Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Special Forces: World's Toughest Test episodes "Test of Character" and "Weakness." Read at your own risk!
If anyone thought Special Forces: World's Toughest Test would go easy on its celebrity participants in the two-hour premiere, they were mistaken. The Fox reality series proved it's just as brutal as advertised, and while we learned ahead of time that one contestant was traumatized by white penises during filming, there were plenty of awful moments in the first episodes that led to multiple celebrities exiting.
And as it happens, only one of them left voluntarily. The rest, while wanting to participate, were not medically cleared to continue. That's absolutely wild for a show with celebrity contestants, so let's run down the list of who couldn't stick around.
Kate Gosselin - Medically Withdrawn
Reality television star and famous mom Kate Gosselin wanted to prove she could conquer her fears, and to her credit, she was successful. Despite her fear of heights and water, she dove backward out of a helicopter into the water in order to complete the first challenge. Soon after, however, the mother of Collin Gosselin and others complained to a medic about severe neck pain. She was ultimately medically withdrawn from the competition due to a suspected broken neck, though viewers never received official confirmation of the break.
Dr. Drew Pinsky - Medically Withdrawn
Celebrity specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky managed to complete the first challenge, but as other celebrities like NBA star and former The Masked Singer contestant Dwight Howard were hyping themselves up for what was ahead, Pinsky looked notably ill. He went off to the medical tent and was ultimately diagnosed with severe heat exhaustion. Pinsky was not medically cleared to continue and was sent home.
Tyler Florence - Voluntarily Withdrawn
One rule of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test is that celebrities reserve the right to quit of their own volition. Chef Tyler Florence exercised that right when he saw the rope challenge he and others had to complete, which involved balancing across a canyon using two ropes and a harness. Florence explained that he promised his wife before he left that he wouldn't get hurt competing and handed in his number to one of the supervising staff. Of the competitors who did participate in the challenge, none were injured.
Montell Jordan - Medically Withdrawn
Singer and pastor Montell Jordan spoke about looking for something more real than what he accomplished with his hit single "This Is How We Do It," and certainly got that during Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. Jordan managed to make it to the final challenge of the episode, which was a practice in rapidly going from violent to calm. Jordan took out his aggression on the padded combatant volunteer but injured himself in the process. He lost his ability to grip anything with one of his hands and was medically withdrawn under suspicion of a broken thumb.
As previously mentioned, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test is no joke. I'm very eager to see just how many celebrities make it to the end of this competition and am almost contemplating a rewatch with my Hulu subscription to see who seems most likely to advance the furthest based on these first two episodes. This two-hour premiere didn't see any former athletes fall, but could they be next?
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test returns to Fox on Wednesdays at its normal broadcast time of 9:00 p.m. ET. Tune in for a show that is absolutely kicking the 2023 TV schedule off with a bang and is already on my shortlist for new shows I want to see renewed.
