After first starting as a crossover between The Real World and Road Rules, The Challenge has survived for 41 seasons, giving reality TV competition fans some memorable seasons.
There have also been some forgettable seasons, some of which may or may not have involved Johnny Bananas.
However, the winningest player to ever appear on the show believes most seasons benefit from his presence.
That includes Season 41, aka Vets and New Threats, which saw the legendary competitor depart much sooner than many of his fans wanted.
In one episode, he even announced that he “is The Challenge” to castmates and fans, with some agreeing and others rolling their eyes.
As the MTV episodes continue, so does Bananas’ podcast about The Challenge, where he recently offered some surprisingly scary remarks about the show’s future.
Bananas told castmate about ‘bad news’ for MTV’s The Challenge
The latest episode of Death, Taxes, and Bananas featured Bananas sitting down with longtime friend and castmate Leroy Garrett. Viewers saw Leroy and his teammate, Big Brother’s America Lopez, eliminated in the most recent episode on MTV.
In some of the comments near the end of Bananas’ chat, he discussed the future of The Challenge and potentially gave a brutal reality check.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I don’t want to be a pessimist here. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but RIP MTV. I don’t know if you saw that it’s basically been dissolved in all of Europe and South American countries. It’s like in its death throes. It’s not going to be around much longer in the US,” he told Leroy on the podcast.
“Good run. I wish I could say I was sad to see it go, but I’m really not. So now, we’re gonna be on Paramount. Season 42, this next season that’s coming up, this is going to be one of the most important seasons as far as just viability is concerned,” Bananas said.
He suggested cast members will need to “show up and show out” to prove to their new “parents, Skydance,” that they belong on Paramount.
Bananas urged Leroy to consider appearing in the cast for The Challenge 42, since “it might not be around in two years” if this next season is a flop. Bananas also told fans to pay Paramount to watch the show and help the cause.
Leroy shut down returning for Season 42
Despite Bananas’ pleas to his castmate, it seems the former Real World star and multi-time finalist isn’t up for returning.
“Upstairs isn’t doing great for me, as far as doing it again,” Leroy told Johnny Bananas, pointing to his brain.
“This is how I feel now, at like 40 and a lot more mature. I don’t want to take it away from somebody else who really wants to be there,” Leroy said.
He added that he definitely would like the money, but this is the first time in a long time that he doesn’t want to return.
Leroy returned to the scene after a hiatus, previously announcing his retirement due to feeling that The Challenge production didn’t do enough to protect him from a castmate’s racist remarks and attack.
The Challenge mended things with Leroy, and he returned for Paramount+’s All Stars 4, followed by Battle of the Eras, the 40th season of The Challenge on MTV.
He was back for 41, but now, with the show possibly in desperate need of every big MTV reality star to appear on 42, Leroy has serious doubts that he can help the cause.
“I am putting the energy out there that it still would be good without me, and I hope that they continue to do it so I can do another season,” Leroy said.
The Challenge: Vets and New Threats airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
