The Challenge star Josh Martinez recently made public comments about his fight with castmate Ashley Mitchell which resulted in her being kicked off the MTV show.
He and Ashley fought during the Spies, Lies & Allies season, but their heated argument was never shown during the episode it occurred on.
Apparently, Ashley crossed the line with her remarks toward Josh, which ultimately caused production to send her home for the season.
She mysteriously disappeared during an episode, with viewers left in the dark by MTV about what happened to result in her removal from the show.
During a recent Challenge Mania event in Miami, Florida, Josh was one of several special guests from MTV’s show, with fans able to ask the various Challengers questions.
Josh called the unaired fight a “missed opportunity” for production and gave his thoughts about whether Ashley should return to the show.
Josh comments on The Challenge’s ‘missed opportunity’
While appearing at Challenge Mania earlier this month, Josh was on stage with other Challenge cast members, including The Godfather Mark Long, Rachel Robinson, Chris “CT” Tamburello, and Tori Deal.
When the audience was given the floor to ask their burning questions, one individual asked Josh to speak about what happened with Ashley during Spies, Lies & Allies.
Since Challenge Mania is also a podcast, they provided a recording from the event, which included Josh’s answer around the 39-minute mark of Episode 329.
“I’ll be very honest with you. I love the network. I love MTV. They gave me a huge platform, but they missed an opportunity to show something real. I’ve been on the show five seasons, and I’ve been attacked about everything. The way I talk to the way. The way I compete. Everything,” Josh said.
“I think it was a missed opportunity for them to show something real, not only that I’ve been through and experienced, but something out there that a lot of people out there go through,” he said of the Season 37 incident.
Josh said he didn’t have anything against fans who blamed him for Ashley getting kicked off the season.
“For once, I feel like I wasn’t in the wrong, and I feel like they should’ve shown that. If there’s any regret, that was the one opportunity they could’ve shown. At the end of the day, she attacked something that a lot of people struggle with, and it’s nobody’s business. Not only that, she shouldn’t have gone that low,” Josh shared.
He also called it “probably one of the hardest things” he’d gone through on the show. That was one of several incidents that Josh was involved in during Season 37, with another one earlier in the season featuring a blowup between him and his friend Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat.
Ultimately, Fessy got kicked off the show for making slight physical contact with Josh during their argument. However, Fessy returned for Season 38 of the show.
Tori comments about the situation; Josh is OK with Ashley returning
During his reply to the fan question at Challenge Mania, Josh seemed OK with The Challenge bringing the former champion back to the show again. He also clarified that he never went to production asking for Ashley to get kicked off the show.
Instead, he said castmate Amanda Garcia knew he was concerned about Ashley’s mental health because he’d never seen her like that. Josh didn’t elaborate on what he meant by that remark or say if they went to production with those concerns about Ashley.
Following Josh’s response, his castmate Tori spoke up, giving her thoughts about the situation.
“Josh is really sweet, and no,” she said, interjecting. “She made comments that literally offended production. If you offend production, you have to understand that you’re wrong. You do not call somebody out for things that are personal to your life, and if you don’t know about them, don’t do it.”
“There’s a certain liability in this game. This is a game. We are on public television. People see us. You do not get to be somebody else’s story and narrator. Josh is his narrator. That’s it, and no, no, no,” Tori said of Ashley’s comments.
Neither Josh nor Tori explained what was said, although fans in attendance asked for more details. Despite the tough situation, Josh seems open to seeing his castmate return to The Challenge.
“I wish her the best. I have nothing but love for her, and I would never go to production to kick- I hope she comes back,” he shared.
Josh and Ashley are both absent from MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies, the show’s current season, but it’s entirely possible fans will see them back on the screen for another season.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.