MTV The Challenge: Spies Lies and Allies
There are only a few weeks left now on “The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies” and in last week’s episode, one competitor was eliminated despite having had a strong season socially and politically. Josh Martinez managed to avoid elimination all season and was a key member of the Emerald cell but he couldn’t avoid the Lair when Kyle Christie was voted in and called him down.
The two had a close contest in “Burning Bridges” but Kyle had greater endurance and managed to build his bridge faster than Josh, sending the “Big Brother” winner packing. After his elimination, Josh said, “It was a roller coaster of a season for me but beyond blessed for the opportunity to compete on this show. To ones that show me support & love from the bottom of my heart thank you for the kindness. I’ll be back stronger.”
Josh has been a divisive figure on “The Challenge” for several seasons now and is a competitor that many fans love to hate but some former cast members of the show also blasted him on social media after his elimination, prompting Josh to clap back.
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A Couple of Former ‘Challenge’ Cast Members, Including 1 Champ, Commented on Josh’s Elimination
Josh is now the male standard for competition. I feel bad for all the competitors who shed blood, sweat, and tears to have The Challenge be considered the 5th sport. Any current male competitor ok with this isn’t a real savage. Just ok with participation trophies & fake drama. 🤷🏼♂️
Josh’s rival Paulie Calafiore, who made two finals on the show, tweeted, “Josh is now the male standard for competition. I feel bad for all the competitors who shed blood, sweat, and tears to have The Challenge be considered the 5th sport. Any current male competitor ok with this isn’t a real savage. Just ok with participation trophies & fake drama.”
Zach Nichols, who made four finals and won “Battle of the Seasons” in 2012, replied to Paulie’s tweet with the following GIF which appeared to agree with Paulie:
Marlon Williams appeared on one “Challenge,” “Rivals II,” where he was paired up with Jordan Wiseley and made it to the final. He retweeted a comment pointing out that Josh is 1-5 in eliminations in his “Challenge” career and “the ONLY Male Player to debut since Cutthroat to not make a Final in their First 5 Appearances.” Marlon wrote, “Just gonna put this here….. we’ve had enuff of Josh he can retire now.”
Josh replied to those cast members by sharing a Reel of Justin Bieber dancing with a glass of wine in his hand and the caption, “My mood when past alum are hating but I’m staying booked.”
Josh Said This Season’s Loss Has Been the Hardest One So Far & He Was ‘Devastated’ to Be Eliminated
After the episode, Josh spoke to Entertainment Weekly and said, “I think that this loss was the hardest one for me just because I literally envisioned myself, the whole season, ‘I’m going to run that final. I’m going to make it to the final.'”
He said the problem was that he became too comfortable in his position and was already thinking ahead to the final so he “dropped the ball in politicking.” He told the outlet he should have been focusing on the present in the game and regrets not having more conversations to protect himself.
After his elimination, Josh said he was so devastated he wasn’t even able to call his family. “I was just in a really bad place because to run a final and to win has become a dream for me,” he told the outlet. “I’ve done five seasons and with every season that I do the one takeaway is there’s so much more work that I’ve got to put in. There’s so much more work mentally, physically, and I’ve just got to keep working on myself and hitting the gym and just grind harder.”
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