After a castmate said she didn’t deserve to be part of The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, Tula “Big T” Fazakerley has responded to set everyone straight on the matter.
An online exchange recently occurred after Big T replied to a fan’s question asking about her Spies, Lies & Allies castmate, Emanuel Neagu, and a remark he made during a confessional interview. That also brought Emanuel to reply to Big T.
Big T has since let him know that he won’t ever tell her where she belongs or doesn’t belong, including MTV’s The Challenge competition series.
Big T comments about Emanuel’s Challenge remarks
In The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, Episode 16, there was a women’s elimination day with only three potential nominees. They included the Sapphire team’s Emy Alupei and the Ruby team’s Big T and Tori Deal.
Big T asked to be voted in by The Agency, which was the Emerald team after winning the daily mission. Once she got into elimination, she called down rookie Emy Alupei as her opponent rather than veteran castmate Tori.
Emy proved herself as an elimination superstar once again, winning her fourth of the Spies, Lies & Allies season, which sent Big T home for good.
She was already eliminated once a few episodes before that by Amanda Garcia. However, because castmate Ashley Mitchell got deactivated during the episode, host TJ Lavin called Big To back to the game to fill Ashley’s spot.
Ahead of the elimination, footage showed Emanuel conversing with Survivor Romania castmate and friend Emy. She was frustrated that she would get called into elimination by Big T.
Emy felt she was being used as everyone’s “weapon” to eliminate others, and nobody cared about her. She even suggested that Tori could have been voted in and call out Big T as her opponent. Emanuel mentioned having a relationship with Tori, and he couldn’t choose between her and Emy.
“I voted for Big T because in my eyes, Big T doesn’t deserve to be here,” Emanuel told Emy during their chat.
In a recent Instagram Story Q&A for fans, Big replied to a fan asking what she thought about Emanuel’s remarks.
Big T told the fan she found it “hurtful” because she gave her “heart and soul to each every season” she appeared on for The Challenge. She went on to say she doesn’t like that “kind of attitude and commentary.”
“I think people need to humble themselves and stay in their lane. Cast members be cast members and let production decides who deserves to be there or not,” she said in her reply (below).
Big T’s reply above also refers to Emanuel’s showmances with fellow rookie Michele Fitzgerald, followed by veteran cast member Tori.
“I feel like some people get waaay too cocky and waaaaay too comfortable quickly and forget that we are very easily replaceable,” Big T said.
Emanuel replies to Big T: ‘I thought we were friends’
Emanuel fired back in an Instagram Story response, suggesting that Big T was already packed and “ready to leave.” He indicated that a quitter doesn’t deserve to be there.
In addition, Emanuel mentions there are other cast members out there willing to do the show for free, even with one eye, seeming to reference recent comments by former Challenge finalist Theo Campbell.
Emanuel also indicated production decides who is part of the show and also “what airs.”
He suggests he talked to Emy about how Big T wanted to leave the show, and that’s why he voted for Big T. That wasn’t shown during any of Emanuel’s conversations with Emy, though.
“I hate to do this but your fans are going too wild with the threatenings. I thought we were friends, @BigTFaz,” Emanuel wrote in his reply on IG Story.
Big T fires back about deserving to be there
After Emanuel’s reply on his IG Story, Big T shot back another reply on her Story (below). During that, she mentions having messaged him privately about things and said she didn’t believe him.
“I think you’re trying to use an isolated incident as justification,” Big T said.
Big T then reveals she was ready to leave because “everyone was coming for Bettina [Buchanan],” and she had been trying to comfort her during that time.
She mentions being “inebriated and dramatic that night” and that while she said she wanted to leave, she never packed her suitcase or moved it from where it was.
She goes on to mention other cast members had their suitcases packed and didn’t leave during the season, but Emanuel never said they didn’t “deserve to be there.”
“Call me a s**t competitor. I don’t care. But don’t ever tell me where I do and do not deserve to be… It’s not your prerogative,” she told her castmate.
“In the house you were very kind and level headed amongst the meltdowns and chaos. I’m not trying to villainize you. I’m reacting to what I am seeing and hearing with my own eyes,” Big T said.
Big T, a former Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands cast member, appeared in her fourth season of The Challenge with Spies, Lies & Allies. Following her Episode 16 elimination, Big T mentioned online that she was ending her Challenge career so she could pursue her dream job in cooking after getting into culinary school.
While her message reads like retirement from The Challenge, many feel the entertaining underdog known as “Big T” could always return to the show at some point in her future.
As of this report, rumors have surfaced that casting availability calls started for Season 38, but it’s unknown if Emanuel is among those contacted.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.