Owning up. MTV issued a statement following the incident The ChallengeAlum Leroy GarrettThe network was accused by Costar of mishandling an incident between him and Costar that was racially charged Camila Nakagawa2017
“MTV and Bunim/Murray were saddened by Leroy Garrett’s recount of his experience on The Challenge in 2017,” the network said in a statement obtained by Us Weekly. “We apologize to Leroy who is a beloved member of The Challenge family. While we sought to support the cast and address the incident on air at the time, it’s now clear we didn’t do enough. We have learned from this experience and are continuing to double down on our education programs for all cast and crew to ensure a safe, respectful and inclusive set free of discrimination and harassment in any form.”
Nakagawa, 33, called Garrett, 36, a “Black motherf–king p–sy” amid a drunken outburst that took place during the Dirty 30Season of the MTV reality series. She later yelled, “It’s all about Black motherf–kers like that piece of s–t!”
Garrett brought up the issue the next morning during host TJ LavinNakagawa later apologized for being present Although the Las Vegas, Real WorldAlthough the alum hoped her costar would be sent back for her remarks, Lavin (44), focuses instead on game talk.
“I thought, ‘What the hell is going on? No one is about to talk about what happened?’ Imagine that,” Garrett recalled in an Instagram video posted on Monday, November 15. “The producers didn’t tell TJ to say something. I must say something. I was the victim last night and I have to bring up why something happened to me and basically force someone to apologize — someone who wasn’t going to do it on their own. Mindblowing to me.”
Johnny “Bananas” DevenanzioThe friend defended himself in an interview at that time, but the Michigan native was disappointed by the network’s failure to do the same. “That’s how everyone should feel. MTV, that’s how you should feel,” he said in the Instagram video. “Clearly, you don’t. It’s really heartbreaking and it’s sad. … To know that a network who, at this point, who I’ve given at least seven or eight years to, everything, you guys are basically just recording it. You’re not doing anything to help me. Nothing.”
Garrett claimed that MTV “rewarded [Nakagawa] for being racist and being violent” by allowing her to finish the season, which she ultimately won. He also claimed that he was questioned after the incident about whether he wanted to see a therapist.
“I don’t want to see no damn therapist. I want you guys to do something,” he remembered thinking at the time. “I want you guys to stand up for me — the same person you call every season and I come running, I want you guys to do something for me. Why aren’t you guys doing anything? I don’t understand. I was afraid of speaking up. … That’s not a company that loves you.”
Garrett — who retired from the franchise after competing on Double Agents earlier this year — concluded the video by challenging MTV to take action. “I’m more than open to having a conversation with you about how we can make change happen,” he said. “The ball is in your court. All eyes are on you.”
Nakagawa, for her part, apologized for her past comments and revealed in a Tuesday, November 16, Instagram Live that she has been taking “anti-racism courses.”
“I don’t want forgiveness, I’m not the victim. What I did was wrong. It is wrong,” she admitted. “I want to know what I can do. I don’t condone racism and I don’t condone what I did. … From the bottom of my heart, I know Leroy doesn’t care about me, and that’s fine. It’s his right. I probably wouldn’t care about someone that did that to me too. But I have always held a special place in my heart for him. I always loved him so much and I don’t even understand why I did what I did. If regret could kill, I’d be dead for sure.”
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Source: US Magazine
