Josh Martinez will return to The Challenge for Season 40 after a hiatus of several MTV seasons, but some of the show’s fans aren’t happy to see him back.
He’ll compete in a starstudded season featuring 40 cast members selected from the reality TV competition show’s 39 seasons.
The season’s format involves four teams of 10 players each, divided by the eras of MTV’s The Challenge they are most associated with.
The former Big Brother star is part of a new promotional clip featuring several of his castmates from the upcoming season, known as Battle of the Eras.
Along with Josh is his Era 4 teammate, Olivia Kaiser, who reached the final in her rookie season with Horacio Gutierrez.
They’re seated with teammates Amanda Garcia and Tony Raines from Era 3 as they watch some of the biggest betrayals in The Challenge’s history.
Josh appears in a Season 40 promotional video with castmates
“Oh my God! What a blindside! Oh! You Savage! Tony!” Josh yelled during the start of the reaction video, with his castmates also trying to talk.
That reaction arrived as the footage showed Tony betraying his friend and castmate Johnny Bananas during a previous season by sending him into elimination against Devin Walker.
Later, footage showed the infamous moment when Bananas betrayed Sarah Rice on Rivals III by taking all the prize money for himself after they’d won the final.
“Good for you, Nana, man!” Josh yelled while reacting with his castmates.
Bananas, Leroy Garrett, Averey Tressler, and KellyAnne Judd also appeared in parts of the video but as a different group reacting to the highlight moments.
During their watch, Bananas told his castmate KellyAnne that he felt “justified” and got “retribution” after he betrayed Sarah.
“I wish there was more money that I could have taken,” Bananas told his castmates.
He also called KellyAnne’s suggestion that he might teach Tony a lesson during Season 40 for his previous betrayal an “interesting take.”
Josh responds after critics say he ‘needs to go’
Josh has become one of the more polarizing Challengers during his time on the show due to getting emotional in moments of most seasons.
In the reaction video’s comment section on Instagram, fans slammed the former Big Brother star, with some demanding the show drop him as a cast member.
“I was gonna watch the whole thing but couldn’t take no more of Josh,” one fan commented.
Another wrote, “Josh needs to go!!!”
Additional comments called The Challenge star “so cringy” and asked to “keep Josh off TV” since “He’s taking up space.”
After two seasons off the MTV show, Josh stopped by the comment section to celebrate his return and address his critics and haters.
“Ahh feels so good to be back! I missed some of you trolls,” he commented, including crying laughing and black heart emojis.
A commenter asked him why he gets “under the skin” of so many viewers and commenters, but Josh hadn’t replied as of this writing.
He’ll return on The Challenge as part of a team of talented newcomers, including fellow Big Brother stars Paulie Calafiore and Kaycee Clark, as well as Horacio, Nurys Mateo, Kyland Young, and others. The Era 4 team will contend with many legends in the game, known for their savvy game moves, including those memorable betrayals.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras premieres on MTV on Wednesday, August 14 at 8/7c.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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