Don't Let The Door Hit You: 6 Competitors Banned From MTV's 'The Challenge'

After 38 seasons, MTV's The Challenge has seen its fair share of controversial moments and drama. It's impossible to throw 20 or more people into a house with a grand prize of thousands of dollars and not have controversy. However, not all of the drama had respectful sportsmanship at the end of it.

It's no secret that reality TV thrives off drama and sometimes the networks even encourage it so they have something juicy for viewers to watch. But even with that said, a lot of competitors on The Challenge took things too far - even to the point of receiving a permanent ban from MTV.

With this list, we'll focus on five competitors that received bans from MTV after their appearances on The Challenge. While some competitors were punished and returned, these players were sent home with no invitation to come back.

Dunbar Merrill

Dunbar appeared on six seasons of The Challenge and came out victorious on Cutthroat, but he was never invited back to MTV after his final season. Was it because of his behavior on the show? Not at all. MTV found out that Dunbar had participated in an amateur pornographic video that was released online. As a result of this, his winnings from Cutthroat were withheld from him and he never appeared on another season after Rivals II.

Duong 'Dee' Nguyen

Dee's history on The Challenge was short and controversial. Amidst the worldwide Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd, the Geordie Shore alum found herself in hot water after posting racially insensitive tweets. One of these now deleted tweets said:

"Idk why some of u think I’m anti [Black Lives Matter]. I’ve been saying that since the day I lost my virginity"

After her controversial commentary on social media, MTV severed all ties with Dee and banned her from appearing on the network in the future. To honor the appearance and effort of other players, Dee was edited out of all remaining episodes of Total Madness and was not allowed to appear on the show's reunion.

Tonya Cooley, Evan Starkman, and Kenny Santucci

Perhaps the biggest controversy in the history of The Challenge comes from three fan-favorite competitors. In 2011, Tonya filed a lawsuit against MTV, Bunim/Murray Productions, Evan Starkman, and Kenny Santucci, claiming that the two men had sexually assaulted her while filming The Ruins in 2009. Cooley alleged that she was not only assaulted, but that the assault took place while the cameras were rolling.

"(MTV and producers) created an environment in which degrading and harassing behavior toward the female contestants was openly tolerated and even encouraged"

According to the lawsuit, Cooley stated that Starkman and Santucci repeatedly removed female competitor's bathing suits and touched their private areas without consent, along with using derogatory and offensive language. She also stated that both men sexually violated her with a fellow contestant's toothbrush and took nude photos of her with personal cameras while she was passed out.

Tonya included in the suit that she felt she was kicked off The Ruins because she had brought her concerns about Evan and Kenny's behavior to MTV producers. MTV denied the incident and claimed Tonya's claims were baseless, and Evan and Kenny went on to appear on more MTV shows. The case was settled privately out of court in 2012 and Tonya, Evan, and Kenny were all banned from appearing on the network in the future. Because of the private nature of the settlement, the details have never been released.

Camila Nakagawa

Commonly referred to by players and viewers as "The Camilanator," Camila was well on her way to becoming Challenge royalty and could have been one of the most winningest competitors in show history. In 13 seasons, Camila managed to win three finals, but she just couldn't stop getting in her own way. It's hard to count just how many drunken, violent episodes Camila had while competing on the show, but two incidents in particular contributed to her receiving a permanent ban.

She first caused major controversy after making racially charged comments towards fellow competitor, Leroy Garrett. He took to Instagram to reveal that Camila's racism towards him while filming XXX: Dirty 30 in 2017 - the season she went on to win. She apologized, but Garrett felt that her apology was not genuine and that MTV was complicit by not removing her from the show. This incident ultimately led to him choosing to retire from The Challenge.

The final nail in the coffin, according to her castmates, was when she punched an MTV employee and avoiding a network PA by stealing a golf cart while intoxicated and trying to drive into traffic. This incident forced MTV to accept that their insurance companies would no longer sign off on her liability while filming, and they officially banned her from appearing on the network.