Brandon Nelson is among the MTV OGs who returned as part of The Challenge: All Stars 4 cast, and according to him, it came at an “opportune” time.
On the spin-off, the Fresh Meat 2 star reunited with former MTV castmates, including Cara Maria Sorbello, Jasmine Reynaud, Leroy Garrett, and Laurel Stucky.
For castmates and viewers, it was the first time they had seen Brandon compete in a version of The Challenge in 10 years.
His last appearance was on 2014’s Free Agents, where Zach Nichols eliminated him in the fourth episode. Throughout five seasons on The Challenge, Brandon never reached or won a final.
Brandon recently shared that his call for All Stars 4 came at the right time and explained why he hadn’t returned until the spinoff.
This report may contain spoilers from All Stars 4, Episode 4 from Paramount+.
Brandon shares why he hadn’t returned to The Challenge and was ‘thankful’ for All Stars 4
According to Brandon, he wasn’t turning down any calls for The Challenge. Instead, he wasn’t receiving any to appear on the show until All Stars 4.
“It happened at the most opportune time because I was going through a lot — my dad just passed, I was going through a divorce, I’ve been in two [car] wrecks. A lot happened in that decade that I was gone, and I was in a bad spot. I was really down on myself,” he shared with Entertainment Weekly.
“It definitely pulled me out of a bad spot, and I’m really, really thankful for it. It made me feel relevant again. It’s a blessing,” he told EW regarding that call to return.
Brandon mentioned some of those difficult circumstances from his life during a recent episode of All Stars 4, as he and former friend Cara Maria were at odds. He mentioned she hadn’t contacted him in the past eight years when various things happened.
In speaking to EW, Brandon admitted that his strategy to target Cara during All Stars 4 ultimately led to Leroy eliminating him from the game. However, Brandon also said he and Cara are good after the show and have no ill will toward one another.
Brandon said he ‘felt a certain way’ about The Challenge casting from ‘weak’ shows
Despite appearing on four seasons of The Challenge, Brandon revealed he still felt like an “outsider” as far as a cast member. He said he hadn’t been keeping up with MTV’s competition series since his time away, and with All Stars 4, he felt more a part of The Challenge than before.
EW also asked him how he felt about the show’s evolution since he appeared on it 10 years ago.
“You start bringing in people from other shows, and folks felt a certain type of way about it. Man, I did too for a little bit. I’m like, “Y’all not calling me back, but you got these weirdos from Big Brother and these other shows I’ve never heard of. But you can’t call your boy back?” he said.
The Challenge: All Stars’ first three seasons featured only cast members from MTV shows The Real World, Road Rules, and Fresh Meat. On All Stars 4, Kam Williams became the first former Are You The One? star to appear on The Challenge spin-off. However, that was still an MTV show.
Based on early spoilers for All Stars 5, things may go further, and many fans won’t be happy with the change to the spinoff. However, Brandon also said adding people from other shows to The Challenge is “good for exposure.”
He said he wasn’t familiar with some of the newer cast members because he had not kept up with MTV seasons since his last appearance.
“The new kids, I had no idea who any of those people are. But luckily on All Stars, I didn’t really have to deal with that,” he shared.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.