A weekly series is on the way that takes a look at the historic moments that shaped reality television and brought it to where it is today.
While it seems to spotlight many memorable shows and moments, former Real World and seven-time The Challenge winner Johnny Bananas felt it was lacking.
He recently took to his social media to call out the show’s host, Andy Cohen, for what he felt was the series’ failure to cover several important reality TV shows.
Johnny Bananas calls out Andy Cohen on Twitter
On Friday, well-known Bravo reality TV producer, host, and personality Andy Cohen shared a preview video of the upcoming series he’ll host.
It’s called For Real: The Story of Reality TV and brings viewers a variety of insights into the entertainment genre’s history.
“Over the past three decades, reality TV has served up everything from the shocking, to the dramatic, to the lovey-dovey, to the truly inspirational,” Cohen narrates over highlights of various shows.
Amongst those highlights, viewers see Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Big Brother, Survivor, American Idol, various Housewives series, and more. However, The Challenge star Johnny Bananas was quick to retweet the trailer with a message for Andy, E!, and MTV.
“Creating ‘The Story of Reality TV’ and excluding @RealWorldMTV @ChallengeMTV is like re-writing the Bible and excluding the first 2 chapters,” Bananas tweeted with a mind-blown emoji.
Bananas received a reply from Andy to let him know that MTV is part of the upcoming series. Cohen also informed him he hosted a Real World Season 1 reunion, part of which seems to appear in the trailer above. However, Bananas still felt another show is missing from the series, along with one of its top competitors.
“Okay I stand corrected Andrew… I may have jumped the gun a tad as it related to THE REAL WORLD. However excluding @ChallengeMTV is still a glaring omission. That’s like opening a petting zoo and forgetting to include the GOAT,” Bananas replied to the show host.
Bananas among key stars in reality TV history
While Andy Cohen’s new series may include The Real World, Bananas has a major point if it fails to include MTV’s The Challenge. The competitive reality TV program has spanned two decades after originally starting in the late 1990s with the Real World/Road Rules Challenge seasons.
The Challenge has also become so popular that there are now two seasons on Netflix and many older seasons on CBS All-Access, which is soon to be Paramount Plus. A new series focused on classic rivalries from the show is set to arrive on Paramount Plus in early March.
In 2021, the 36th season of MTV’s series arrived with The Challenge: Double Agents. Johnny Bananas is not amongst current cast members but was the men’s winner on Season 35, Total Madness.
He originally debuted on The Real World: Key West back in 2006 but has been a fixture of The Challenge ever since. Bananas has appeared on 20 regular seasons of the show and two spinoffs, including Champs vs. Pros.
With seven wins in the show’s regular seasons, Johnny Bananas is considered G.O.A.T. when it comes to the reality TV series. Even his castmate Ashley “Millionaire” Mitchell, who at one time had won more total prize money than Bananas, recognized his importance.
“Did you call @johnnybananas bc if you talking reality TV you’re not telling the full story with out the [king emoji],” Ashley tweeted.
“A true crime against the crown,” Bananas replied, retweeting Ashley.
Luckily, the new E! series is weeks away, which could give producers time to right their wrongs. If not, Bananas and other Challenge stars may have a serious bone to pick.
The Challenge: Double Agents airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV. For Real: The Story of Reality TV premiere airs March 25 on E!
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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