The cat’s out of the bag — Ashley Mitchell will be on House of Villains 3. She’ll be the third person from The Challenge to appear on the E!/Peacock program, proving that the MTV has given us some iconic villains.
(OK, Johnny Middlebrooks and Tyson Apostol are also Challenge alum and on the House of Villains 3 cast, but they’re better-known for other shows.)
If House of Villains continues, which Real World and Challenge alumni would make good additions? Usually, the program casts people who are known to stir the pot and create drama, but not people who are known for super serious or controversial moments. So, I’m going to look at people who are known to argue and bend the rules, but not people who are utterly reckless (like Puck). Also, I’m not going to include Bananas, Wes, or Ashley (or Johnny M. or Tyson), because they’ve already had their chance.
Jemmye Carroll
Some people appear on reality TV because they want to compete, other people just want to see the drama live in person. Jemmye falls into the latter category, and she’s always relied on unconventional strategies to advance her game. She earned villains status the moment she forced BFFs Jenna and Kailah to face each other in a Dirty Thirty elimination, and she maintained that status when she helped fling Kayleigh’s luggage over the balcony on Vendettas.
They (aka Frank Sweeney)
When Frank debuted on the Real World, he was not known as being a level-headed person. Usually, his heart was in the right place, but his emotions got the best of him. He brought this personality onto The Challenge, but it wasn’t his downfall. He excelled despite his tendency to cause drama, and when he returned for All Stars: Rivals, he continued to be a pot-stirrer. He had emotionally matured, but he still knew he was playing a game, and he didn’t mind ruffling feathers to advance.
Shane Landrum
As one of the Lavender Ladies, Shane’s core strategy on The Challenge became a drama-fueled political game where he happily made enemies. He also perfected the art of throwing challenges to advance his game, and he left Final Reckoning with many new rivals. When he returned on All Stars: Rivals, he played a less aggressive game, but there was still some paranoia in the mix. His partner Da’Vonne quickly admitted that Shane thinks it’s cool to be a reality TV villain — so House of Villains should take note.
Coral Smith
It’s been nearly two decades since we’ve seen Coral appear on The Challenge, and fans are still begging for her return. While it’s hard to actually call her a villain, she exhibits many villainous qualities: She’s loud, argumentative, goes against the grain, and demands respect. Coral’s a large reason The Challenge gained popularity — so big that Whitney Houston quoted her — and there’s no way she’d be a pushover in a house full of villains.
Paulie Calafiore
Early in his Challenge run, Paulie was never one to back down from a fight — but he was also never the type of person who actually threw a punch. This led to an ongoing saga where he feuded with Kyle and arguments where he threw some super cringey verbal jabs at Josh. Though Paulie has matured since War of the Worlds 2, he proved that he’s still a bit of a showman on Battle of the Eras and he’s willing to confront the big dogs.
Tami Roman
OK, so Tami hasn’t done a Challenge, but she’s become a bonafide reality star since appearing on The Real World: Los Angeles in 1993. She had a long stint on Basketball Wives, returned for Real World: Los Angeles Homecoming, and hosts Caught in the Act. Tami has never been afraid of confrontation, and there’s a reason she’s built a career on reality TV: She’s a bold, unapologetic personality who walked so people like New York and Omarosa could run.
Devin Walker
When Johnny Bananas appeared on House of Villains, he used notes in his promo materials, pretending people cared about his fake Vendettas drama. In reality, Devin’s “mental warfare” was the more memorable moment on Vendettas, and Devin is no stranger to making people upset in his quest for victory. In some cases, Devin’s pompous game play is insufferable, but there’s no denying that his antics have been successful.
Amanda Garcia
There’s a reason why Amanda is known as the devil, and it’s not because she plays the game as a nice girl. She seems eager to start drama when she arrives on The Challenge, and she has a list of rivals that she plans to target. People like Tori and Jenna dread interacting with Amanda because she’s not scared to pick at their demons to ruffle their feathers. However, Amanda has proven that she’s pretty level-headed outside of the show, and she has a clear boundary between the game and real life.
Beth Stolarczyk
Despite never winning a Challenge, Beth has been an actual threat in the game, merely because she does whatever she wants. She’s not afraid to lose, and her reckless drama has caused people to want to leave the competition. This is best exemplified on The Duel, but Beth knows how to make memorable moments on the show. Even though her time on All Stars 3 was brief, she made a very controversial (potentially life-ruining) allegation that resulted in her partnership with Jonna on All Stars: Rivals.
Laurel Stucky
Laurel is a strong and confident player, which is why she’s such a good reality TV villain. She doesn’t need to conform to other people because she can defend herself. This has led her to get into many arguments that have painted huge targets on her back, and she almost always survives the fallout. While her ongoing feud with Cara Maria is very divisive, Laurel’s head-strong nature has been used for good. We’ve seen this when she defended Cara Maria on Rivals, and these unfiltered confrontations made her look like to good guy after breaking up with Nicole.
Stop Being Polite 