Winning The Challenge 42 came with a choice for team captain Tori Deal.
As Tea on TV recently reported, Tori was part of the winning team on Cutthroat 2.
Her team also featured CT Tamburello (The Real World: Paris, The Traitors), Michele Fitzgerald (Survivor), Will Gagnon (Are You the One?), and Johnny Bananas (The Real World: Key West, The Traitors).
But there was a catch. Tori got to decide how to split up the winnings. She could have taken all the money – which is something Bananas has pushed for in the past.
Luckily for her four teammates, Tori decided to split the money very equally. She only took $4 more than the rest from the $550,000 prize pool. Not everyone would have been so generous.
Tori Deal reveals why she shared the winnings on The Challenge 42
In a new interview, Tori spoke about winning The Challenge 42 and why she decided to split the winnings.
“Yeah, well, I technically am a thief. Technically am,” Tori told TV Line, joking about taking the $1 extra from each teammate.
“But yeah, I mean, I’ve kind of been saying this, but it’s hard to steal money when your team nominates you as captain. OK, put us in a rivals format, and somebody who’s dragged my name through the mud online, yeah, you know what? That’s a more justified steal. But people who have literally given their belief in me, that’s really hard, right? Because now people are telling you, ‘We believe in you,’ so you want to make them proud,” she elaborated.
Tori was also asked about whether she thought about giving the guys (CT, Bananas, and Will) less money because of how much they struggled during the final.
“Yeah, we were dragging the boys, and it is one of my greatest memories. Honestly, I’m so proud of that,” Tori stated.
“So did it factor into my decision? No, because if I really think about it, what got our team there was every single daily that we won. We won so many daily challenges, and C.T. and Johnny were huge parts in a lot of them. So, everything mattered leading up to that point,” Tori explained.
Taking the entire season into account likely earned her additional respect from The Challenge alums and fans at home.
Tori’s legacy has also become even more impressive on the show. It’s not surprising that Variety recognized her as one of the Top 40 Influential Women in reality TV in 2024.
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