Reality TV’s biggest villains have descended onto E! in pursuit of a cash prize and the title of “America’s Ultimate Supervillain.” And one of the 10 stars competing on House of Villains is John Devenanazio, better known as “Johnny Bananas.”
The first episode is in the books and the seven-time MTV’s The Challenge champion had more screen time than most. But for those unfamiliar with 41-year-old pot stirrer, who is Johnny Bananas?
In short, Bananas has spent over 15 years in the reality television world, especially in the competition space — and his experience shined during House of Villains episode one. Let’s briefly dive into Bananas’ on-screen career.
Bananas became the most winningest alum in The Challenge history after appearing on The Real World
Bananas made his television debut on MTV’s The Real World: Key West in 2006 as a 22-year-old Penn State graduate. After his stint living in the house, he transitioned to The Challenge, known then as Real World/Road Rules Challenge, later that year.
The Challenge is MTV’s flagship reality competition series and has been since the late ’90s. Like Survivor or Big Brother, players compete for a grand prize by evading elimination and winning carnival-like games. However, the franchise boasts extreme challenges and features recurring cast members, and a lot of respect is put on the name of someone who wins a season and is crowned a champion.
His first appearance in the franchise was during season 13’s The Duel. And although it didn’t go well, to say the least — he was the first person eliminated from the show — the showrunners saw potential in him.
He was cast on the following three additions, and season 16’s The Island marked when Johnny cemented himself as a Challenge champion and a series mainstay.
All in all, Bananas has battled on 21 of 39 seasons of the mainline series, as well as on four different spin-offs. He’s won seven of his 21 seasons, and he holds the title for most championship wins ever. Chris “CT” Tamburello is second with five, two less than the face of The Challenge. He’s also appeared on the most seasons out of anyone.
The last time MTV-only Challenge fans saw Bananas in action was during season 38’s Ride or Dies earlier this year when he placed second.
And he’s still in the running to win CBS’s second season of The Challenge: USA, a spin-off airing on the network Thursday nights.
Bananas taking Sarah Rice’s share of their winnings landed him in villainous territory
So, what has Bananas done to be considered a top-10 villain?
Although Bananas has had his moments of manipulation, fighting, and backstabbing on The Challenge, his cut-throat move of stealing his partner’s share of the grand prize pot was his most notorious moment in the franchise — and it was even referenced during House of Villains‘ premiere. What happened?
Bananas and Sarah Rice were paired up for season 28’s Rivals III in 2016. As the season’s name indicates, players worked in duos with their nemesis. And in this case, Bananas and Sarah were friends-turned-enemies after she backstabbed him during season 26’s Battle of the Exes II. Sarah threw Bananas into a loser-go-home tilt right before the Final Challenge, and he was ultimately eliminated from the show.
However, Bananas and Sarah dominated Rivals III around a year and a half later. They won the most Daily Challenges out of any team, and while doing so, they rekindled their friendship.
But, their relationship ultimately disintegrated after the season’s Final Challenge wrapped. After beating out the other teams, they were faced with a twist — the player who had done the best out of the winning duo was charged with deciding if they split the $275,000 grand prize.
As history has it, Bananas scored more points than Sarah. And after declaring that the hatchet between them was buried, he uttered his infamous line: “I’m going to go ahead and take the money and run.”
The move left the viewers and the rest cast — especially Sarah — shocked, and by my estimation, it’s the most famous moment in The Challenge’s history behind Bananas existing as CT’s backpack for a few seconds. You can rewatch Bananas’ ruthless decision in the YouTube player at the start of this section.
Bananas has expanded his career past The Challenge
Although Bananas is synonymous with The Challenge, he’s spent the past few years expanding his television career. For example, in 2021 he hosted LXTV’s Celebrity Sleepover but more notably, he’s taken on another gig under the NBC umbrella as host of 1st Look.
But, Bananas has also continued to use his plethora of competition experience on other shows, like Worst Cooks in America in 2020 and of course, House of Villains.
Bananas is also set to appear on The Traitors US season 2 alongside his Challenge counterpart, CT, which will air in the coming months.
Entertainment Weekly caught up with Bananas after House of Villains premiered, and he revealed that he jumped at the opportunity to join the inaugural cast. At 41, Bananas is well aware that The Challenge is suited more for younger competitors, and as he potentially ages out of the show, he’ll have a robust resume to lean on moving forward.
“I have obviously made a name for myself. I have made a living, I’ve created a brand, I’ve established a reputation on MTV and on The Challenge, but I hit a point where I’m ready to take my talents elsewhere … so I jumped at the opportunity. I didn’t even have to hear what the cast was, once I heard what the premise was, I’m like, ‘Look no further.’ I had no idea it was going to be as wild, exciting, educational, and as difficult as it was, so it was truly a test.”
And so far, Bananas has done well to make himself a centerpiece of House of Villains. Besides putting in a solid second-place performance in the opening challenge and narrowly escaping a blindside from The Apprentice’s Omarosa, Bananas could be on a romantic collision course with either The Bachelor 21’s Corinne Olympios or 90 Day Fiancé 4‘s Anfisa Arkhipchenko.
“On a scale of one to The Bachelor, there’s very good odds,” Bananas said about fans seeing him enter into a showmance. “Here’s the thing though, I came into this show with every potential tool at my disposal, in order to do what I had to do to get to the end. On The Challenge, instead of politicking, we call it poli-dicking. It’s using what God blessed you with as a way to flirt and use those tactics in order to make your way to the end, so that’s the way I saw it with Corinne and Anfisa. Plus, it made things in the house a little more interesting. Things get messy for sure. I think I might’ve bit off more than I can chew with this one.”
So, how will Bananas’ House of Villains tenure play out? Only time will tell! The newly minted reality competition show airs on E! at 10 p.m. ET every Thursday.
