During The Challenge‘s 28th season, Rivals III, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio took all the money from his partner, Sarah Rice, after they worked together for the whole season. The decision was perhaps one of the most shocking things to ever happen on the reality competition show. Now, after many years, host TJ Lavin’s reaction to this notorious moment is finally being revealed.
When this outrageous moment took place, it left many viewers and cast members completely shocked. Many wondered why Bananas did what he did. When asked about it, he said, “The night when we had to do the up-all-night challenge and we had to stay awake, it really weighed on my mind. And a lot of things factored into my decision, but ultimately when all the cards fell where they did, my decision was actually very simple. I don’t care about what people are going to think of it.” The move was epic, and it got many people talking, including TJ, who has been the host of The Challenge since season 11.
According to Heavy, during an appearance on the No Quitters podcast, Bananas stated that TJ looked at him like a disappointed father when he stole the money. When speaking on the podcast, he said, “You want to talk about feeling like the loneliest man on earth? The only person — and this is why I love him — the only person that gave me the old wink and head nod was my cousin. Even TJ was looking at me like a disappointed father, you know what I mean?” He also stated TJ wouldn’t have reacted that way with any of the other cast members.
After this Rivals III moment, Bananas did not win another season until seven seasons later when he brought home first place on The Challenge: Total Madness in 2020. Many believe that after he took all the money from Sarah, he was cursed, as he didn’t even make it to the final after that until he competed on Total Madness.
When it comes to The Challenge, TJ is known as the “tough” host. To do something that gets a reaction out of him requires a lot of effort. Even though his reaction wasn’t shown on camera, everyone knew how he felt at the moment when Bananas took all the money for himself. TJ has been the host of The Challenge since season 11, so to make him both speechless and disappointed seems like a clear sign that Bananas messed up.
Source: Heavy