Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Wednesday, February 20, episode of The Challenge: War of the Worlds!
All’s fair in love, war and Challenges! Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio coined the phrase, which means he’s not making any excuses for the shocking elimination that sent him packing on week two. During his 18 (!) seasons, he’s only been sent home that early once – after his first, The Duel in 2006, he was the first sent packing.
During this week’s episode, one of Bananas’ closest allies, Zach Nichols, appeared to team up with Bananas’ rival, Wes Bergmann. While Zach denied doing so – he said he accidentally threw Wes the ball during a challenge, helping Wes to win and ultimately throw Bananas into the Killing Floor – Bananas called BS; instead, chose Zach to go up against him in the elimination round. Unfortunately, Bananas lost.
Following the upset, Bananas, 36, joined Us Weekly’s “Watch With Us” podcast following the shocking elimination. Listen to the full episode above and get the highlights below:
On if Zach really betrayed him or not:
“Do not fall for Zach’s crocodile tears. He is very, very good. When you see a man of his stature start to cry, you’re like, ‘There’s no way this guy could be lying because there’s no one in their right mind able to do that.’ Zach’s able to do that … He was working with Wes the entire time. Zach never has important game conversations on camera, which is why there is no footage of him and Wes making any sort of deals or plotting this. But trust me when I tell you, everything Zach did was 100 percent intentional.”
On if anything happened romantically with Nany:
“No, we had our moment, had our thing. Exes was awesome, we had a relationship off the show for a bit. I just like her so much as a person and as a friend. Nany is the realest person you’ll ever meet. She wears her heart on her sleeve. That’s a rare thing to not just find in the Challenge house, but in reality in general. We were both in relationships for a long time; we weren’t allowed to talk to each other because our significant others wouldn’t allow it. It’s kind of cool to be back in the Challenge house, to have the familiar face there. It makes it feel like home again.
On the possibility of becoming The Bachelor:
“It’s not The Bachelor, it’s The Bananachelor. I would 100 percent do that. My mom would be the happiest woman on Earth if I brought home a nice girl… I think The Bachelor has gotten so vanilla, so cookie cutter. I think it would be nice to bring someone on who kind of knew how to be on TV. I think it would allow me to show a different side that most people never get to see. The person that I am in real life, the person you’re talking to right now, would never survive on The Challenge. When you go, you have to put on this suit of armor. You have to keep people at a distance. I love doing challenges, experiencing new things … I think The Bachelor might be my ultimate challenge. We’re handing out bananas!”
Listen to our full podcast interview with Johnny Bananas above and subscribe here. The Challenge airs on MTV Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
