There’s a Challenge cliché where gay men tend to go into the first elimination. Is it true? Not always, but there have been a quite a few instances. Spies, Lies and Allies is not an exception. Corey L. was put into The Lair by Aneesa & Logan, but he came out victorious.
Many people are jaded by a stereotype that gay men are weaker and don’t perform well in competitive environments. This is just a stereotype, but let’s not pretend that reality TV doesn’t feed into stereotypes. The Real World likely tried to cast a certain type of person to represent gay people, and it took 11 seasons for Road Rules to cast an openly gay man.
Of course, The Challenge doesn’t use these feeder shows any more. We also need to acknowledge gay men are competitive and strong. Corey served at a perfect example of this, as he has a lot of muscle and dominated his elimination. While his performance should be applauded, he’s on season 37. History has told us that gay men get targeted quickly, but they’re not going to be an easy win.
Just to be clear, I use the term “gay” fairly loosely. Any male who has openly stated he dates the same sex will be considered for this list. These people may identify with a different queer identity.
The Winners
Dan Renzi
The first time a gay man was targeted in the first elimination, Dan felt he was underestimated on The Inferno 2. He used this as motivation, and he beat Jon in the first Inferno of the season. Dan is also the first openly gay man to win a Challenge, having won season 4: The Extreme Challenge.
Tyler Duckworth
It’s funny to think of a time when Bananas wasn’t ruling the game, but Tyler was sent into the first Duel of the season. He called out Bananas and won in I Can. We all know Tyler has a long history with Johnny, and this was a time he bested his Key West roommate. Of course, Tyler continued to be a target and lost in the second male Duel.
Ryan Kehoe
On The Gauntlet 3, Ryan was a prime target for the first elimination. However, the Veterans had the power to keep him safe because he was considered weak. This reputation carried over to The Duel 2. While he was sent to The Duel because he wasn’t picked during the selection process, he called out Nick and won in the Elevator elimination. Nick had a hurt hand, which likely informed Ryan’s pick, but he did get a win in the end.
Derek Chavez
Rivals 2 found Derek in a familiar position. He was paired with Robb, and neither of them were super veteraned in the game. So, they were voted into the first elimination by the women. In the Last Chance Jungle, Derek was nimble enough to sneak past the chaos and win for his team. While there are rumors that Dunbar threw this elimination, a win is a win.
Frank Sweeney
By the time Free Agents rolled around, Frank was a force in the game and had some respect on his name. But, The Draw knew no boundaries and he flipped the Kill Card. Frank beat Chet in the first elimination and got deja vu on episode 2. His second Kill Card sent him in to elimination against Dustin. He was sick, still won, then got removed from the game for allegedly being contagious.
Corey Lay
For the first time in over 10 seasons, a gay man won the first elimination. Corey is built differently than a lot of people named on this list. He has a lot more muscle and is a bigger physical presence. He’s the type of rookie who might be targeted for being strong, rather than his weaknesses.
Ryan Kehoe (again)
A lot of people were sent into the Eras Invitational during Battle of the Eras, and Ryan was one of eight men to compete. While he certainly wasn’t targeted this time around, he was the last place Era 2 male during Light It Up and got to face Brandon (his opponent of choice), he was underestimated. Many people thought Ryan would lose in Take Shelter, but he used his brain to block his shelter door from opening, which turned out to be a winning strategy.
Justin Hinsley
By season 41, the stigma around gay men in the first elimination was known — Derek coached Justin on it, even though he inevitably voted Justin into the first Arena. This disappointment didn’t stop Justin from being successful. The cheerleader used his stamina to win Inertia, but in this competition, he had a lot of people on the sidelines cheering for him.
Losers
Derek Chavez
It’s hard to believe that a gay male didn’t lose in the first elimination until season 20: Cutthroat. This was Derek’s first season, and he came in with a few of his Real World: Cancun roommates. However, he was the only male from this season to appear on Cutthroat. Admittedly, sending in rookies was an established tradition by this point, and Derek lost to Brandon in Handcuffs. His Real World roommate Emilee went home right next to him.
Davis Mallory
Davis was never too far from the first elimination on his prior seasons, but his third season finally sent him into elimination #1. Blast Off was a strength-based game, and Tyrie finally had a game that catered to his size. On the other hand, Davis was easily the smallest player in this elimination and got edited to appear more concerned with his face than winning.
Shane Raines
While Shane technically didn’t lose an elimination, he did lose the first purge on Dirty Thirty. He could have fought his way back into the house, but a fight with Simone got him booted from the show because of a hair stylist’s quarrel.
Sean Lineker
To be fair, Sean looked pretty fit when he debuted on War of the Worlds 2. Similarly to Corey, he clearly put some effort into his physique and was familiar with competition. The numbers weren’t in his favor, but the Tribunal wanted to give him a fighting chance. When he faced Idris in Pole Wrestle, his fight wasn’t enough.
Derek Chavez (again)
All Stars 2 was Derek’s return to the Challenge after eight years away, and his second era began the same way his first era did: in the very first elimination. However, we now know Derek was grieving the loss of his sister when he arrived to compete this season, so he was understandably going through a lot and there was a definite benefit to returning home to his family. No one can fault Derek for this early departure, but a loss is a loss, and this still counts.
Paulie Calfiore
This entry is a bit nuanced, because Paulie technically isn’t gay — he’s bisexual. And he didn’t come out until 2023, meaning we can’t classify him as an open member of the LGBTQ+ community until USA 2. But, Paulie did go into Hall Brawl during the Era Invitational on Battle of the Eras. He was an easy choice for Theo, his former enemy, and his fate was sealed as soon has he realized he’d be outsized in this classic elimination game.
Other Moments of Note
Danny Dias
The Veterans lost the first mission on The Gauntlet, so Danny was immune. The first time the Rookies lost, Alton picked Danny to go into the Gauntlet. Then, he promptly lost Beach Brawl in about 3 seconds.
Davis Mallory
The Denver cast had big numbers on The Inferno 3, but Davis still managed to get nominated to go into the first Inferno. He was slated to compete, but Alton volunteered to build team morale and keep Davis safe. Davis went into the second elimination, but he won.
Nathan Henry
This openly gay UK contender was the first person out of the World Championship for unknown reasons, but he was removed by production. He was not slated to go into the first elimination, but he also wouldn’t have been immune from being voted in.
Jack Vidgen
I’m only focusing on seasons that aired in the US, but gay competitor Jack was sent into the first elimination on the Challenge Australia and he won.
Just look at the numbers: 8 wins to 6 losses. If a gay man is sent into the first elimination, he’s more likely to win than lose. There are certainly times when these men were targeted based on stereotypes, but there are other times when they were getting the rookie treatment or were targeted for other reasons.
The most recent example, Justin, had a lot of support going into his elimination, and Rogan gave him credit for his victory. Still, he was targeted because he was “smaller,” and people knew him as a cheerleader. It’s hard to ignore the potential of stereotypes being a factor here, but Justin put in work and put the doubters to rest.
Stop Being Polite 
What about Shane Landry, Jozea Flores, and Preston Charles?