While The Challenge: All Stars has really upped the fun factor for cast members and viewers, there’s still that element of the competition at hand. In the case of the OG spinoff season, it involves one person claiming $500,000 at the end of the final.
While some of the deliberations went relatively smooth for the cast in the All Stars episodes, at least one was more intense than the rest. That’s because it came down to two competitors seemingly tied to go into the elimination. The footage presented a specific cast member breaking that tie.
One of the cast members who nearly got voted in during that deliberation recently shared with fans some of the notes he wrote to himself after the meeting with a powerful message.
All Stars cast member shares personal note, references MLK
Among the 22 OG cast members for the All Stars spinoff is Yes Duffy, a former Road Rules star who also won on the Challenge 2000, which was his debut season there. He did two more seasons after that with no return to the finals. Then he seemed to move on to other things including building a life and family.
However, he returned for the first season of Mark Long’s project and has easily been a fan favorite on the show. During the final deliberation meeting ahead of TJ Lavin’s final, he gave a speech in his defense, as it came down to fellow cast members placing votes mostly for him or Nehemiah Clark.
Calmly, Yes spoke of alliances he formed every day, based on new personal connections he made with everyone at the house. He explained it wasn’t based on what they did together 10 years ago, but instead the new relationships they were building with each other that he hoped would be lasting connections.
Many of the cast members were moved by his speech, including Aneesa Ferreira. Footage showed her vote in the episode breaking a 3-3 tie between Yes and Nehemiah, sending the latter into the Episode 7 elimination. Yes moved on to TJ’s final.
In an Instagram post on May 25 (below), Yes revealed a note he wrote to himself following that intense deliberation just before the “final challenge.” In part of his note, he referred to late civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. as a “true hero” of his since he was younger.
“I walked into a firing squad with no weapons. No games. My purest self. ‘You were told to shoot me.’ Now are you ready to pull that trigger? Your choice. MLK never packed heat. He never shot back. If you harmed him you had to sit and face your own choice to be violent,” Yes note reads.
In his caption, Yes refers to using his mini-notebook to “quickly re-align my thoughts and try to keep focus,” adding, “When you’re all alone, you gotta check in on yourself.”
He also gave “Respect to everyone in that moment” and thanked Bunim/Murray for “life-altering opportunities and experiences.”
Interestingly, his castmate Kendal Sheppard also mentioned during an interview that she felt isolated early in the season. That may have led to some of her feud with Mark Long. However, she revealed that she began making new friends and enjoying the experience more as the season moved along.
As for Yes, he probably didn’t have any huge alliances. During All Stars, he has shown himself to be a unique competitor who doesn’t let emotions get the best of him and handles the tasks before him, always searching for solutions. There has been no blindsiding, sabotage, or deceit on his part. Based on his physical abilities, one would think he could still do surprisingly well on MTV’s seasons of The Challenge too.
Yes seems ready for another Challenge season
Several fans praised Yes in the comments for showing class and sportsmanship during The Challenge: All Stars spinoff season. One fan even brought up that he could do well on the regular season of the show on MTV.
The fan referred to Yes as the “epitome of classy and a true competitor” adding, “I hope we see you on a regular challenge season and show these kids how it’s done.”
Yes actually seemed open to the idea of appearing on MTV’s The Challenge, giving credit to two of his OG castmates for filling him in on how it all works.
“I heard the reg season is a bit different but I am game! Let’s see where it goes! Aneesa and Darrell got me filled in on the basics….,” Yes replied.
Both Darrell Taylor and Aneesa Ferreira went straight from filming for MTV’s The Challenge: Double Agents to All Stars filming. The two veteran competitors reached the All Stars final, along with Yes, so they clearly imparted some useful wisdom on him. However, he also brings a lot to the game on his own.
It may have been over 17 years since Yes’s previous appearance on The Challenge, but the 43-year-old competitor looks like he’s still got what it takes with an impressive mental strength to handle almost anything he’s faced with.
The Challenge: All Stars episodes arrive Thursdays on Paramount+.
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