Over the years, we’ve seen Challenge competitors fade out of the public eye. Many of them have moved on to better opportunities or have lost interest in the show. For a select few, the choice was not their own. However, all of the entries here should just be considered rumors.
Some people have done things so bad that they’re no longer welcome on the show. In some instances, this is production’s choice. For others, their departure may have been legally required.
If we’re being quite honest, some of these people could return. They’re on the list because their actions are currently inconsistent with MTV’s direction. Perhaps MTV has only put them in a time-out, and they might be given an invitation back to the show if they show change.
PERMABANNED
These people won’t be back.
Kenny Santucci
As part of sexual assault allegations during The Ruins, Kenny and Evan are no longer permitted to compete on The Challenge. This is also the reason some episodes of The Challenge are absent from streaming services, particularly in the middle of The Ruins.
Evan Starkman
Same as Kenny. Both were involved in sexual assault allegations.
Tonya Cooley
While Tonya isn’t legally banned from The Challenge, she pressed charges after appearing on The Ruins. Production views her as a liability, especially due to her alcohol consumption during The Ruins. If you ever see the cast sipping on alcohol that’s dyed funky colors, this is why. Production didn’t want cast members filling water bottles with booze so they dyed clear liquors.
Adam Royer
Despite his popularity on The Real World, MTV lost its relationship with the Hard Rock in Vegas due to Adam’s antics. Allegedly, Adam was invited onto Battle of the Exes but production implemented a mental health test and he did not pass.
Vinny Fotti
Vinny was removed from Battle of the Exes after he ripped off Mandi’s top at the club. This was around the time the Tonya scandal was emerging in the news, and it was awful publicity for the show.
Dustin Zito
After Battle of the Exes 2, Dustin was involved in a sexual assault charge. He later released surveillance footage to demonstrate his innocence, but production doesn’t want him on the show despite his efforts to clear his name.
Camila Nakagawa
Despite what the current narrative will lead you to believe, Camila is not banned for her racist tirade on Dirty Thirty. Remember, she was invited onto Champs vs. Stars after that season finished filming. Camila is banned from the show because she assaulted production while filming Champs vs. Pros.
Eddie Williams
Eddie was quietly removed from Vendettas without getting any real recognition. Allegedly, there was some type of abuse in his relationship with Alicia that production was unaware of (whether it be physical, emotional, or mental). Production knows he’s not worth the risk.
Dee Nguyen
We all know Dee was edited out of Total Madness due to her insensitive comments during the Black Lives Matter movement. After making such a public announcement regarding her firing, MTV won’t want to have her back.
Mattie Lynn Breaux
Early into 2021, Mattie went on Instagram and announced she was let go from MTV. This is in regard to her appearances on both The Challenge and Floribama Shore. It’s unclear whether this is due to her use of the n-word on social media when quoting song lyrics or because of her collection of DUIs.
Stephen Bear
Stephen Bear wasn’t invited onto Season 36, likely due to the allegations that he had a relationship with an underage girl. Now that Georgia has pressed charges against him for distributing revenge porn, he won’t be back on The Challenge.
Lauren Coogan
During Spies, Lies and Allies, Lauren was removed for allegedly making racially insensitive comments. While these were omitted from the show, Lauren spoke publicly about the incident. Her comments weren’t necessarily grounds for a permanent ban, but she’s such an unfamiliar face that production won’t bother with her again.
Kyle Christie
Following Spies, Lies and Allies, Kyle disappeared from the show, even though he would have fit perfectly on Battle for a New Champion or Battle of the Eras. Since then, there have been reports of him being abusive toward women. I’d consider him banned unless he does something to clear his name.
TEMP BANNED
These people aren’t getting invited to the show because of their actions. MTV could have a change of heart in the future.
Georgia Harrison
During the filming of War of the Worlds 2, old pictures of Georgia posing in black face surfaced online. She apologized, but she hasn’t been seen since. Rumor has it she was a contender to do Ride or Dies with Theo but production didn’t want her to return.
Natalie Ninja Duran
It’s unclear if she’s really banned from the show, likely not, but she did post some racially insensitive tweets years ago. Challenge fans brought those tweets to light while Ninja was on the show.
Rogan O’Connor
Years before debuting on The Challenge, Rogan posted some racially-insensitive and homophobic tweets. Even while he was on MTV he engaged in transphobic rhetoric online. He has since apologized, but was not on Season 36.
Julie Stoffer
Apparently, Julie accepted a call for the OG Challenge. Then she was removed from the cast because she tampered with Veronica’s safety harness on The Inferno in 2003. Odd reason to ban her, considering she was cast for Inferno 2 and Gauntlet 2.
Natalie Anderson
After Double Agents, a series of tweets emerged from 2011-2012 where she made racially-charged jokes and used the n-word, which is apparently enough to keep her off the show.
Dustin Zito
After Nia’s temp ban from after Battle of the Exes 2, Dustin received one as well for a 2013 arrest. He wanted to do Bloodlines, but this got him dropped from the cast — even though he went out of the way to clear his name and demonstrate his innocence.
Emy Alupei
Five years before Spies, Lies, and Allies, Emy did the Romanian X Factor where she rapped Only by Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, and Drake. She sang the chorus, including the n-word. This got her dropped from Season 38, and will likely prevent her from coming back.
Leo Temory
Not that anyone was asking for this return, but after USA 1, Leo spoke about poor conditions on the show and production manipulating the winners for daily challenges. He also called for executive producer Justin Booth’s firing, which is a big no-no.
Zach Nichols
Apparently, production was upset with the way he treated staff during War of the Worlds 2 and Total Madness (while Jenna was on the show). This is just a rumor, but he has discussed production’s shady practices when casting him.
LIFTED BANS
CT Tamburello
After The Duel 2, multiple cast members did not want to appear with him because of his violent outburst against Adam. Of course, production knew CT was valuable for viewership but he wasn’t on The Ruins or Fresh Meat 2. They tested the waters on Cutthroat bringing him in as a Heavy Hitter. This led to him appearing on Rivals with Adam, but production allegedly told Adam he’d be paired with CT prior to filming so he knew what he was getting into.
Cory Wharton
Cory was put on probation from The Challenge after he body slammed Tony on Final Reckoning and shoved Cameron on Ex on the Beach. They wanted him to focus more on Teen Mom, but we can clearly see he returned to the show after two seasons away.
Nia Moore
After being removed from Battle of the Exes 2, Nia was blacklisted from the show. She didn’t get a call back until she reconciled with Jordan and underwent significant personal growth. She was slated to return to do Ride or Dies with Jordan but had to back out at the last minute because she had lung issues from her vaping.
Jordan Wiseley
While Jordan had many controversies during his earlier time on the shows, he was not invited onto the Total Madness reunion and Double Agents due to prior racially motivated comments, particularly the ones made on The Real World. However, he came back to All Stars 3 and was slated to do Ride or Dies with Nia until he was flown in as Aneesa’s partner.
Turbo
After getting kicked off of War of the Worlds 2, production was hesitant to bring back Turbo. However, they took the risk on season 38, ending his temp-ban. Allegedly, he was not part of the originally-planned Ride or Dies cast.
Flora Alekseyeun
After filming Battle of the Seasons in 2001, Flora tried to rally a group of Real Worlders to demand more pay for filming the Real World Tenth Reunion. Production didn’t take kindly to this effort, prevented her from appearing on future shows, and mostly removed her from Battle of the Seasons. It was a shock to see her return to All Stars 4 in 2023.
Cara Maria Sorbello
After War of the Worlds 2, production seemed to snub Cara Maria and Paulie. Then, she discussed casting and production rumors with fans and took to Instagram to share her casting struggles. The tension was resolved when she appeared on All Stars 4 and was a guest on Battle for a New Champion.
Paulie Calafiore
After posting somewhat-threatening, somewhat-joking threats on social media before the War of the Worlds 2 reunion, Paulie did not get to return for seasons 35 or 36. Apparently, cast members called production and asked them not to bring Paulie back. Eventually, he was invited to do The Challenge: USA 2, where he mended relationships. Then, he briefly returned for Battle of the Eras.
Natalie Negrotti
Production was unhappy with her after she threw glitter in Zach’s bed on War of the Worlds. It resulted in a costly hospital visit. While she hasn’t really been banned for this, she was edited out of War of the Worlds for the most part and hasn’t been on a season since. Since then, production asked her to come back for Battle for a New Champion — to the point that she had a contract. So, it’s safe to say she’s welcome back in the right situation.
Shane Landrum
After Final Reckoning and War of the Worlds, Shane posted about production’s misogyny and discrimination. He has also specially called out producers by name. While it seemed like he wasn’t interested in returning, he will appear on All Stars 5.
Ashley Mitchell
After getting removed from Spies, Lies and Allies for making insensitive comments, Ashley didn’t appear on the season’s reunion nor was she invited as a mercenary on Battle for a New Champion or to participate on Battle of the Eras. She will make a comeback on All Stars 5.
Stop Being Polite 
Just love the growth CT has showed over the years, his interviews, or whatever they’re called are some of the best. I think Jordan is great for the show for many reasons, starting with his “handicap”, but his on the edge actions. He has a huge heart, and put high demands on himself, which pours into having them for others, which gets him in trouble, I think with him watching the last few years, he will hopefully improve here.
Love CT
I also heard Cara was banned because of her words about the season was rigged and that video of her calling a black man a monkey.
I’d like to know why they didn’t ban Johnny Bananas for his treatment towards women on The Island season?! He was a bully and the terminology and language used against women is flat out disgusting. He should be permabanned!
Oh please. He treats all cast members the same. If you’re going to come at a man, like a man….then expect a little pushback. Women are always saying they want to be treated equally but then when they are….they want special treatment. It’s ridiculous
Bananas was a piece of 💩 on that season
I would guess it’s because they were starving, and when you’re that hungry, you say and do things you wouldn’t ordinarily. That season,, it seemed that he, Kenny, and Dunbar were on their worst behavior and treated everyone badly. Most of what Johnny said was only to get a rise out of the other person, which I guess is fun for him at the moment. What he tends to forget, though, is that people who are watching think that’s really him (maybe it is), and makes him look like a real schmuck. He’s never had to be responsible for this, though, because he keeps getting invited back, so he thinks he’s doing something right.
Easy Karen.
Agree
Johnny was so vicious with Evelyn he called so many mean names and Kenny is a follower and a terrible person as well.
i am a woman and Bananas is literally one of the best players ever on the challenge..
Your crazy!
So CT came back after he tried to kill Adam and yet Turbo won’t?
Seems like it.
while they brought back CT becuase he is an icon in the show. Turbo isn’t as famous ad CT
CT has matured over the years and he’s a great competitor!
I’m disappointed he’s missing on the the world global challenge!
That would have been awesome!!!
i agree with Dee.. Without either Bananas or CT the competitions are not the same..
CT fans bombarded all of MTV’s social media accts, so that was probably a factor too.
CT is awesome!! Say goodbye to the challenge, with the exception of Bananas everyone interesting has been banned. No more for me🤢 sensitive ass people
Damn right! I’ve lost interest. It’s more a silly game show. The advertising money flowed in making lots of incredible things possible. But advertisers are hyper sensitive to negative publicity and Political correctness. Taken together, I suspect money starts speaking louder than many things. They know they will lose some viewers. Milquetoast us the result. But that’s fine. Nothing lasts forever.
They will get in the position of seeing the life run out and get as much as possible before cancellation. From what I understand, they eliminate lots of people during filming for comments and behavior. So they prune the magic. It’s sort of like going from extreme sports to neighborhood softball. But it’s their choice.
Turbo really hurt a couple of the security guys I heard. The huge guy he got put in the hospital. Turbo was not messing around that night.
Probably because Adam literally sought CT out, got in his face, and when CT told him to fuck off and warned him that he’d hit him Adam proceeded to try and pour a drink on him. Then after CT coldcocked him Adam kept coming after him. Not saying what CT did was right but Adam has always been a POS. Plus he sexually assaulted Kelly Anne
Exactly because turbo really will beat the crap out of someone! They need to do something about people like Jordan constantly antagonizing people who say leave them alone smh.
Ct can be stopped by a couple of security guards turbo can’t
If CT tried to kill Adam, Adam would obviously be dead. 😆
The show gets weaker every episode…
No it does not!
Agreed
Why is Hunter not on the banned list? He threatened Ashley and her family?
Maddies reason for a permanent ban is ridiculous. She has a big fan base from party down south. I LOVED seeing her back on TV!
Me too! I cheered for her on the challenges she was in. #bringmattiebackMTV
3 DUIs is hardly ridiculous. I liked her too, but, girl needs some accountability before she kills someone.
OMG jeez let’s ban them all and end the show. 🙄
Exactly! You don’t threaten someone’s family there should be legal action taken
Didn’t Kailah and Melissa return for Total Madness?
They had a temporary ban. Two seasons it wasn’t a ban.
To the OP:why aren Sarah Rice and Cara Maria on this list. Plus Emily Schrom and Camila had the Ty and Paula impersonation that was filmed and MTV airs it. How is their black face ok but Georgia’s isnt? Georgia is legit from another country where it isn’t viewed the same and was younger.
I don’t know if Cara is banned for sure. I don’t think production knows. Meanwhile, Sarah isn’t banned? She actively swats away invitations to appear. Regarding Emily, she hasn’t been on the show since MTV started cracking down. She might not be invited back, but assigning her guilt would also make production guilty to some degree for using that incident as promotional material.
Racism is Racusm period . Not you trying to justify it because she’s from another country .. wtf
Everyone who publicly shows that they are racist is helping us know who them and their friends are. I can’t be cool wit a person who is racist. Only way you can tolerate that type of behavior is if you are underneath that mask too. I would thank them if I was a cast member it makes sense why they always targeting the brown folks for the most part.
Umm. Black people and racism exist in England, too. She’s from another (not-so-distant) country, not another planet.
I don’t know why no one is talking about Cara Maria being put on he no call list now…..that is a type of ban. She did call the producers some really bad names.
Pauline is to blame for that
No she opened her mouth and those she could say anything she wanted and still be added to the list to be call for the next show……that was not Pauline doing that that was all cara
No she opened her mouth and those she could say anything she wanted and still be added to the list to be call for the next show……that was not Pauline doing that that was all cara
I am a 77 year old granny, and love competition type shows. I found Challenge, and was like a deer caught in headlights. Stunned. I was hooked. I am only getting the old episodes on PLUTO, and am totally shocked at how dumb our future leaders are. Male list of most dispictable ones.
1, Knight (i know he died, but he was evil to the core.
2, Wes
3, Banannas
4, Frank
5, Kenny
6, CT
Don’t the contenders have minds of their own? Especially Wes. Why would anyone in their right mind trust him? Get him out and off the show as quickly as possible.
Kenny and Evan are banned for sexually assaulting a drunken cast mate
Kenny is not banned, he was invited back to do Vendettas and All Stars 4 but he declined because he has other things going on.
LOL wtf is this
Not sure what you’re expecting. My reply later in the list was really for you under thoughtful spectator, but you seem to miss the entire purpose of the program. It’s not designed to be a Sunday afternoon church softball game and family picnic. It depends on conspiracy, backstabbing, stealth and stupidity. It depends on high stress, drama, close quarters, conflicting loyalties, booze and sensuality. If it did not have the very people you seem to despise, the show itself would tank. MTV meets a consumer demand that is liked by millions. It does it with extreme calculation and walking fine lines yet MUST push the envelope. Polite sports and good neighborly clean living and respect would be a disaster. But, as I argue, cutting too many good people because of past or current disagreeable attributes risks losing viewers.
thank you couldn’t imagine watching without all that what would be the point grow up people stop getting so attached to these people personally just enjoy the ride
I agree except for CT. He’s not as bad or as the Jordan’s, Wes, And Bannas, Frank is the type of dude who needs his face beat by a Leroy or Big dude from UK that had them all shook. Josh is among the worst too! He is one confused big dummy! Plus he’s completely useless for anything but scamming
Josh??? Josh has never hurt anyone! Wtf! You just may have personal problems!
I’ve liked Cara Maria since she started, but have noticed that she doesn’t seem as happy as she once was. I just put that down to the way she was treated early on, especially by Wes dumping the soda on her and destroying her dress (did he ever replace it or even apologize?). I’ve seen people mention putting her on the banned list, too. What did I miss?
Cara basically went off the deep end. Once she started dating Paulie she basically turned into a carbon copy of him and turned into a terrible person. Now they both regularly bad mouth the show while spreading covid misinformation and hanging out with alt right proud boys
Cara Maria is banned. She mentioned it in her Instagram story recently and again with a video of Bananas alluding to the fact she will never be invited back.
Natalie never said the n word, she retweeted a tweet that had the n word in it but the tweet wasn’t racist because it was a black man saying/using it.
Exactly!
People expect too much and miss the point. If this was an Olympic sport with Arch and Jughead exhibiting: ‘great job and a handshake, let’s go play tennis together’, who would watch? Get young, type A personalities driven by testosterone, plied with booze, close quarters, high stress, and a diverse background, you get something interesting. Ratings drive this and MTV respond and calculates accordingly. People want villains and sympathetic people. Its MTVs money and future in the line. They have to walk a delicate balance. Frankly, they have banned many of the ones I like and keep doing so. My patience is almost exhausted. But that’s THEIR call.
Yeah but the racist stuff is way too far dude! There’s no room for that in any diverse crowd. If it was a show with only whites…. Fine but that’s not the case so f em!
exactly try for a sec to envision a show without all that you mentioned no thanks
I can certainly come up with a string of unflattering metaphors and adjectives for the behavior and attitudes of a lot of them. I won’t include all the words that come to mind since the breadth of the old and modern English language has plenty. But I’d say that the producers choose the contestants very carefully for explosive potential and goad them on. If the desire, as it certainly seems to be, is to build loyal followers of personalities that unleash adoration and hatred…they succeed…and all that goes with it.
Well, Tina is casted for the OG All Stars Season 2, so I think there is hope for everyone that is temporary gone from the challenge to come back.
MTV might as well pour millions into AI…artificial intelligence. That way they can create cyborgs to operate without anything to upset them or the audience. Go for the Ray Bradbury depiction in Fahrenheit 451 where the world is colorless and bland. All differences and humor of any depth are banned and burned and the program runs with inoffensive regularity. That way, no one is ever offended.
Human beings find controversy and differences interesting. They find deviations from the norm exciting and the insults, controversy and upsetting moments worth watching. Someone will always take offense no matter what. Humans are simply not reliable and are…well…human. They are doing back ground checks…company and the public…to unearth the least controversial comment and swinging the axe.
Not only Bradbury but 1984 does a good job to see how the thought police work. They should just use cyborgs, animatronics or call it a rough housing Disney.
Or white racist people could stay their racist blank away from brown colored people and anything dealing with them. But then they have nothing to steal and be absolutely boring huh?
Natalie Anderson did NOT use the N word btw! It was just a retweet and she did it when Twitter was in its early years and it looks weird now lol
Maybe a better way of describing Tonya’s situation would involve a little less kissing of MTV’s ass and a little more context along the lines of “Tonya rightly filed a lawsuit over her treatment on the show, the defendants submitted a brief saying Tonya was a drunken slut who brought it on herself, but later settled out of court, so the chances of Tonya ever wanting to return to the Challenge are between 0% and 0%”. That work for you?
Sarah should have been locked up for attempted murder I mean at that height unstrapping someone’s harness what did she think was going to happen to Veronica?
That was Julie
Emu should not be banned for singing the lyrics of a song.
For the Challenge to ban most of these people for racially insensitive things is the height of hypocrisy. They should ban the show, if these are the criteria. They thrive on racism. Nia gets kicked off show for derogatory remarks and touching Jordan, but Camilla doesn’t get kicked off for racist remarks to Leroy’s face and then assaults him. Let them all back on, that’s what MTV is, which is a race hustler.
I am so sick of the cancel culture is sad to see that this country has become so full of bitches, I’m not saying that some of the cast didn’t make some mistakes but if most anyone was put under a microscope I’m sure some sort of skeletons would lie there. Everyone’s makes mistakes but the way the world is now everyone wants to cry and bitch about everything is really sad, spend less time worrying about someone hurting your feelings and worry about real problems these things wouldn’t even get a second look back in the day. We continue to grow weaker as a whole because people have too thin skin
It’s ridiculous..so sick of these cry babies they legit ruin anything entertaining
All this banning is b.s.