‘The Challenge’ Season 38: Emmy Russ Explains Why She Quit: ‘I Felt so Used’
German reality TV star Emmy Russ joined the cast of MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies alongside teammate Nam Vo. However, she didn’t last long, as she quit after the first mission. Emmy has since detailed her decision to exit early and slammed the “fake” cast.
Emmy Russ quit ‘The Challenge: Ride or Dies’
Known from her time on Celebrity Big Brother Germany 8, Beauty & the Nerd 2, and Secret Story Spain 1, Elmira “Emmy” Russ joined MTV’s The Challenge Season 38 alongside her “ride or die,” German reality TV star Nam Vo.
The pair entered the game shortly before the first mission as replacements for reigning champ Kaycee Clark and her brother Kenny.
They avoided the first elimination, but Emmy quit, resulting in Nam’s early exit as well before they competed in the second challenge.
It’s unclear why she wanted to leave, as she decided off-camera. Following the episode, Emmy posted a video to her Instagram story explaining her decision to quit.
Emmy explained why she quit and called other cast members ‘fake’
According to the German reality TV star, she initially planned to compete but discovered her status as an alternate, not a primary cast member, during the first day of the filming.
The revelation upset her as she felt “unappreciated.” Regardless, she went through with it with Nam as they had a good friendship.
Emmy recalled him being nice to her before the competition began but claimed he abandoned her for the other veterans once they entered the house. Therefore, the German native felt alone and “so used.” She continued, noting that Nam knew her personality from her time on reality TV but would quiet her when she tried to speak up.
As a result, Emmy said it made her afraid to say anything. Additionally, she called out other cast members for being “fake” and “inauthentic.” Emmy closed by noting that she didn’t know her decision to quit would impact Nam and insisted she apologized to him.
Emmy and Nam Vo joined ‘The Challenge’ as alternates
When The Challenge: Ride or Dies kicked off, Kaycee and Kenny were quickly pulled due to what she has confirmed as positive COVID-19 tests. In their place, rookies Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez and Emmy and Nam were invited into the competition.
Newcomers Johnny Middlebrook and Ravyn Rochelle won the first mission and immediately took shots at the veterans, wanting to prove they didn’t intend to play a “scared” game. The pair pulled Colleen Schneider and Kim Tränka, Jakk Maddox and Laurel Stucky, Devin Walker and Tori Deal, and Kailah Casillas and Sam Bird into interrogation, ultimately picking the latter to compete.
Colleen and Kim pulled the “safe” dagger and chose Jakk and Laurel to join them, leaving Devin and Tori as the other pair facing off in elimination. Following the latter’s win, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Nany González entered the competition and put the veterans in power by winning the next mission.
As former champ Turbo Çamkıran repeatedly claimed he wanted to send others home, Nany and Bananas gave him his wish. However, with the help of many cast members, Olivia and Horacio eliminated the formidable team in a puzzle. The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays on MTV.
