Janelle Casaneve said she was pretty surprised when one of her castmates from a previous season of The Challenge: All Stars returned for Season 4.
The former Challenge champion recently appeared on the Zach Nichols Podcast, where she talked about her second appearance on the popular spinoff series.
According to Janelle, she was trying to steer clear of all the drama with her castmates.
That included Laurel Stucky and Nicole Zanatta, whom she said she’d never met until she got to the airport. She admitted she liked them both and wanted them to patch things up.
However, Janelle previously met Ayanna Mackins in All Stars 2, and as viewers saw, Janelle couldn’t avoid her castmate’s strategy of trying to get her out of the game.
This report will contain potential spoilers from The Challenge: All Stars 4 episodes.
Janelle speaks about her All Stars 4 drama with Ayanna
While on Zach’s podcast, Janelle talked about the All Stars 4 house layout, which looked pretty sweet in the episodes.
She said production allowed the cast members to choose where they’d sleep based on their “eras” from the show. That meant Kefla Hare and Flora Akseyevana were the first to go in as OGs.
Janelle indicated she didn’t consider where she’d room in the house because she loved all her castmates.
“Other than my previous situation that had happened with Ayanna, I really felt comfortable being with whomever,” Janelle said.
She said Rachel Robinson, Tina Barta, and Veronica Portillo got to choose rooms next, followed by her and Ryan Kehoe.
Janelle said she’d spoken with her castmates Laurel and Kam Williams about getting them all a room in the house.
“But when I’d seen Ayanna was downstairs, I like booked it upstairs because I was like, ‘I don’t wanna be a part of any of this drama that’s coming this year. I’m gonna stay clear of all the drama and go upstairs,'” she shared.
Zach said he hadn’t realized there was preexisting drama between Janelle and Ayanna, but she said it was because much of it didn’t appear in All Stars 2 episodes.
“A lot of the drama that she had with half of the house did not air,” Janelle said, adding, “I believe the reason it didn’t air is because it was towing the line with a lot of controversial topics that could be very defaming to people.”
Janelle didn’t think Ayanna would be back after All Stars 2 drama
Janelle mentioned that the situation related to her was “very personal” during Season 2.
“I had already set a place of forgiveness in my heart because why do you want to live your life being mad at somebody?” she said about her situation with Ayanna heading into All Stars 4.
“It’s a lot of energy toward someone that’s not even offering an apology,” Janelle said.
“Even when I found out she was coming, there was no way I believed it. I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s gonna get asked back. There’s too much controversy,'” she said during the podcast.
“You’re gonna risk that again?” Janelle asked regarding production bringing Ayanna back for All Stars 4.
“I just didn’t believe it because of what I experienced with her on Season 2,” Janelle said.
During that season, viewers saw some drama involving Ayanna and some entertaining moments. Many viewers considered the infamous Greek salad scene humorous, as Ayanna admitted to eating castmate Jodi Weatherton’s salad because it was left out.
Janelle self-eliminated on All Stars 4 after castmate’s plan created drama
Monsters and Critics reported online rumors during All Stars 4 filming, including mention of the cast’s “intense” discussions.
However, viewers mainly saw Ayanna stirring up drama with Janelle in what was presented as a game strategy by Ayanna to get rid of her castmate.
After Janelle volunteered to get voted into the elimination, Ayanna started a rumor that Janelle specifically said she wanted to go against their castmate Jasmine Reynaud because she was one of the weakest competitors there.
However, Janelle continually stated that she asked the voting group to decide on her opponent. She eventually broke down in tears as she continually assured castmates she wasn’t lying.
It ultimately led to Janelle saying she’d had enough of the drama, which Ayanna stirred up, and telling her castmates she was leaving the show.
Based on Janelle’s remarks after her exit aired in All Stars 4, Episode 2, it seems there’s much more to the story than was shown to viewers.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.
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