Did CT Tamburello really throw the eating challenge on The Challenge: Cutthroat last week?
The five-time champion has long been one of the competitors you want on your team when TJ Lavin unveils a table covered in foods no reasonable person would voluntarily eat. But after the Orange Team lost last week’s disgusting eating competition, Justin Hinsley surprisingly singled out CT as a possible liability.
There was just one problem with that argument: CT was eating. A lot. And Justin could barely choke down one bite.
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What Happened During ‘The Challenge’ Eating Competition?
Episode 8 of The Challenge season 42—appropriately titled “Mean Cuisine”—presented the competitors with a truly revolting feast.
The teams had to work their way through a menu that included pig faces, bugs, century eggs and balut, among other delicacies, with the Blue Team eventually pulling out a much-needed victory, their very first one of the season after they were down to just three members in Cara Maria Sorbello, Alexis “Lete” Lete and Anna Leigh Wilson.
The Orange Team, meanwhile, struggled, despite having four eaters to Blue and Gray’s three (though Justin barely counted as an eater, to be honest).
Izzy Fairthorn, Michele Fitzgerald and team captain Tori Deal did not participate largely due to dietary restrictions, though Cassidy Clark on Gray is also largely vegan, and she had no choice but to eat. Either way, Orange chose to have their four male members tackle the food.
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But Justin had a particularly hard time getting anything down.
He complained throughout the challenge and struggled to make much progress while the rest of his teammates—CT, Johnny Bananas and Will Gagnon—were absolutely housing their food. It should be noted that Gray and Blue strategically gave Orange the worst dishes to eat (though Blue made a very smart choice giving Gray the balut), so Orange definitely had the toughest menu in their challenge, but they also are the strongest team by a mile.
After Orange lost, however, Justin’s concern wasn’t about his own performance.
What Did Justin Say About CT?
Justin questioned whether CT could become a problem for Orange later in the game.
“There’s still a little bit of fear that some people on our team—cough, CT, cough—may be a liability when it comes to endurance,” Justin said in a confessional.
He also questioned why someone with CT’s reputation wasn’t dominating the competition.
“I could have sworn CT was the eating challenge master,” Justin said. “CT could either wake the beast up or be the biggest liability. Are we willing to leave that to fate?”
The comments were particularly surprising considering what viewers had just watched.
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CT certainly struggled with the food just like anybody, but he wasn’t sitting back and letting his teammates do all the work. He repeatedly ate throughout the competition while Justin had difficulty contributing much at all.
At least one viewer noticed the discrepancy immediately, writing on X after the episode, “CT ate his food, Justin didn’t so I don’t know what he’s bitching about.”
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Was CT Actually Trying During the Eating Challenge?
Another member of the Orange Team says he absolutely was.
After her elimination, Izzy was asked about her visible frustration with Justin during the competition. She said she loves Justin and considers him one of her best friends, but wasn’t happy watching him take his time when her game was potentially on the line.
Izzy specifically singled out two teammates for their effort: CT and Will Gagnon.
“CT and Will, they were trying so hard,” Izzy told TV Insider. She added that the two men were eating the most disgusting items while Justin seemed far less concerned about getting through the challenge.
Izzy’s comments make the idea that CT simply gave up on the competition considerably harder to square with what his own teammates witnessed.
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Did CT Throw the Eating Challenge on ‘The Challenge’?
There’s no way to know exactly what was going through CT’s head during the competition, but nothing viewers were shown establishes that he deliberately threw the challenge.
In fact, the footage appears to show the opposite.
CT struggled, but he continued eating. Izzy has since confirmed that she thought CT and Will were trying especially hard. Meanwhile, Justin, the teammate who publicly questioned CT’s performance afterward, was himself criticized for how little he contributed.
There is one strategic wrinkle worth considering.
CT and Cara Maria are extremely close friends outside The Challenge, with a relationship that goes back to her third season on the show, which was the first Rivals season 15 years ago. Last week, Cara Maria desperately needed the Blue Team to win because if they didn’t, it was a girls’ week for elimination and the two rookies would have absolutely voted her into elimination.
Blue finally got that victory in the eating competition, which kept Cara Maria safe from the sand. But that doesn’t mean CT deliberately helped them get it.
Based solely on what viewers saw during the eating challenge, CT looked considerably more like a man trying to choke down a horrifying meal than one trying to lose.
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