face repercussions
The best competitors on The Challenge never quit, as they want to try their hardest at becoming champs and winning up to $1 million. Not only that, but many of the veteran players are invited back on the show if they make good TV. And vets still get paid for being on TV despite whether they win or not.
Derrick Kosinski, the host of Challenge Mania, talked with Ferreira about Compono potentially quitting. And he mentioned more about what happens to quitters.
“And, what happens if you quit?” he added. “There’s certain things that we’re not supposed to talk about, I’ve been told not to talk about on the show, and that’s pay structure, and I’m not gonna talk about pay structure. But, if you quit, it’s a possibility that you don’t get nothing, zero, zip, zilch. I’d imagine that that was kinda weighing on [Jenna].”
Wes Bergmann mentioned in the past that Challenge competitors don’t get paid enough to live, but even so, we imagine quitters get even less. We’re glad Compono didn’t leave the show just yet, and we’re hoping to see more of her fighting spirit in the future!
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