MTV/Instagram Paulie Calafiore
Paulie Calafiore, who made a splash on “The Challenge” in his three seasons on the show, hasn’t returned to the reality TV competition since his loss on “War of the Worlds 2” and some fans have speculated that the two-time finalist was banned from the show for his behavior.
Costar Jemmye Carroll referenced some of these rumors in a recent interview with Heavy’s Stephen McCaugherty, saying, “I would be very surprised if we ever saw Paulie on ‘The Challenge’ again… There’s so many rumors they leaked too much to fans and production got ahold of that. I don’t even think that’s it… You know, there’s rumors that he failed a psych test again. Rumors are rumors, who knows?”
Another rumor was that Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio had a say in Paulie and his girlfriend Cara Maria Sorbello not being cast in the last two seasons, and though they’ve never been confirmed, Cara Maria alluded to the rumor in a recent Instagram Q&A.
Cara Maria confirmed that Paulie wasn’t asked back to the show for “Total Madness” on an Instagram Live, saying cast members tried to bait Paulie into a fight and later claimed that the “Big Brother” star punched Josh Martinez, StopBeingPolite reported. Paulie recently addressed the speculation about a possible ban and specifically the incident brought up by Cara Maria.
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Paulie Revealed His Side of the Story & Added That He Was Asked to Appear on the 37th Season But Turned It Down
In an interview on Mike Lewis Podcast, Paulie was asked about the incident mentioned by Cara Maria and whether there is any truth to the MTV ban. Paulie actually revealed that he was invited to appear on the 37th season of the show but had to decline due to timing. He said, “I don’t wanna say anything that could shoot me in the foot cause I’m at a good place with the network, I’m at a good place with production, we’ve had lots of talks.”
He added, “Most recent season that is filming right now, obviously I had to turn it down for the obvious reason I’m chasing this Olympic dream… If I can make the Olympic team, which I fully intend to, I think that just brings more authenticity and it brings more status to the show for when I come back.”
He said in terms of the incident, everything took place the night before the reunion for “War of the Worlds 2” and several of his costars were very intoxicated, while he doesn’t drink at all. The “Big Brother” star said he’d heard his costars had been trash-talking him but when he walked by them they were all silent. Paulie said he told the group, “yeah, exactly what I thought. Silent. Cause you guys are weak.”
Paulie said after he spoke to them, they all “rushed outside” with their cameras saying that he hit Josh, but he said it never happened so he was “confused” by the whole situation. Paulie told listeners that Josh went on camera and accused Paulie of hitting him in the face, who said he didn’t think anyone would believe them because of the number of witnesses who saw that nothing happened.
He added that the incident was reported to production and “unfortunately… they have to take those kinds of things seriously.” He said the only people who had his back were Cara Maria, Kam Williams, Kayleigh Morris and Chris “CT” Tamburello. “Production has to make decisions that have to do with it and you know, I respect their decisions, they have to cool people off,” he said.
Paulie said it’s the show’s protocol to give competitors breaks of a couple of seasons and referenced Cory Wharton, Nelson Thomas and Kailah Casillas. He said what happened “hurt” him a bit because he was under the impression that the others wanted to compete.
Paulie Also Accused His Castmates of Being ‘Snitches’ & Telling Producers About His Every Move
In the same interview, Paulie accused his castmates of being “like snitches” and watching his and Cara’s every move to report everything to producers. He said, “A lot of ‘Challengers’ are watching everything that Cara and I say, and it’s unfortunate because they’re literally taking anything we say that could be wrong, and they run to producers, and they f****** tell them about it. They’re like snitches.”
Although he didn’t accuse any of his costars by name, he slammed them and said they should turn their focus to their fitness and strategy preparations for the show instead. He said, “They are trying so hard to keep Cara and I off this show by any means possible, it’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing almost how much they grab anything that’s out there and they run to producers. Even if it’s not even true.”
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