If you’ve watched any season of The Challenge or E!’s latest competition reality show, House of Villains, you know Johnny Bananas is a tremendous competitor. He’s won seven Challenge titles — making him the most decorated cast member in the show’s history.
However, with a legacy as impactful as his, a target will always be on his back. That explains why he was the first cast member murdered in Season 2 of Peacock’s original series, The Traitors. “My reputation preceded me this time,” Bananas told The Messenger.
“What took me out, I mean, I think it’s obvious that the powers that be and the Traitors and the people that had power obviously deemed me as a threat to not just their existence in the game, but I think just their existence on television in general.”
Will Johnny’s murder help the Traitors?
When deciding who to murder first, Season 2 Traitors Dan Gheesling and Phaedra Parks chose Johnny for apparent reasons. “I think he’s someone who has the ability to catch us,” Dan said during the episode, to which Phaedra replied, “He is a wild horse.”
Although both Traitors made what they deemed to be the best decision for their game, Johnny believes it could work against them.
“Just from a strategic standpoint, I just don’t think that that was the best way to go that early on,” he said. “I think, if anything, it just exposed their game even more. You leave someone like me around, people already assume I was a Traitor. You keep someone like me around as a shiny object to keep the attention off of you.”
You’d think someone like Dan, a Big Brother legend and winner, would’ve thought about that.
Either way, despite being the first booted from the Scotland castle, Johnny enjoyed the few moments of peace with his fellow Challenge co-star, Chris “CT” Tamburello.
“Every time I’ve ever been on a TV screen with C.T., we’ve always been at each other’s throats,” he said. “I was excited to be on a show where finally we could put our differences aside and actually be able to compete alongside each other and fight for something bigger than just the win at the end, and that’s that we’re representing The Challenge and our franchise.”
The Traitors continues on Peacock on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
TELL US — DO YOU AGREE WITH JOHNNY? DID THE TRAITORS MAKE THE WRONG MOVE?
