According to Rolling Stone, 2023 has been the year of the reality TV villain. In the cultural lexicon, reality TV villains have certainly had a resurgence — likely because scripted shows have been halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
If you compare The Challenge to the show five years ago, drama, deceit, and arguments are on the decline. Apparently, MTV studios didn’t get the memo that reality villains are in this year. Still, there are some people that displayed villainous activities, and in most cases, we needed this to make the show more interesting.
To find the best villains of The Challenge, I’m only looking at seasons that aired in 2023. That means Ride or Dies (second half), World Championship, USA 2, and Battle for a New Championship (first half) qualify. Social media shit-starters won’t be considered, but I will give some consideration to social media feuds that add context to on-screen villainy.
10. Devin Walker
While we saw a milder side of Devin on Ride or Dies, we did see him semi-betray Bananas by sending him into the final elimination (not that there were a lot of other options), but his bigger act of villainy came on Battle for a New Champion. On that season he returned just to cause chaos and seek revenge for Jessica. It was certainly a wild moment, but production did a disservice by editing the Jessica storyline out of the episode.
9. Tori Deal
Out of all the people who competed on The Challenge in 2023, Tori has the most appearances. Depending on how you view her, she could be a hero or she could be a villain, especially with her endless back-and-forth with Jordan. Mostly, her villainous acts can be attributed to her drama with Amanda (but let’s be honest, Amanda wants that), judging Moriah’s relationship with James, or being wildly stubborn on the World Championship. However, this was also the year when we saw Tori become a Challenge Champion, so she’ll be sticking around for a while.
8. Michele Fitzgerald
It kind of feels odd to have Michele on this list, because five years ago, she’d be one of the nice ones. But on the modern Challenge, she’s often the center of controversy. Her signature move in the game is working with too many people and having too many alliances to honor them all. We saw this drama with the “Secret Garden” alliance on USA 2, and now we see her toying with international players like Berna on Battle for a New Champion.
7. Kellyanne Judd
Loyalty is important to Kellyanne, and when she’s being taken advantage of, she becomes quite outspoken. This was clear when she felt betrayed by Jonna on the World Championship, but her craftiest moment came when she was approached by to join the US alliance that season. Instead, she opted not to work with the group, who previously didn’t need her, which resulted in Bananas losing to Jordan in elimination.
6. Sarah Lacina
Love or hate her, Sarah is the type of person who is loyal to a fault. If you’re a fan of her Survivor-based alliance, you probably wouldn’t consider her a villain, but she was very crafty on the World Championship. She refused to make deals with the other USA teams, especially when she felt Tori and Bananas ganged up on her. She’s also great at causing stalemates, just to mess around and see what happens. Though Sarah plays a hard game, she does earn some nice points for the way she handled Theo’s injury in the final.
5. Moriah Jadea
In 2023, the “reality villain” arc was largely defined by Tom Sandoval’s cheating scandal. Moriah’s story is not the same — far from it — but it’s clear that The Challenge is trying to morph it into a cheating story. There’s certainly some drama there, especially when the mercenaries are coming in a commenting on it, but Moriah wasn’t formally in a relationship with Bananas, so her only fault is avoiding having a conversation with him.
4. Corey Lay
It’s hard to know what to expect with a cast that’s almost entirely Challenge noobs, but the majority of players came together to make one big alliance. Corey quickly found himself on the outskirts thanks to his willingness to call people out for burning votes. His questionable reputation was amplified when he nominated his semi-ally Asaf into The Arena, but his true villain moment came when he confessed to being a double agent who relayed info from the UK alliance to the US alliance.
3. Wes Bergmann
It’s kind of hard to know when Wes is being manipulative and when he’s being sincere. He announced he’d be retiring after USA 2, due to the birth of his first child, but he could have easily been using this information to encourage people to feel empathy for him. Clearly, his departure on this show has left him feeling salty. He claimed that the Survivor players were rude and insulting on social media, stirring up some extra drama.
2. Amanda Garcia
Is it any surprise to see Amanda’s face here? While her appearance on USA 2 may have been a milder one (by her standards) she still made some waves, especially when she allowed Tori to go into elimination. At her core, Amanda is making moves so she can win, but she’s not afraid to crack a few eggs in the process. This year, Michele fell victim to the debauchery, too, and we saw this when Amanda gleefully targeted Michele during Sideswiped.
1. Melissa Reeves
While US reality TV may have softened, the UK is still a bit edgier, and Melissa knows how to make a show. Coming into Battle for a New Champion, she was quickly outcast as a UK cast member. So, she tried to manipulate her way through the game. This involved arguments, lies, and even throwing a drink. It’s certainly fair to call this villainous, or even smart gameplay, just don’t call Melissa a bully.
Stop Being Polite 