‘The Challenge’: Tori Deal Said Cast Members Didn’t Believe Amber Borzotra’s Autism Diagnosis
MTV’s The Challenge Season 38 reunion brought the cast back together after the finale ended. Amber Borzotra had two major announcements. Not only is she pregnant, but she was diagnosed with autism at 34 years old. Here’s what she said about her autism and what Tori Deal said about some cast members doubting her.
Amber Borzotra from ‘The Challenge’ Season 38 announced her autism diagnosis
The Challenge Season 38 reunion part 2 showed Amber Borzotra getting vulnerable with the cast and audience. Amber announced she received an autism diagnosis, which explained her difficulty in specific social settings.
“I was diagnosed as autistic,” she said during the reunion, according to People. “I struggle in social settings, and this pressure has been so much on me. And I’ve taken meds for depression and anxiety in this game, and I’ve told people I haven’t because it was embarrassing.”
“I wish I would’ve found out a lot sooner because I’ve struggled with my identity for 34 years,” Amber added.
She also noted that she “really needed help,” and she “had to figure out why I’m this person and why, my whole life, I’ve felt the way I’ve felt and I am this way. I’m trying to find my own community of people that understand that.”
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio offered support to Amber while on stage. “I don’t want you to think that you’re in this world alone,” he said. “We really do care about you. We really do support you, even though it may not come across like that sometimes.”
Tori Deal said some cast members didn’t believe Amber Borzotra
Amber Borzotra took a huge step in announcing her diagnosis during The Challenge Season 38 reunion. While it seemed like the cast responded well to Amber’s announcement, Tori Deal said that wasn’t necessarily the case initially. She spoke about the cast’s reactions in MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast.
“Nobody was really expecting her to say that,” Tori shared. “And then I think people were trying to support her and trying to figure out how, but it was mostly just listening and taking it all in. You’re trying to understand on a deeper level and she really did … she was proud of it. And taking in that and taking in the fact that she was pregnant, these are two major announcements on a reunion.”
“I think it definitely caught some people by surprise just because certain people don’t like Amber and I think they were trying to figure out if it was real or not,” Tori continued. “In my opinion, if somebody’s gonna say this and speak their truth, let them be their truth. It’s not up for me to decide whether I believe them.”
Some fans called out Tori Deal for what she said
Tori Deal clarified that she supported Amber Borzotra during and after the announcement in The Challenge Season 38 reunion. But some fans who listened to the podcast didn’t think she should’ve brought it up what other cast members thought.
“How does she not have ANY compassion at all for Amber?” a fan shared on Reddit. “Saying it’s ‘her truth’ [is] sooo passive aggressive instead she should have defended Amber! Like, at least give her the benefit of the doubt that she would not make up something like having autism.”
“I’d just love to know what they think Amber (or anyone) would get out of making this up,” another fan noted. “Amber’s not dumb, she knows she would get hate for this. What motivation would she have for lying if it wasn’t accurate.”
Other fans showed their support for Amber.
“Power to Amber for seeking out a diagnosis as an adult and for deciding to share it with all of us,” another fan wrote. “She could truly be changing people’s lives by sharing this info. I really appreciate her for it.”
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