‘The Challenge’ Accused of Ageism

In recent years, there have been a lot of The Challenge contestants recruited from other reality shows like Big Brother, Survivor, Ex on the Beach, and more. But one fan-favorite from Big Brother was rejected by the Challenge casting directors for being too old, which doesn’t make a ton of sense. Read on to find out why.

Cody Nickson Says The Challenge Told Him He Was ‘Beyond Their Age Limit’

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In an Instagram story Q&A earlier this fall, Nickson was asked by one fan, “Has The Challenge tried to recruit you?”, to which he responded, “Talked with their people briefly, I am 35 and beyond their age limit for casting. Too old they said!”

Of course, some of the cast members for The Challenge: Double Agents, which premieres on December 9, are far older than 35. Chris “CT” Tamburello is 40, Aneesa Ferreira is 39, and Wes Bergmann is 36, and Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, a perennial cast member who just happens to not be participating in “Double Agents,” is 38.

So, maybe it’s just a rule for rookies? That was what fans on Reddit theorized, though many commenters still thought that was ridiculous. And that argument doesn’t even fly because Lolo Jones is 38. Now, we don’t think she’s technically a rookie because she was on the spinoff show The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars back in 2017, but The Challenge is billing her as a rookie in their promotional videos and articles about the season — and she was 35 when she was on “Champs vs. Stars”, so even if she was a rookie then, she was 35.

Either way, Jones has been cast as a rookie at either 35 or 38. So, why is Nickson too old and Jones is not?

It Might Have to Do With Nickson’s Controversial Opinions

VideoVideo related to ‘the challenge’ accused of ageism2020-12-04T14:10:00-05:00

Maybe the show telling him he’s too old was just a polite excuse not to cast him. Nickson, who was voted America’s Favorite Player during his time on Big Brother 19, has previously come under fire from some fellow Big Brother contestants and fans for making insensitive remarks about transgender people, the residents of Flint, Michigan, and calling the COVID-19 pandemic a “scamdemic” in an effort to get people to buy his coffee on Instagram.

Plus, during his time in the Big Brother house, Nickson also talked about going to the Ferguson, Missouri, riots “just to see if [he] could survive.”

“I actually went to Ferguson, Missouri, for the riots. The night they announced the decision, I flew into Ferguson just to see if I could survive. I dressed up like a bum. I swear. Yeah. We were getting gassed,” said Nickson.

It wasn’t something that ever made it to air on CBS, but it definitely happened on the live feeds, as did his frequent use of the derogatory word “tranny” to describe a transgender person.

The Challenge season 36, “Double Agents,” premieres Wednesday, December 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. Big Brother 23 will return in the summer of 2021. Until then, we might get a new season of Big Brother Canada this winter/spring and there is talk of a winter edition of Celebrity Big Brother.

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