‘The Challenge’: Michele Fitzgerald Responds to Cast Members Calling Her ‘Manipulative’
Reality TV stars Laurel Stucky and Michele Fitzgerald appeared to develop a rivalry during The Challenge Season 38 when the latter targeted the former champ. Laurel recently discussed her relationship with Michele, where she called her castmate manipulative.
Laurel Stucky called Michele Fitzgerald ‘manipulative’ and ‘conniving’
Following her elimination from The Challenge 38: Ride or Dies, Laurel Stucky appeared on castmate Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio’s podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, to discuss her short time in the house.
When asked if Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald threw her and rookie teammate Jakk Maddox into elimination because she had deals with other teams, Laurel called it “gaslight-y.”
She claimed the Survivor stars are the ones who made several pacts, not them. Additionally, she noted she didn’t appreciate the excuses she received but preferred Michele be honest about nominating them due to their lack of deals for protection.
Instead, she thinks her castmate lies about her moves because she can’t “own” them. When asked about their initial relationship, Laurel admitted she thought Michele was nice but now considers her “conniving” and someone who uses tears to manipulate others around her.
Michele responds to claims that she’s manipulative
In Laurel’s interview, she also revealed that a situation caught off-camera soured her opinion of Michele. According to the Free Agents champ, she saw Michele “corner” Fessy Shafaat, where the Survivor star reportedly asked him for a showmance.
The situation rubbed her the wrong way as Laurel considered it “fake” and made her think Michele might not be there for the right reasons.
A week before Laurel’s interview, Michele talked about her relationship with the former champ during an appearance on MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast. She admitted the two didn’t vibe well from the beginning, so the Survivor star didn’t trust her. Michele apparently listened to the Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast with Laurel and responded to her claims on Twitter.
The reality star wrote, “I’m learning so much about myself on podcasts today. I’m manipulative but easily manipulated, I want a showmance for attention but am jealous. I seem to be a woman of contradictions,” with an emoji of a shrugging girl.
Michele is currently competing in her second season
The Survivor champ made her debut on Spies, Lies, and Allies with Corey Lay as her teammate. However, the rookies quickly turned on each other when Michaela Bradshaw’s infamous list of targets got exposed.
As Michele got caught in the middle, she landed in elimination against the other Survivor star. When they won, the newcomers split up as they figured out the veterans planned to target the rookie teams.
Therefore, Michele teamed up with veteran Devin Walker before he quickly got stolen, putting her with Corey again. They found themselves in elimination shortly later but weren’t as lucky as Amber Borzotra and Hughie Maughan sent them home.
She returned for Ride or Dies alongside the two-time player and Survivor star Jay Starrett. They made their allegiance to the rookies clear by saving Johnny Middlebrooks and Ravyn Rochelle, putting a target on their backs. However, they’ve avoided elimination by winning daily missions. The Challenge 38 airs Wednesdays on MTV.
