Lawsuits, Bans, and Million-Dollar Decisions — The Challenge's Biggest Scandals

Over 25 years, The Challenge has produced legends, champions, and some of the most jaw-dropping moments in reality TV history. Not all of them were pretty.

By Ava Witt · Daily Drama Watch

When you put competitive, strong-willed, sleep-deprived people in a house together for weeks on end, give them limited alcohol and unlimited grudges, and film everything — scandals are not a possibility. They are a guarantee. The Challenge has been running since 1998, which means it has had a very long time to accumulate its greatest hits of chaos. Here, in all their glory, are the moments that made reality TV history for all the wrong — and occasionally all the right — reasons.

Tonya Cooley vs. MTV — The Lawsuit That Changed Everything

This is the big one. In 2011, former Challenge competitor Tonya Cooley filed a lawsuit against MTV, Bunim/Murray Productions, and former castmates Evan Starkman and Kenny Santucci, alleging she had been sexually assaulted while unconscious during the filming of Season 18, The Challenge: The Ruins, in 2009.

Bunim/Murray called the claims "completely baseless" following an internal investigation. The case was settled out of court in 2012, and all parties are legally barred from discussing it. Tonya, Evan, and Kenny were all banned from the show permanently. Tonya later opened up about her struggles during her time on the franchise, including developing a drinking problem — and getting sober.

The case fundamentally changed how production handled alcohol consumption on the show. No more unlimited drinking. No more tequila shots. Brown liquor was eliminated entirely. The blue vodka you've heard about? That came later. The point is: things got stricter, and the reason why is not a fun one.

Camila Nakagawa — Racist Remarks, No Consequences, and a Ban That Took Too Long

Camila Nakagawa was a Challenge legend — a two-time champion, a 13-season veteran, a competitor who earned her nickname "The Camilinator" through sheer force of will. She was also, by the account of her castmates and the footage that aired, someone production protected for far too long.

During The Challenge: Dirty Thirty in 2017, Camila launched a drunken, one-sided tirade at fellow competitor Leroy Garrett — using racial slurs, yelling, and escalating while production stood by and did nothing. TJ was not even informed. Leroy temporarily retired from the show, saying publicly that production had rewarded her for being racist and violent.

Camila went on to win that season — and collect her $450,000 prize. She was not at the reunion. Her ban came later, reportedly after she physically assaulted a producer and damaged MTV property. Not, notably, for what happened to Leroy.

The Challenge community has never fully forgiven production for this one. Leroy's frustration was valid, documented, and on the record. The response was not enough.

Dee Nguyen — A Tweet, A Movement, and an Immediate Exit

In June 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, former Challenge competitor Dee Nguyen posted comments on social media that were widely condemned as dismissive and insensitive. MTV moved quickly — announcing they had cut ties with Nguyen almost immediately.

Dee later apologized, clarifying her support for the movement and stepping back from social media. The damage, however, was done. Her scenes from the season airing at the time were edited around her departure, and she has not returned to the franchise since.

Ashley Mitchell — Banned for What She Said, Not What She Won

Ashley Mitchell has one of the most complicated legacies in Challenge history. She is also one of the most entertaining people to ever compete on the show, which makes her story all the more layered.

In Season 37, Spies, Lies & Allies, Ashley was abruptly removed mid-season. TJ announced she had been "deactivated" — with zero further explanation on camera. Castmates and production sources later indicated it was due to homophobic comments directed at fellow competitor Josh Martinez. Josh himself addressed it on a podcast, calling it one of the hardest things he went through on the show without specifying what was said.

The Challenge community noted the inconsistency — others had done worse and stayed longer. Production's rulebook, as ever, appeared to have some very selective chapters.

Johnny Bananas Takes It All — And Doesn't Apologize

Let's be clear about this one: what Johnny Bananas did at the end of Rivals III was not a scandal. It was a choice. A brutal, calculated, perfectly legal choice that the rules of the game explicitly allowed — and one that went down as one of the most iconic moments in reality TV history.

At the finale, Bananas and partner Sarah Rice had the option to split their $275,000 prize — or for one of them to take it all. Bananas chose to take it all. Every single dollar. From Sarah. Who had previously betrayed him on an earlier season. He looked her in the eye and smiled.

He hadn't won a Challenge since. Many believe he's been cursed. He believes he made the right call. The debate has not stopped. It will not stop. This is exactly what The Challenge is for.

Ashley Mitchell Keeps the Million — And Has Zero Regrets

If Bananas set the standard, Ashley Mitchell took it to another level entirely. At the end of Final Reckoning, Ashley chose to keep the entire $1 million prize rather than split it with partner Hunter Barfield. She then explained, calmly and directly, exactly why: Hunter had belittled her, put her down, slut-shamed her, and threatened her family throughout the season.

"This guy's belittled me, put me down, slut-shamed me and also threatened my life and my family's lives," she said, on camera, with the composure of someone who had been planning this for weeks. She kept the money. She had no regrets. She still has no regrets.

Whether you agree with the decision or not, it was her decision to make. The game gave her the option. She used it. Full stop.

CT Tamburello — Banned, Then Invited Back, Now a Legend

CT Tamburello is widely considered the greatest competitor in Challenge history — six wins, iconic status, the respect of the entire cast. He is also someone who was once disqualified for fighting before the season even properly started. Early CT was a different animal entirely.

Network executives banned him — then changed their minds, because CT being absent from The Challenge is a worse outcome than CT being present and occasionally terrifying. He came back. He evolved. He became the GOAT. The ban is now a footnote in a career that has completely outgrown it.

Did Production Manipulate a Finale?

Season 32's Final Reckoning finale has been disputed by two of its competitors ever since it aired. Sylvia Elsrode and Joss Mooney — who finished as runners-up — have claimed they were actually the real winners, alleging that production changed the results for a better TV narrative. Sylvia addressed it on a podcast in 2022, suggesting the reason they didn't win publicly came down to the fact that they weren't going to steal from each other — which, from a drama standpoint, made for less compelling television.

Production has never confirmed or denied the allegation. The official results have never changed. The conversation, however, has never gone away.