Paulie Calafiore took aim at his The Challenge: USA 2 castmate by spoofing the “second most famous ginger” there is.
The Big Brother alum officially returned to the competition series for the USA 2 spinoff, which will include MTV stars competing with CBS reality TV stars.
While Paulie technically has been on both networks, he’ll represent CBS along with other BB stars such as Josh Martinez, Tiffany Mitchell, and Tyler Crispen.
Meanwhile, Wes Bergmann is one of the six MTV Challengers who will look to boost the show in terms of entertainment value compared to its first season. Others include Tori Deal, Amanda Garcia, and Johnny Bananas.
Wes, a two-time MTV Challenge winner, is known for making deals with everyone and mostly trying to sway rookies to work with him. That could bode well for him on the CBS spinoff with many newcomers.
On social media, Paulie poked some fun at his castmate to get the ball rolling ahead of the season premiere.
Paulie mocks Wes in ‘bts’ video ahead of The Challenge: USA 2
Wearing a huge fuzzy orange beard, Paulie appeared in a video clip uploaded to his social media profiles, including TikTok and Instagram.
“Idk why @thechallenge hasn’t posted this bts of Wes yet but I was able to hack their vaults and get it. You’re welcome 😉,” he wrote in the caption.
The video mocked his red-headed and red-bearded castmate from several seasons, whom Paulie is reunited with on USA 2.
“I don’t really know how to describe myself other than the best Challenger of all time,” Paulie said to start his video.
The scene then revealed Paulie as Wes pretending to talk to himself while facing a mirror to deliver some affirmations.
“Best Challenger that’s ever existed. Best Challenger that’s ever existed,” he repeated humorously as if to convince himself of that notion.
“Brilliant. Good looking. Best athlete. Easily the best abs in the house,” Paulie delivered to the camera as Wes before flexing a bicep muscle.
“You see that right there? I’ve been working on that for 20 years,” he joked in the clip.
The video continued with Paulie pretending to be Wes and mentioning how some people say he’s a “master manipulator,” but he believes he’s just a “good businessman.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to work with me? That’s just good business,” Paulie said as his mock version of Wes.
Weeks before his video trolling Wes, Paulie uploaded a funny video aimed at his critics and haters who weren’t happy to see him back on a version of The Challenge.
When did Wes and Paulie last appear on The Challenge?
While Wes hasn’t been in an MTV season since Double Agents in 2021, he was among the surprise MTV Legends for The Challenge: World Championship.
In the Paramount Plus spinoff, he was selected first overall for the available men in the Legends, ahead of talents like Johnny Bananas and Jordan Wiseley.
The Challenge: Argentina’s Zara Zoffany selected Wes as her partner for the season. Unfortunately, she didn’t know he’d end up costing her a daily challenge during the season when he decided not to drink a required smoothie ahead of the event and advised her to do the same.
That move brought a penalty, and they ended up the worst-performing team in the daily, getting them automatically sent into elimination. They ultimately lost to Kaycee Clark and Ben Driebergen, ending their time for World Championship.
For Paulie, it’s been a bit longer. He last appeared in MTV’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2, which also featured Wes in the cast. Paulie and his girlfriend Cara Maria Sorbello orchestrated a huge alliance that season, helping them reach the final.
However, Paulie gassed out during one portion of the final, and Team USA lost to the UK’s squad, including Jordan, CT Tamburello, Rogan O’Connor, and Dee Nguyen.
Paulie and Wes also appeared in the first War of the Worlds season. Wes reached the final, as did Paulie’s girlfriend, Cara. However, Paulie lost in a daily challenge purge ending his chance at winning just ahead of the final.
Both MTV competitors return on The Challenge: USA 2 with a prize of $500,000 for whoever wins the spinoff’s final.
The Challenge: USA 2 premieres Thursday, August 10 at 10/9c on CBS.