Not everything’s what it seems when presented on reality television, including the reasons that people leave shows or quit during intense elimination events.
That was the case with a recent episode of The Challenge: All Stars 3 on Paramount Plus, with an elimination that featured a cast member giving up based on a particular reason they gave for the cameras.
Castmate Veronica Portillo set the record straight for fans, though, revealing why the OG opted to quit during one of TJ Lavin’s eliminations.
OG quit during All Stars 3 elimination
In All Stars 3, Episode 5, The Arena featured an elimination event called Knock Off. The game featured opponents on opposite sides of a large billboard-like wall above the ground with large buttons on both sides.
Once TJ sounded the horn, players had to slam those peg buttons in, trying to knock their opponent off the other side. The first one to get it done would win the event.
Earlier in the episode, Beth Stolarczyk told castmates how she didn’t trust Jonna Mannion based on things she’d seen. That included Beth trying to create rumors that Jonna and castmate MJ Mannion were having an affair during their time on All Stars. Both castmates denied this in confessional interviews.
That led to Jonna asking The Authority to send her in so she could call down Beth and take her out. As they battled it out in Knock Off at The Arena, Jonna had an advantage, thanks to support from castmates yelling advice to her from the upper level.
Ultimately, Beth said it was unfair that others were yelling stuff to help Jonna out and told TJ and production she was done competing in the elimination. That gave Jonna the victory and sent Beth home from the show just two episodes into her arrival as a “replacement” OG for other departing cast members.
Veronica sets record straight on Beth quitting
According to recent social media comments from Beth’s castmate Veronica Portillo, her quitting the elimination wasn’t because she felt it was unfair that cast members were helping Jonna. Instead, it was due to her nearly getting disqualified multiple times.
On Twitter, a fan of the show said they “sort of do agree” with what Beth said about how players not competing in the elimination shouldn’t be able to yell or say things to help competitors. They asked Veronica how she felt about it, and she indicated she didn’t agree with it either.
“It’s an unfair advantage when someone has coaches that have full view of elimination comp giving commands. However, this is not the reason Beth lost. She almost got DQ’d multiple times for hugging the wall the whole time,” Veronica revealed in her reply.
Another fan replied to Veronica, explaining that other cast members helping out at The Arena or elimination venue is part of the game since having a strong alliance is a strategy.
However, Veronica said it’s like handing someone an answer key during an elimination event.
Viewers haven’t only seen elimination help happening on All Stars but also during seasons of MTV’s main show. That included the recent Spies, Lies & Allies season when some cast members became irritated as Tori Deal tried to yell answers to Emanuel Neagu during his elimination against Devin Walker.
Nonetheless, Beth’s reason for quitting the elimination may have come down to her fear of heights. When bidding her farewell after her loss, TJ Lavin suggested maybe she’ll work on the heights thing in her time away.
Along with quitting her first daily challenge due to being petrified of how high she was off the ground, Beth also brought up heights during her post-elimination confessional.
The Challenge: All Stars 3 episodes arrive Wednesdays on Paramount Plus.