Following a break of several seasons away, The Challenge legend Johnny Bananas opted to return to the show, indicating he’d help steer the franchise back to success.
Bananas, who won seven seasons of MTV’s show, appeared as Nany Gonzalez’s partner when the duo made a surprise entrance on Ride or Dies.
With that, he was looking to win his eighth championship while presumably helping Nany win her first ever in many seasons of the show.
Ahead of Bananas ever setting foot in Argentina to film the season, he’d vowed to bring back that veteran presence and entertainment value to the show.
However, fans, critics, and even a former castmate called out Bananas for not delivering during his return to the reality TV program.
After one critic recently posted a tweet comparing Bananas to another recent cast member on MTV’s The Challenge, it prompted Bananas to react.
Johnny Bananas reacts to The Challenge critic
Reality TV blogger Allan Aguire regularly shares his thoughts about MTV’s The Challenge, including tweets reacting to Ride or Dies episodes. One of his recent tweets shared thoughts about Bananas’ latest season of the show.
In his tweet, Aguire said that the first few episodes of MTV’s Ride or Dies were “pretty good and exciting.” He also mentioned how Bananas has typically “brought a lot to a lot of seasons.”
However, Aguire called Bananas a “slightly more charismatic Kenny Clark” during this latest season of The Challenge.
Kenny is the brother of Spies, Lies & Allies winner Kaycee Clark, who joined Season 38 as her Ride or Dies partner. However, many fans haven’t been too excited about the Clarks on Ride or Dies.
Aguire shared a TikTok clip with his tweet, which features Bananas discussing how bad the show was when it lacked strong vets and how production members were thankful he returned to The Challenge.
“You’d be lost without me Allan,” Bananas said in a tweet replying to Aguire’s critical comments.
Bananas has been under the radar in The Challenge 38
As mentioned, Bananas arrived at The Challenge: Ride or Dies in a surprise reveal to the cast within the first few episodes. He and Nany showed up at The Zone, where host TJ Lavin introduced them as one of the new duos in the game.
Other teams arrived at the game after them, including Jordan Wiseley with Aneesa Ferreira and Darrell Taylor with Veronica Portillo.
Throughout 15 episodes of the show, Bananas was featured in a bit of commentary, but very little drama, as he’s seemed to keep himself under the radar. Among key moments were he and Nany winning daily challenges and deciding which teams to put into elimination.
Additionally, Bananas has been in a flirty showmance with castmate Moriah Jadea, a rookie during Ride or Dies. Heading to Episode 16, he’d yet to face elimination at The Zone, but based on a Ride or Dies teaser trailer, he could be a main target as the final approaches.
Even so, Bananas hasn’t had quite as much drama or pot-stirring with his return to The Challenge, but it’s possibly because the seven-time champ is laying low or production is holding back on the footage.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.