Emanuel Neagu stirred up some fans of The Challenge with a recent photo and message.
The Survivor Romania star last appeared in MTV’s Battle For a New Champion, where the cast consisted of individuals who never won the show.
Many of them were newcomers or had limited experience on the show, including Emanuel, who previously competed in the Spies, Lies & Allies season.
In his return for The Challenge Season 39, Emanuel became the new first-time champion but won in a way that some fans felt wasn’t as deserving of the win.
On Sunday, he shared an Instagram post with fans and followers that featured an intriguing message.
“Anyone remember this moment? A hint, it’s the moment everyone wished for on the show😆” Emanuel captioned a photo of himself smiling in front of a dark background.
Fans claimed Season 39 winner’s moment was ‘not memorable’ or ‘wished for’
In the comments, fans mostly slammed the show winner, suggesting it wasn’t a moment anyone remembered.
“Not memorable enough and not wished for by anyone. Also it’s remeMber,” a commenter wrote before Emanuel edited his caption.
Another fan praised Emanuel for his dominant performance during the final.
“doesn’t remember,” another commenter wrote.
“Posted 3 hours ago, edited 15 min ago – and still not a single person in the comments recalls this moment. You’re not that guy bro,” an individual commented.
Challenge superfan @mtvchallengeinsider, also known as GamerVev on Twitter, commented, “Not the drag-” which may have helped others recognize the moment Emanuel posted about.
During Season 39, an early episode featured a pride party for Tula “Big T” Fazakerley as she publicly came out as bisexual. At the event, multiple castmates wore drag as part of the occasion, including Emanuel.
Many fans disagreed with Emanuel’s Season 39 win
In Battle For a New Champion, there was only one winner. Many fans called out Season 39’s final, as runner-up Nurys Mateo had a strong showing to get there, which included winning multiple eliminations.
One of those elimination wins occurred during the final when she battled against Moriah Jadea and won, keeping herself in the competition.
However, Emanuel didn’t compete in a single elimination during Season 39, thanks to being part of a large alliance orchestrated by Michele Fitzgerald and Jay Starrett.
Nurys was the only finalist who ever went into any eliminations, while the other finalists hadn’t. However, she finished second overall rather than receiving a season win for the women.
Many fans and even some cast members have expressed strong complaints about the lack of male and female winners in recent seasons, but still, a win is a win for Emanuel.
He isn’t among the Era 4 team for MTV’s upcoming Battle of the Eras season, which leaves it open for speculation if and when he might return to compete in The Challenge.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras premieres on Wednesday, August 14 at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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