Why This OG ‘Challenge’ Winner Quit the Show: ‘I Was So Pissed’

The Challenge has had many strong competitors come and go throughout the years, with some not returning because they’ve moved on with their careers and others not getting cast for various reasons. One Challenge winner from the show’s earlier seasons recently spoke out about why they quit the long-running MTV show and said they were “furious” with MTV’s production team.

Tyler Duckworth, a two-time Challenge winner, recently appeared on the Challenge Mania podcast and shared his experiences with MTV production and his decision to quit the show. He said the issues began around the show’s season, Free Agents, which filmed in 2014.

In addition, Duckworth said he hasn’t watched any of the seasons since his decision to quit, adding that he gets “jealous” watching today’s competitors.

Duckworth Said He Became ‘So Pissed’ About MTV Production’s Handling of the ‘Free Agents’ Casting

In his appearance on Challenge Mania, Duckworth said his issues with MTV production were centered on the Free Agents casting: “I didn’t necessarily retire on my own accord. I was supposed to go on Free Agents, and I was kind of struggling because I was just about to start this new corporate gig and it was going to be a lot of international travel. But I kind of had that one more in me.”

He said that Scott Freeman, the vice president of Bunim/Murray Productions, called him right before the Free Agents filming started. “He gave me a call … and I just got a sinking feeling in my stomach, like this isn’t good. And he’s like, just due to a weird casting switch, unfortunately, we’re not gonna need you. And I was so pissed.” He said he told Freeman, “listen, I gotta live my life. If you guys are gonna be that fickle, I can’t do that. … After that, I kind of shut the door on it. I actually never watched that season because I was so furious.”

In fact, Duckworth told Challenge Mania that he hasn’t even watched the later seasons of the show since he feels jealous at not competing:

Truthfully, it gets me so worked up because I still feel like I could contend with it, and I get so jealous. I get so jealous because it’s like, I wanna do that. And I can still do that. … And I see some of these kids and I’m like, you don’t even know what I did to get on the show. … You guys didn’t earn that spot. We earned it. So I get jealous.

Duckworth Appeared on 4 Seasons & Won the Show on His Last 2 Appearances

Duckworth was a cast member on The Real World: Key West, which filmed in 2005 and featured notable Challenger Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio. The 39-year-old then appeared on The Duel, where he eliminated Bananas on the first episode but was sent home on the next male elimination day after losing to Derrick Kosinski. He then returned for The Gauntlet III, where he was again eliminated early.

Duckworth returned to the show for Cutthroat, where he dominated the season with his team and won the final challenge. After that, Duckworth returned for Rivals, where he was partnered with Bananas and the two made it to the end, finishing the season in first place.

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