‘The Challenge’: Fans Think Producers Didn’t Let Paulie Calafiore Compete on ‘Total Madness’ So His Enemy Could Win
[Possible spoilers for the end of The Challenge: Total Madness]
The Challenge: Total Madness is almost over, and fans are ready to see who will win the season. While many fan favorites participated this time around, a number of folks we know and love weren’t on Total Madness. And Paulie Calafiore was one of them.
There have been several rumors as to why Calafiore wasn’t invited back for season 35. And it seems many think producers didn’t want him to go against one of his biggest rivals and potentially take him out, as they wanted his enemy to win. Here’s what fans are hypothesizing.
Paulie Calafiore is dismissing rumors about why he wasn’t on ‘Total Madness’
Calafiore is a tough competitor, and he and girlfriend Cara Maria Sorbello are a force to be reckoned with when they compete together. While Sorbello seemed to choose not to take part in Total Madness, Calafiore made it known that it wasn’t his choice at all. Instead, something occurred with MTV that has yet to be revealed.
There have been plenty of rumors circulating that suggest Calafiore didn’t pass a psych evaluation, and that’s why he wasn’t allowed back on the show. However, Calafiore verified via Twitter and Instagram that this is totally false.
“People were asking me why I wasn’t on it … I can’t really disclose that information. The only thing I can say is, it was not because of a failed psych evaluation,” Calafiore told his fans via an Instagram video. “So, that lie, that rumor, that narrative that everybody keeps putting out there, it’s false. It’s fake. I’ve never failed a psych evaluation. I never will fail a psych evaluation.”
He has a well-known feud with Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio
Rumors aside, there’s truth to the fact that many Challenge competitors can’t stand Calafiore. And Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio made it known that they’ll never be friends. Back when Sorbello just started dating Calafiore, Devenanzio called him out for being “sociopathic.”
“Cara Maria found herself in an unfortunate position with a very sociopathic, narcissistic human being, and I feel bad for her,” Devenanzio said in an interview with HollywoodLife. “I just hope one of these days she comes to her senses and realizes that everything this guy is doing is self-centered and trying to capitalize off her notoriety and her fame.”
Calafiore thinks Devenanzio is just jealous of how well he does on the show, though. And he also noted that Devenanzio tried to get him “banned” from The Challenge.
“When it comes to The Challenge, he can take a more senior role and stop trying to be this person who lives in the past and only attacks the people who take his shrine away from him,” Calafiore noted to PeopleTV. “Which is basically only me at this point.”
Fans think production didn’t want Calafiore so that Devenanzio could win another season
It looks like many Challenge fans are on Calafiore’s side of the debate. The Total Madness final approaches, and we don’t yet know who wins. But since Devenanzio will be running the final and is a notorious winner once he gets to the end, many assume production wanted him to have an easy ride to victory — and that means leaving Calafiore off the season.
“They literally kept you off because you more than likely would’ve beat Bananas in a final,” one fan said via Twitter. “They wanted to set up the perfect picture of him winning his 7th final in his 20th season. Had to keep out the competition.”
“Cause old man Johnny was secured,” another noted. “He got set up to win this season and they knew y’all would take that away.”
“So the truth really is it was just easier for Bananas to buy his win without them there,” another guessed.
Perhaps Calafiore will be back for season 36, as it was just confirmed. Then, he and Devenanzio can possibly go head to head once more!
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