Former The Real World star and The Challenge finalist Jay “Gotti” Mitchell returned for All Stars 4, much to the surprise of fans and himself.
However, he gained new respect in his return for the spin-off, based on his gameplay and sticking to his word.
Although his top ally in the game was his close friend and fellow firefighter Nicole Zanatta, Jay was also one of Cara Maria Sorbello’s few allies.
Since All Stars 4 arrived, various castmates, including Laurel Stucky, Flora Alekseyeva, and Adam Larson, have been outspoken about why they worked against Cara.
Jay recently revealed how he became Cara’s ally even though most of the All Stars 4 cast seemed to be against her.
This report will contain spoilers for The Challenge: All Stars 4 through Episode 10.
Jay calls Cara a ‘great competitor’ and a ‘monster’
While talking to TV Insider, Jay got asked what caused him to align with Cara in his return for All Stars 4. Jay shared he had a “horrible experience” during his previous Challenge appearance, Battle of the Exes 2.
He referred to it as a “whole-house-against-me” situation, where he got “talked down to” and “belittled” as if his opinion didn’t matter, similar to what Cara was up against on All Stars 4.
“So to be on there and have people start attacking her for no reason going behind her back for no reason. I don’t like that. I don’t appreciate that. I’m not the guy that’s gonna go with the crowd,” Jay said regarding All Stars 4.
He revealed that he wondered about their castmates: “‘Why do you have beef with her? You have no legitimate reason, right? Didn’t think so. Shut up, take a hike,’ And then from there, it was like, ‘Yo Cara. Let’s do this together. I know what it feels like.'”
And I love that about her. And I love that she doesn’t care. The whole house is against her. She’s like, “Let’s go. You’s all want a piece of me? Let’s go.”
Jay was ‘shocked’ to get an All Stars 4 call
While Jay reached the final in his previous appearance on MTV’s The Challenge, it was an infamous moment for him. He became known as “the guy who couldn’t drink the drink.” That was due to his refusal to drink a fish guts cocktail, which caused him and his partner, ex-girlfriend Jenna Compono, to get disqualified.
It was a teary-eyed moment for Jay’s Challenge highlights, featuring a disappointed host, TJ Lavin. So when Jay got a call to return to All Stars 4, he thought they had a “wrong number.”
“I didn’t consider myself to be an all star based on what the performance was in my previous season. However, I believe that I can perform like an all star. I believe I can hang with the best of the best on this show. I just never was given the opportunity other than that one instance,” he told TV Insider.
Jay admitted he was “shocked” but also “grateful” to receive the call to return and prove himself on The Challenge.
He did just that, even though he could not reach the final. In Episode 10, Jay won the daily challenge and still needed the Star required to run the final. He vowed to take the available option at The Arena to put himself into the elimination against one of the nominated guys.
Viewers previously saw his castmate Laurel tell Kam Williams she would do that for her but then back out when she saw the event. However, Jay didn’t.
The elimination vote set up Leroy Garrett versus Steve Meinke. However, Jay promised Leroy earlier in the episode that if he got voted into elimination, he’d save him and go against his opponent.
Despite the elimination being a horrible event for Jay, he took over for Leroy as a man of his word. It involved going underwater in a tank full of water to retrieve colored tubes and then arranging them outside the tank on corresponding color-coded poles.
While Jay is familiar with water from firefighting, he admits he deals with color blindness, which is a real challenge. Steve ultimately won the event, sending Jay home without a chance to win $250,000.
Jay gained new fans and a solid friend based on his return for the spin-off show. Cara Maria was among those who entered the comment section of The Challenge’s elimination clip on Instagram.
“@jaygmtv love the love you are getting my friend! Told ya. 🙌,” Cara commented.
According to Jay’s comment on the post, he wishes he could’ve done more and plans to return to the show to do just that.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.
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