For first-time reality stars looking to make a career out of appearing on TV, The Challenge can be a blessing. Each season's cast includes players from other reality shows, and some are even lucky enough to compete several times. Johnny Bananas is one of those lucky ones, and he just shared some harsh truths for those who fuss about not getting the same opportunity to return to the show amid the 2026 TV schedule and beyond.
Bananas and another legend of The Challenge, Wes Bergmann, specifically called out Nurys Mateo and Horacio Gutierrez Jr., who are allegedly upset about not being called back for future appearances after competing on Season 40, Battle of the Eras. On his podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, the eponymous reality star explained why he believed that neither was invited back, unlike the litany of Big Brother Houseguests or Survivor players who competed again and again:
We now have these cast members that are openly going to war and openly questioning production and how they do rules, and then they're complaining that they're not being invited back. Horacio and Nurys, the two of you openly, multiple times, basically questioned production, questioned the rules of the game, questioned the outcome of the game.
The two are referring to allegations by their former co-stars that The Challenge Season 40 was rigged. Gutierrez Jr. specifically spoke with EW about how he was unjustly eliminated after an elimination challenge involving Derrick Kosinski. Footage of the episode showed that while Derrick completed the challenge first, he was missing a peg. Horacio also claims production helped Derrick, allegedly replacing previous pegs that had fallen.
Ultimately, the backlash from people sharing the interview and rewatching the moment with a Paramount+ subscription was so intense that the producers spoke to Variety and Horacio Guiterrez Jr. With that, they showed that the contestants were told before the competition that pegs counted when placed, and that it was not contingent on whether they remained in place. As for the production team replacing pegs, that was done for filming purposes and did not actually impact the outcome. Guiterrez Jr. admitted he hadn't heard the rule when he first gave the interview, and the issue was resolved.
Every show has moments they regret or where mistakes were made, but Johnny Bananas said he felt like The Challenge took offense to how far Horacio Guiterrez Jr. and Nurys Mateo took their criticism. He talked about the controversy more, and how he felt this was a "reap what you sow" moment for the former couple:
Even once it blew up on fucking social media and turned into this huge conspiracy, this huge controversy and production literally showed you frame by frame evidence of how they got the rules right, you still continued to openly talk and openly disparage them. And now we're fucking somehow confused as to why we don't have an invite to come back?... Guess what, these are the repercussions.
Wes Bergmann and Johnny Bananas confirmed that, while they've had issues with The Challenge and its production staff during their various appearances, they'd mainly discuss them in private. Bananas may be the owner of one of the shadiest moves in the show's history, but he's not about to "bite the hand that feeds," as he said.
Of course, it's hard to imagine household names on The Challenge like Bergmann and Bananas being cut out of the series even if they badmouthed the production staff. Bananas has appeared on the show since 2006 and remains a fixture, while Bergmann stepped away in 2023 after starting his tenure o the series in the 2000s as well.
That said, Bergmann has appeared on other shows like The Traitors, possibly because he's known for a professional courtesy of not disparaging the production team. I guess this could serve as a word of caution to all others hoping to have the same sorts of careers in reality television. Find a way to entertain fans without making your show's staff the enemy.
The Challenge will return in 2026, and probably won't have Horacio Guiterrez Jr. or Nurys Mateo involved. That said, as far as we know, nothing is set in stone, and maybe Johnny Bananas' recent comments will end up being proven wrong.
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