‘The Challenge’ Host TJ Lavin Reveals He Felt ‘Terrible’ After 1 of the Most Controversial Exits in ‘All Star’s’ History
TL;DR:
- The Challenge host TJ Lavin opened up about Cohutta Grandstaff’s controversial exit from season 2 of All Stars.
- Cohutta was eliminated by no fault of his own — instead because his partner was pregnant.
- Lavin admits he felt “terrible” about the decision but also that the numbers were off due to contestants being hurt.
The Challenge welcomed back Cohutta Grindstaff for season 2 of the All Stars spinoff after he took a five-year break. The last time fans saw Cohutta compete was during a short-lived appearance on 2016’s Battle of the Bloodlines.
But his return to the MTV reality competition was spoiled by the fact that Cohutta was ultimately disqualified due to no fault of his own. According to longtime host TJ Lavin, he felt “terrible” after one of the most controversial exits in the show’s history.
Cohutta Grindstaff’s partner found out she was pregnant on ‘The Challenge: All Stars’ Season 2
Cohutta made it to the cast of The Challenge for All Stars Season 2 after being an alternate for the first season. The Georgia native planned to compete with his longtime friend and two-time champ Abram Boise. But that plan was scrapped when Abram suffered an ankle injury.
Sans Abram, Cohutta was left without any close connections with anyone in the rest of the cast. He quickly ended up in the second elimination and sent home Ryan Kehoe. Which led to Cohutta teaming up with former finalist Casey Cooper.
However, halfway through the season, Casey discovered that she was pregnant and had to leave the competition. But in the process, production opted to DQ Cohutta. Even though the week prior Kendal Sheppard had to go home on a medical DQ and her partner Laterrian Wallace was allowed to stay.
TJ Lavin felt ‘terrible’ after Cohutta Grindstaff’s exit
There really is no good explanation for why The Challenge sent Cohutta home, other than they wanted to keep both King’s Palace members in the game to create more drama. Instead of having a solo male elimination between Teck Holmes and Nehemiah Clark — and letting Cohutta get the partner of the loser — they simply told him to leave the game.
During a recent appearance on Johnny “Bananas” Devananzio’s podcast Death, Taxes, and Bananas, host of The Challenge TJ Lavin admitted that he felt terrible about the injustice done to Cohutta.
“What I felt was super sad was how Cohutta had to go home with his partner getting pregnant on All Stars 2. I’m like ‘dude, his partner got pregnant he had to go home.’ I’m like, ‘What?’” Lavin said.
The host explained that the decision to disqualify Cohutta “came down to numbers” and the strict COVID protocols on set. Lavin insists they did everything they could to find a way for Cohutta to stay. He explained that filming All Stars Season 2 was “a big cluster” and he “felt so bad” about sending Cohutta home.
“I was like, ‘Dude. I’m sorry, man.’ And [showrunner] Justin [Booth] felt terrible too,” Lavin said.
The numbers ‘were off’ for season 2 of ‘The Challenge: All Stars’ confirms TJ Lavin
Lavin also mentioned that a few female contestants were hurt during the filming of The Challenge: All Stars Season 2. Which meant the numbers “were already off” before Casey left due to her pregnancy. He says that neither he nor Booth liked disqualifying Cohutta, and they were “very devastated about it.”
“We talked to Cohutta about it, and he was just like, ‘It is what it is,’” Lavin said.
After the episode that featured Cohutta’s exit aired, he posted a statement on Instagram. He told his followers that it was “a good run,” and he congratulated Casey on her little one. He also let her know that Cohutta was a “gender friendly name.”
“That being said you would think the folks over at @challengemtv or @tjlavin could at least roll a damn table out and let me arm wrestle one of those fellas for their partner… or both of em’,” Cohutta wrote.
In response to that comment Lavin wrote, “Gentlemen’s gentleman right there. Can’t wait to hang again brother.”
The Challenge: All Stars Season 2 is available on Paramount+.
