‘The Challenge: USA’: Production Reportedly Misled Competitors About Prize Money
It seemed as though Survivor champ Tyson Apostol would run away as the first-ever winner of The Challenge: USA until he quit at the final checkpoint. Following the season, he claimed the producers intentionally misled them about the prize money amount so more people would join the cast.
Tyson Apostol says production misled them about the prize money
At the beginning of CBS’s The Challenge: USA, it seems as though the prize money for winning the first season is $500,000 for one person. However, Danny McCray and Sarah Lacina were announced as the winners as they were the only ones to complete the final.
The two split the $500,000 grand prize, which included money from the bank accounts of disqualified players or those who quit. Danny walked away with $245,000, and Sarah won $254,000.
According to finalist Tyson Apostol, who quit at the last checkpoint alongside Domenick Abbate, Justine Ndiba, and Cayla Lee, the producers initially misled them about the prize money they would receive if they won. Tyson told Entertainment Weekly that they were informed one winner would take home $500,000 until the final day.
Then, the Survivor champ said the producers told them, “it’s only half, and then everybody’s bonuses are coming out of that as well.” Regardless, the frontrunner insisted they were led to believe the show’s winner would receive a $500,000 check. After filming, Tyson shared his thoughts regarding the “dirty move to mislead us like that” to a producer who reportedly revealed that the crew didn’t believe the competitors would join the cast for $250,000. The reality star admitted production might have a point, adding, “I for sure wouldn’t be here.”
Janelle Pierzina has revealed other reasons why alums wouldn’t compete in ‘The Challenge: USA’
Big Brother star Janelle Pierzina revealed the producers called over 100 people for the new reality competition series, herself included, during the March 17 episode of her podcast with alum McCrae Olson, Diary Room Open Mic.
However, she declined the invitation. While Janelle didn’t divulge her reasoning, she shared why others opted not to join the cast.
According to the fan favorite, she knew other CBS personalities who went through the casting process only to discover producers were still making cuts just days before leaving to film.
Additionally, Janelle pointed to spoilers that revealed BB23’s historic alliance The Cookout cast members and several Love Island USA 3 alums as potential competitors. Janelle noted her reality TV friends felt they didn’t stand a chance as they didn’t have as many connections and opted not to compete.
‘The Challenge’ has previously been under fire for seemingly lying about prize money
In 2020, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio became the most winning competitor on The Challenge with a victory in Total Madness.
However, many fans believed the season was “rigged” for him as they grew suspicious of how things worked out in his favor, and he seemed to know elimination games beforehand.
Additionally, several competitors talk about the million-dollar prize throughout the season as if only one person would win it. However, right before the finals, host T.J. Lavin revealed the top male and female would earn their share of the money.
Therefore, it started conspiracy theories that production changed it once they saw Jenny West beating the seven-time champ so he would get the win as well.
