Always outspoken, Shane has broken his silence on The Challenge. Since being on Final Reckoning, he hasn’t really been a huge social media presence. He has Instagram, but it’s more of a personal account than a Challenge account.
But when Shane talks, he spills tea and doesn’t hold back. This time he’s calling out The Challenge for favoring Bananas’s alliances and for not treating the women with the same respect as men. The rant was on his IG story, but has been archived here.
On Final Reckoning, the Lavender Ladies really did run the show. Ashley won, Sylvia made the final, Amanda dominated with Zach until the sacrificed themselves for the sake of Tony and Bananas, and Shane & Nelson called out one of the strongest teams (Brad & Kyle) before getting purged.
I certainly think it’s true that they ran the show. I don’t think they get the recognition they deserve for their success, but I also think their edit might be a result of the final scene. Production wanted to give Ashley a devious edit, knowing she was stealing the money.
Then, Shane addresses the fact that women are expected to come onto the show as “side-pieces,” single and willing to hook up. I think there is truth to this, though women who are in relationships with other cast members are exceptions (Cara Maria and Jenna are prominent examples). Especially if you consider that Shane was on Vendettas and Final Reckoning, when the new girls on the show were awfully flirty.
He also argues that people like Coral, Rachel, Veronica, and Cara Maria (the women on the show) have historically driven the plot lines. Men get all the glory in the competitions, but the women bring drama. Again, there’s a lot of truth in this. Especially if you look at earlier seasons.
The need for women to drive the drama on the show can drive a line between story and competition. People who come onto the show to fight and hook up can make it moderately far, but the true competition beasts tend to win. For the women, it seems we often get one or two elite women each season who usually make the final. This makes the women’s competition skewed in favor of the Jennys or the Laurels of the game.
I think there’s a lot of truths in Shane’s claims. Ultimately, we’re watching a show and production is going to make decisions to increase ratings. This means the Lavender Ladies might not get the dominant edit they deserve, but don’t worry, Shane is here to right those wrongs.
Stop Being Polite 