#DCBLOG EXCLUSIVE
The views & opinions expressed in DC FORUM are only of its host and guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of DCBLOG or affiliated parties.
A DCBLOG Discussion
WITH DC CUEVA & KAITLYN MACISCO
■ @DC408Dxtr / @KMacisco
We're at the end of a crazy and packed week of the shows you love known simply, to this site at least, as the MTV Trifecta. Earlier, we covered a bar brawl on Floribama Shore, and still ahead it's the always intense season finale of Are You The One?, drama brewing on Champs vs. Stars, and the start of the countdown to yet another new season of The Challenge - Vendettas. But here on this winter's weekend, we're about to offer you something special to wrap up something that started all the way over the summer and ending just before Thanksgiving. Make that, X-X-Xtra special.
Dirty 30 premiered a month later, and 19 weeks after it began down in Colombia and then with the final down in Argentina it reached a crescendo in New York with a Reunion that stretched out a season that lasted 17 regular episodes with two additional ones on top of that as a lead-in to the premiere of Champs vs. Stars. Along the way, we had a lot of exciting action on the field, compelling drama off of it, exciting battles in the eliminations and sometimes off of it, and more twists and turns than you can count with your fingers.
From a Redemption House and an elimination Double Cross to talk of racism and dirty gameplay, we had everything on this season... which saw the show hand out its biggest prize ever: $1 million, following in the leads of both AYTO and Stranded with a Million Dollars. In the end, things ended with a final result that didn't leave everyone satisfied: while a great competitor in Jordan deservedly won his second Challenge title and received $450,000 for smoking everyone in the final, someone who wasn't even at the Reunion won for the ladies, but it's because of Camila's actions that led up to it that left a sour taste in fans' mouths.
Now, to add more to a season that saw both the show and this site step things up for Season 30, we're concluding this season with one of the things that emphasizes our vision of offering an angle on the shows you love that you can only get right here at DCBLOG. Something we did early on to gain experience covering the MTV world was of looking at the entire process of filming an end-of-season reunion from the point of view of being part of the live audience, and here we're bringing it back for this special, one-time-only return of DC FORUM's Reunion Revealed.
Along with revealing the final placings of the final that took two weeks to reveal, The Dirty 30 Reunion saw a lot of stunning revelations among some of the cast, rehashing of things that took place down in Colombia, an argument between two alpha females, and much more. And joining me here again to discuss the live taping experience and the season is a fellow fan and follower of mine who I first had on four years ago for the first of this site's discussions, and who went not only to the taping of the Portland Real World Reunion, but also this Challenge reunion too: Kaitlyn Macisco.
After the jump, DCBLOG presents a DC FORUM Special: The Challenge XXX Reunion Revealed as Kaitlyn and I get to chat all things Challenge once again. Join us there.
First before the discussion begins, some background: a tradition at the end of each Challenge season, as well as AYTO, Real World and Teen Mom, is a Reunion special after the season finale airs. This has given reason for the cast to come together, spend a weekend catching up on things, rehash some drama on stage and give them a chance to clear the air on things, update everyone on what's happened since filming ended, and perhaps get into it with those they don't like.
In July 2013, in what was only our third MTV-related post (after two stories that ultimately become ExtraTime), we did the first of three Reunion Revealed posts which covered the one for Real World Portland. This post complemented one done by Brian Cohen who - thanks to interviews with some of the cast of that last non-twist RW began his journey to becoming an accomplished podcast host - provided a long write-up about his experience attending that reunion, plus the Rivals II live reunion best remembered for Knight punching Frank. If you got to read his or our post or the ones we did for Rivals II or the first AYTO season, you got a sense of what it's like to witness it live, but for those who haven't here's the gist of what this is all about.
If you're one of those who get to go to reality show reunion tapings like this and not the live one that takes place after the Survivor finale, then it takes anywhere from 6 to 9 hours for these shows to take place from beginning when the cast comes on stage to when it all ends after a long day of filming. In its edited form - and with the exception of what we saw with Dirty 30, these Trifecta reunions are slotted to air for one hour, but when commercials and a few other things are accounted for, then it goes for 43 minutes, and the footage of what goes into what airs is about 40 minutes, about 10% of what was filmed that makes it into the final product. And for a season of the Trifecta, a fraction of those two months of shooting every day gets whittled down into those episodes.
For the cast, they arrive several hours earlier before showtime to get touched up, dressed up and everything else before they get to walk on stage and begin talking with the host. The experience for any audience member's reunion experience begins by going on a website (On-Set Productions), signing up for a lottery drawing with the hope that they would receive free tickets to the taping. They and those lucky to be chosen to be part of the audience arrive a little bit later than the guests of honor.
Then after going through customs of sorts from taking their phones and jackets to signing release forms to ensure, to take Las Vegas' slogan, what happens there stays there until after it airs, then they get to walk into that studio and enjoy the fun. Hence, we've been carefully waiting until now nearly a couple months after it taped for us to bring you this post and finally air out all the juicy goodies for all of you.
Of course, there comes the taping of these reunions and the actual experience of being there in its raw form being filmed is actually much longer than it airs on TV. That Real World Portland reunion, taped in MTV's Times Square studio, took about six hours for it to be taped and of course, a lot gets cut out and likely not being shown in the final product. For Dirty 30, this was taped over an entire day: over 12-14 hours and the entire cast being present instead of just those who made it into the second half of the season or were worthy to be discussed.
Those who entered the place where this reunion was taped -- the Capitale NYC nightclub instead of Times Square as the MTV studio was unavailable due to its renovation before TRL premiered a few weeks later as this was filmed back in early September -- came at breakfast and exited around midnight when the only places open in town were bars and 24-hour convenience stores. And during a break in taping, Kaitlyn got to snap a picture with Jemmye as you see above, which was then shared socially some time afterwards.
And to add some more intrigue to how long this season and taping session was, here's something you might not know: after CT and Tori were revealed as the 3rd place winners, there were two separate tapings for the winning pairs: Jordan & Camila -- who won -- pulled the Cross first, then Derrick & Cara then did their XX for the trick that those who went won't exactly know who won. And a black curtain was put over just for security reasons by the time they did that cross. In fact, no one inside the hall knew who won until we saw it two nights before Thanksgiving. Some tricks right there, but also to make sure everyone doesn't know until they and you got to see it unfold.
So with this intro out of the way, without further ado let's get Kaitlyn and I's fireside chat started...
DC: First, at the end of all this, what are your thoughts on this Challenge XXX season?
KAITLYN: "I loved this season. Being someone who appreciates casting, I think the cast was great bc of thd old schoolers but also had the great regulars and the addition of rookies Tori and Britni was great."
DC: The format and theme, of course, was Dirty 30. We saw a lot of questionable gameplay, controversial competitors and even more controversial moments during this season. I feel this was the biggest season yet and the most controversial one also. Do you agree?
KAITLYN: "It was controversial in the sense that some cast members such as Camila made questionable coments. But I don’t think there was any more or less dirty moves. They’re there every season. This time they were always just followed by “well It IS the dirty 30” so you noticed more."
DC: What are your thoughts on the challenges, eliminations and the various twists like the Redemption House, the Double Cross and TJ waiting until later to tell them that they're playing for $1 million?
KAITLYN: "Even though the redemption house gave us back some of my favorites, I’m never a fan of when game shows bring back the eliminated. I also think it got in the way of someone like hunter making the final. Waiting to tell them was dumb. I think if they knew about the higher stakes sooner, a lot of people would’ve made difference decisions."
DC: Going into this season, who were your favorites going in? And after this has ended, which players stood out to you during this very long season?
KAITLYN: "As always, Kailah, Jenna, hunter, Marie and CT were my favorites. I knew tori was going to be great too after her showing on second chances and I wasn’t wrong. I would be very surprised if Kailah and tori never win one of these things, hunter too. They all have the heart and drive and talent."
DC: What are your overall thoughts on this Challenge reunion experience? And how different was being at this Challenge reunion was compared to the Portland one?
KAITLYN: "This shit was long af. When we got tickets It said we HAD to stay the whole time but bc It went over so many hours,4 they started letting people leave. I stayed because I have serious FOMO lol. Definitely different from Portland because I got to see the finalists and who won, when at Portland there wasn’t anything like that obviously."
DC: From what I heard from you and others, the taping process was very long compared to four years ago. Tell me more about that.
KAITLYN: "I was there for 12 hours. A production member said the cast took too long gettin g ready and it delayed filming. They gave us snacks and stuff but my ass hurt when I left from sitting that long."
DC: Ordinarily, they would tape this in the MTV Times Square studio. But this one took place a bit of ways down at Capitale NYC. What was the atmosphere in that large club like?
KAITLYN: "Capitale isn’t a club. It used to be a bank and now it’s just empty. It was sooo nice inside and beautiful. The echo was better but I liked It."
DC: Just as you had with Portland, the entire cast was there for this reunion compared to just those who made the second half. How did they look like in person and watching them from that distance being in that second row?
KAITLYN: "So we all know Jenna is gorgeous but WOW she’s even prettier in person, which I didn’t think was possible. I got to meet jemmye who was super cool. Marie kept cracking jokes to the audience sitting near me, and Ashley had a nip slip a few times. They’re all so hot."
DC: There was, obviously, tension with this cast as it was in your first go going to this, albeit a bit moreso. What was it like in-person?
KAITLYN: "It honestly wasn’t that bad. Cara and Kailah got a little heated as did Cara and Marie but it wasn’t anyone serious. No one really got into it."
DC: The thing you and I remember most from watching Portland was the Nia/Averey fight. Here, it's the fights that took place with Simone & Shane, and Nelson & Derrick. Thoughts on those fights, and of Amanda going off on Shane?
KAITLYN: "Simone and Shane were never going to know the truth about. Each side is sticking to their story and are never going to give it up. Nelson had a very good shot at making it to the final and possibly winning. He’s not my favorite but it was sad to watch him take that away from himself especially when Derrick wasn’t even doing anything. They seemed cool now tho. As for Amanda going off on Shane, she was defending her friend and I respect that."
DC: Now, the Tori & Derrick relationship. They got together before this season, then it ended badly and got even more twisted. Your thoughts on what went down with those two and the phone-hacking scandal?
KAITLYN: "according to tori, they went on a break and THEN she got with Jordan. There wasn’t any cheating. Yes it sucks and yes I feel bad for Derrick but that’s what happened. I honestly think this situation that didn’t even happen on camera shouldn’t have been talked about so I’m not going to talk about It either. What is on camera is what should be talked about but none of this was filmed so it’s not our business."
DC: Since this has aired, a romance has blossomed with Tori and Jordan, thanks in part to what we've been seeing on social media since. Thoughts on her latest romance with the champ?
KAITLYN: "I think tori and Jordan appear very happy together "
DC: From your tweets you're clearly on Team Tori, and she had a phenomenal rookie season and being able to hang with the veterans. A lot of fans feel that she is among the future of this show... agree?
KAITLYN: "Like I said before, I’d be surprised if she never wins a show "
DC: The one fight that got things stirring was that of Cara Maria and Kailah. I hear from my sources that it went on longer than they showed. Your thoughts on that, and whose side are you on?
KAITLYN: "Yea It was long and they just kept going in circles. Everyone knows I’m not the biggest Cara fan, so I’m team Kailah but that fight they were kinda both wrong "
DC: Another person who made noise was Britni, who we saw get into it with Kailah, and then calling Tori an escort much to everyone's chagrin. Thoughts on the Southern belle?
KAITLYN: "I like Britni and how she speaks what’s on her mind. There’s no holding back with her. "
DC: There's the romances amongst the love triangle of Kailah, Cory and Aneesa. Your thoughts on that, the other romances and Cory being tagged with being part of the Hookup Hall of Fame?
KAITLYN: "There isn’t a love triangle. Kailah is with someone else and aneesa & cory barely did anything. The hook up hall of fame thing is disgusting. They aired our Tori’s dirty oaundry and Cara was crucified when she cheated on Abram, but when a guy sleeps around he’s praised. It’s a double standard that isn’t funny.."
DC: And there's that veterans romance with Veronica & Aneesa, which also brought up the relationship V had with Rachel which was never brought up until Aneesa brought it out in the open. Your thoughts on that?
KAITLYN: "Aneesa should’ve respected that Veronica (and Rachel) didn’t want I.T on mtv. "
DC: Then, there's the other ladies man in Tony. What do you make of what we saw from him on this season: him finishing just outside the final, him kissing Camila, getting into it with Cara, and bringing girlfriend Alyssa to the reunion?
KAITLYN: "Tony’s great but will never win. He shouldn’t have kissed Camila but I personally wasn’t shocked because he’s done this every season. As a woman I don’t like that Alyssa is back with him but I get It because they have a child and she said they’re making it work for her which is nice but he’ll probably do It again. There’s no issue with him bringing her to the reunion...it’s his gf lol. "
DC: Something all the podcasts I listen to, including your friend Brian Cohen, brought up the topic of the Double Standard. What are your own thoughts on MTV's sometimes erratic ways of treating a girl one way and a guy the other way?
KAITLYN: "it’s disgusting like I said earlier. If i was a female on this cast when they brought up Cory’s hook up hall of fame I would’ve went OFF"
DC: The one who was on everyone's mind was the one who didn't come: Camila wasn't invited to this reunion for reasons that we saw after on Champs vs. Stars. Thoughts on her and the appalling behavior we saw on Dirty 30 and during her Challenge career?
KAITLYN: "apparently she was invited and declined coming actually. But I think what she did was absolutely disgusting and apparently It wasn’t the first time she’s done something like that which makes it so much worse. For years Mtv has celebrated “the camilanator” but getting drunk and screaming and throwing shit is never cute or funny and exactly why I rolled my eyes every season seeing Camila cast. "
DC: And there's the $1 million final. In the end, we had a champion who earned his title, probably the least-liked champion ever. Your thoughts on Jordan and Camila winning, and of Derrick, Cara, CT and Tori just finishing out of the top prize?
KAITLYN: "Jordan is a good competitor so I’m glad he won. He earned it. Derrick and CT are also great and I would’ve been happy with any of them winning. Camila winning is awful. She earned it but she really should’ve been removed from the game after the Leroy incident. Like they had to send her to a hotel for the night, you’re telling me she isn’t s threat to people’s safety? Yea right. I wish tori won just bc I like her so much and I.T would’ve been cool to see an Ayto rookie shut everyone up. "
DC: We have had the chance to follow Portland from the beginning, and Jordan was the more than worthy champion this season. What do you make of his dominance of the final, him on this season and of him coming back for this one go and becoming top dog?
KAITLYN: "Jordan is an absolute badass and I hope he continues to come back and kill It"
DC: There was something that was added was the VIP section where they had those from the MTV fam as well as Tony's girlfriend Alyssa sit there and TJ asking them for additional insight. Your thoughts on that addition?
KAITLYN: "I mean I don’t think it really mattered. The cast is always allowed guests and this time they just sat in the audience instead of back stage. It was cool tj was there tho and I got to talk to Melanie and jenn who i was a fan of. And Morgan took his shirt off so that was hot "
DC: After watching both versions of this reunion, did you enjoy the live or the edited version more? And what do you make of this being a 2-part reunion?
KAITLYN: "the edited version SUCKS. It was extremely choppy and jumped around too much and I didn’t like It. There was no point to it being two parts I don’t think, but I get why sorta "
DC: It's clear from seeing your name a lot in the liked photos that you adore all of these MTV people. Has your perception of some of the Dirty 30 cast changed, both from watching this season & being at the reunion?
KAITLYN: "i still like and dislike the same people. "
DC: Unlike what we've had in previous reunions, for this one they rolled out the gold carpet where everyone got to walk that before. Who were the best dressed?
KAITLYN: "Marie looked hot as fuck. Britni has a fantastic body and her dress showed It off. And Jenna still managed to look stunning with the boot. Also ammo killed it"
DC: There's that pic that was posted on Twitter of you meeting Jemmye during a break in the reunion. How was it meeting her and did you get to meet other castmates there?
KAITLYN: "28 I was so nervous meeting jemmye bc I’ve been a fan so long but she was so sweet and brought me on the stage so a producer could take our pic and I loved it. I met Marie Darrell Bananas hunter and Shane as well "
DC: Off topic for these last few questions: I wrote about this earlier this year, but you had the chance to meet Johnny Bananas. What was it like meeting the 6-time champ, and then getting a signed jersey from him?
KAITLYN: "Bananas is a cool dude. I love having his jersey. I wear It to the gym often lol "
DC: Looking ahead, I wrote here last week about the new U.S. version of the MTV U.K. show Ex on the Beach, and it'll have some of your MTV & non-MTV favorites. I know you voiced your excitement for one of them coming on... Your initial thoughts on Ex U.S.?
KAITLYN: "after seeing the entire rumored cast it’s cool they have someone I like from the bachelor and some from MTV but overal I think the concept of the show is kinda dumb and they’re all looking to add to their 5 seconds of fame. I honestly don’t know if I’ll watch. Seems like a bad version of bachelor in paradise."
DC: And lastly, I know from Twitter that you took a Buzzfeed poll on MTV shows and dressed up as a Bachelor contestant on Halloween. Of these three shows, which one would you rather be on: Are You The One, Real World or The Bachelor?
KAITLYN: "100% are you the one. I need help in the relationship department desperately and then I’d have a chance to be on the challenge too."
And, as they say, that's all she wrote. Once again, many thanks once again to Kaitlyn for joining me yet again to discuss this Reunion with us... it is, as we wrote a few years ago, a much different experience this time around after the first reunion she went to. She joins a select handful who have been on here multiple times on our Forum posts, and as always it's great to hear unique insight from fans just like yourselves. And Kait, if you wanna come on here again, feel free to rejoin me here, and give her a follow at the link in our byline above if you share a love for these shows as she does.
As was mentioned at the end above, Kaitlyn got to meet Johnny Bananas at a club event earlier this year, and along with that being in the ExtraTime section of the Pulse diary for the Real World Bad Blood finale, that bit has just been posted on DC@TUMBLR at dc408dxtr.tumblr.com. Plus, check out our original chat on the Real World Portland reunion from back in July 2013 before Rivals II, and a piece she did for Odyssey Online on if reality TV is making people stupid.
And on the topic of her meeting the six-time champ, below is a vlog he posted a few days ago of his experience at the Dirty XXX Reunion and the After Party that we saw on the Final Dirt special.
Now, this is a one-time Reunion Revealed post -- there are no plans for us to cover future ones, unless one of my friends gets a chance to go to there and we'll bring back this again should that happen. But the next time DCBLOG does a FORUM discussion, it'll be for our traditional year-end Reality Debrief covering the year in reality TV, or at least the summer and fall cycles of 2017.
After the finale of Survivor: Heroes, Healers & Hustlers in a few weeks, Andrew Kirk and I will again plan to join up and offer this site's annual recap and discussion of the year's most-talked about moments, biggest shows and brightest personalities as we'll review this year of The Challenge and Season 6 of Are You The One? that ended 48 hours ago. We'll also delve into the year on Survivor and Big Brother, hand out our year-end awards and look ahead to 2018 including our preview of Vendettas. And once again, we are giving you the chance to take part in our multi-part recap of the year in this genre as you prepare to open those Christmas presents and say farewell to 2017.
First before the discussion begins, some background: a tradition at the end of each Challenge season, as well as AYTO, Real World and Teen Mom, is a Reunion special after the season finale airs. This has given reason for the cast to come together, spend a weekend catching up on things, rehash some drama on stage and give them a chance to clear the air on things, update everyone on what's happened since filming ended, and perhaps get into it with those they don't like.
In July 2013, in what was only our third MTV-related post (after two stories that ultimately become ExtraTime), we did the first of three Reunion Revealed posts which covered the one for Real World Portland. This post complemented one done by Brian Cohen who - thanks to interviews with some of the cast of that last non-twist RW began his journey to becoming an accomplished podcast host - provided a long write-up about his experience attending that reunion, plus the Rivals II live reunion best remembered for Knight punching Frank. If you got to read his or our post or the ones we did for Rivals II or the first AYTO season, you got a sense of what it's like to witness it live, but for those who haven't here's the gist of what this is all about.
If you're one of those who get to go to reality show reunion tapings like this and not the live one that takes place after the Survivor finale, then it takes anywhere from 6 to 9 hours for these shows to take place from beginning when the cast comes on stage to when it all ends after a long day of filming. In its edited form - and with the exception of what we saw with Dirty 30, these Trifecta reunions are slotted to air for one hour, but when commercials and a few other things are accounted for, then it goes for 43 minutes, and the footage of what goes into what airs is about 40 minutes, about 10% of what was filmed that makes it into the final product. And for a season of the Trifecta, a fraction of those two months of shooting every day gets whittled down into those episodes.
For the cast, they arrive several hours earlier before showtime to get touched up, dressed up and everything else before they get to walk on stage and begin talking with the host. The experience for any audience member's reunion experience begins by going on a website (On-Set Productions), signing up for a lottery drawing with the hope that they would receive free tickets to the taping. They and those lucky to be chosen to be part of the audience arrive a little bit later than the guests of honor.
Then after going through customs of sorts from taking their phones and jackets to signing release forms to ensure, to take Las Vegas' slogan, what happens there stays there until after it airs, then they get to walk into that studio and enjoy the fun. Hence, we've been carefully waiting until now nearly a couple months after it taped for us to bring you this post and finally air out all the juicy goodies for all of you.
Of course, there comes the taping of these reunions and the actual experience of being there in its raw form being filmed is actually much longer than it airs on TV. That Real World Portland reunion, taped in MTV's Times Square studio, took about six hours for it to be taped and of course, a lot gets cut out and likely not being shown in the final product. For Dirty 30, this was taped over an entire day: over 12-14 hours and the entire cast being present instead of just those who made it into the second half of the season or were worthy to be discussed.Those who entered the place where this reunion was taped -- the Capitale NYC nightclub instead of Times Square as the MTV studio was unavailable due to its renovation before TRL premiered a few weeks later as this was filmed back in early September -- came at breakfast and exited around midnight when the only places open in town were bars and 24-hour convenience stores. And during a break in taping, Kaitlyn got to snap a picture with Jemmye as you see above, which was then shared socially some time afterwards.
And to add some more intrigue to how long this season and taping session was, here's something you might not know: after CT and Tori were revealed as the 3rd place winners, there were two separate tapings for the winning pairs: Jordan & Camila -- who won -- pulled the Cross first, then Derrick & Cara then did their XX for the trick that those who went won't exactly know who won. And a black curtain was put over just for security reasons by the time they did that cross. In fact, no one inside the hall knew who won until we saw it two nights before Thanksgiving. Some tricks right there, but also to make sure everyone doesn't know until they and you got to see it unfold.
So with this intro out of the way, without further ado let's get Kaitlyn and I's fireside chat started...
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DC: First, at the end of all this, what are your thoughts on this Challenge XXX season?
KAITLYN: "I loved this season. Being someone who appreciates casting, I think the cast was great bc of thd old schoolers but also had the great regulars and the addition of rookies Tori and Britni was great."
DC: The format and theme, of course, was Dirty 30. We saw a lot of questionable gameplay, controversial competitors and even more controversial moments during this season. I feel this was the biggest season yet and the most controversial one also. Do you agree?
KAITLYN: "It was controversial in the sense that some cast members such as Camila made questionable coments. But I don’t think there was any more or less dirty moves. They’re there every season. This time they were always just followed by “well It IS the dirty 30” so you noticed more."
DC: What are your thoughts on the challenges, eliminations and the various twists like the Redemption House, the Double Cross and TJ waiting until later to tell them that they're playing for $1 million?
KAITLYN: "Even though the redemption house gave us back some of my favorites, I’m never a fan of when game shows bring back the eliminated. I also think it got in the way of someone like hunter making the final. Waiting to tell them was dumb. I think if they knew about the higher stakes sooner, a lot of people would’ve made difference decisions."
DC: Going into this season, who were your favorites going in? And after this has ended, which players stood out to you during this very long season?
KAITLYN: "As always, Kailah, Jenna, hunter, Marie and CT were my favorites. I knew tori was going to be great too after her showing on second chances and I wasn’t wrong. I would be very surprised if Kailah and tori never win one of these things, hunter too. They all have the heart and drive and talent."
DC: What are your overall thoughts on this Challenge reunion experience? And how different was being at this Challenge reunion was compared to the Portland one?
KAITLYN: "This shit was long af. When we got tickets It said we HAD to stay the whole time but bc It went over so many hours,4 they started letting people leave. I stayed because I have serious FOMO lol. Definitely different from Portland because I got to see the finalists and who won, when at Portland there wasn’t anything like that obviously."
DC: From what I heard from you and others, the taping process was very long compared to four years ago. Tell me more about that.
KAITLYN: "I was there for 12 hours. A production member said the cast took too long gettin g ready and it delayed filming. They gave us snacks and stuff but my ass hurt when I left from sitting that long."
DC: Ordinarily, they would tape this in the MTV Times Square studio. But this one took place a bit of ways down at Capitale NYC. What was the atmosphere in that large club like?
KAITLYN: "Capitale isn’t a club. It used to be a bank and now it’s just empty. It was sooo nice inside and beautiful. The echo was better but I liked It."
DC: Just as you had with Portland, the entire cast was there for this reunion compared to just those who made the second half. How did they look like in person and watching them from that distance being in that second row?
KAITLYN: "So we all know Jenna is gorgeous but WOW she’s even prettier in person, which I didn’t think was possible. I got to meet jemmye who was super cool. Marie kept cracking jokes to the audience sitting near me, and Ashley had a nip slip a few times. They’re all so hot."
DC: There was, obviously, tension with this cast as it was in your first go going to this, albeit a bit moreso. What was it like in-person?
KAITLYN: "It honestly wasn’t that bad. Cara and Kailah got a little heated as did Cara and Marie but it wasn’t anyone serious. No one really got into it."
DC: The thing you and I remember most from watching Portland was the Nia/Averey fight. Here, it's the fights that took place with Simone & Shane, and Nelson & Derrick. Thoughts on those fights, and of Amanda going off on Shane?
KAITLYN: "Simone and Shane were never going to know the truth about. Each side is sticking to their story and are never going to give it up. Nelson had a very good shot at making it to the final and possibly winning. He’s not my favorite but it was sad to watch him take that away from himself especially when Derrick wasn’t even doing anything. They seemed cool now tho. As for Amanda going off on Shane, she was defending her friend and I respect that."
DC: Now, the Tori & Derrick relationship. They got together before this season, then it ended badly and got even more twisted. Your thoughts on what went down with those two and the phone-hacking scandal?
KAITLYN: "according to tori, they went on a break and THEN she got with Jordan. There wasn’t any cheating. Yes it sucks and yes I feel bad for Derrick but that’s what happened. I honestly think this situation that didn’t even happen on camera shouldn’t have been talked about so I’m not going to talk about It either. What is on camera is what should be talked about but none of this was filmed so it’s not our business."
DC: Since this has aired, a romance has blossomed with Tori and Jordan, thanks in part to what we've been seeing on social media since. Thoughts on her latest romance with the champ?
KAITLYN: "I think tori and Jordan appear very happy together "
DC: From your tweets you're clearly on Team Tori, and she had a phenomenal rookie season and being able to hang with the veterans. A lot of fans feel that she is among the future of this show... agree?
KAITLYN: "Like I said before, I’d be surprised if she never wins a show "
DC: The one fight that got things stirring was that of Cara Maria and Kailah. I hear from my sources that it went on longer than they showed. Your thoughts on that, and whose side are you on?
KAITLYN: "Yea It was long and they just kept going in circles. Everyone knows I’m not the biggest Cara fan, so I’m team Kailah but that fight they were kinda both wrong "
DC: Another person who made noise was Britni, who we saw get into it with Kailah, and then calling Tori an escort much to everyone's chagrin. Thoughts on the Southern belle?
KAITLYN: "I like Britni and how she speaks what’s on her mind. There’s no holding back with her. "
DC: There's the romances amongst the love triangle of Kailah, Cory and Aneesa. Your thoughts on that, the other romances and Cory being tagged with being part of the Hookup Hall of Fame?
KAITLYN: "There isn’t a love triangle. Kailah is with someone else and aneesa & cory barely did anything. The hook up hall of fame thing is disgusting. They aired our Tori’s dirty oaundry and Cara was crucified when she cheated on Abram, but when a guy sleeps around he’s praised. It’s a double standard that isn’t funny.."
DC: And there's that veterans romance with Veronica & Aneesa, which also brought up the relationship V had with Rachel which was never brought up until Aneesa brought it out in the open. Your thoughts on that?
KAITLYN: "Aneesa should’ve respected that Veronica (and Rachel) didn’t want I.T on mtv. "
DC: Then, there's the other ladies man in Tony. What do you make of what we saw from him on this season: him finishing just outside the final, him kissing Camila, getting into it with Cara, and bringing girlfriend Alyssa to the reunion?
KAITLYN: "Tony’s great but will never win. He shouldn’t have kissed Camila but I personally wasn’t shocked because he’s done this every season. As a woman I don’t like that Alyssa is back with him but I get It because they have a child and she said they’re making it work for her which is nice but he’ll probably do It again. There’s no issue with him bringing her to the reunion...it’s his gf lol. "
DC: Something all the podcasts I listen to, including your friend Brian Cohen, brought up the topic of the Double Standard. What are your own thoughts on MTV's sometimes erratic ways of treating a girl one way and a guy the other way?
KAITLYN: "it’s disgusting like I said earlier. If i was a female on this cast when they brought up Cory’s hook up hall of fame I would’ve went OFF"
DC: The one who was on everyone's mind was the one who didn't come: Camila wasn't invited to this reunion for reasons that we saw after on Champs vs. Stars. Thoughts on her and the appalling behavior we saw on Dirty 30 and during her Challenge career?
KAITLYN: "apparently she was invited and declined coming actually. But I think what she did was absolutely disgusting and apparently It wasn’t the first time she’s done something like that which makes it so much worse. For years Mtv has celebrated “the camilanator” but getting drunk and screaming and throwing shit is never cute or funny and exactly why I rolled my eyes every season seeing Camila cast. "
DC: And there's the $1 million final. In the end, we had a champion who earned his title, probably the least-liked champion ever. Your thoughts on Jordan and Camila winning, and of Derrick, Cara, CT and Tori just finishing out of the top prize?
KAITLYN: "Jordan is a good competitor so I’m glad he won. He earned it. Derrick and CT are also great and I would’ve been happy with any of them winning. Camila winning is awful. She earned it but she really should’ve been removed from the game after the Leroy incident. Like they had to send her to a hotel for the night, you’re telling me she isn’t s threat to people’s safety? Yea right. I wish tori won just bc I like her so much and I.T would’ve been cool to see an Ayto rookie shut everyone up. "
DC: We have had the chance to follow Portland from the beginning, and Jordan was the more than worthy champion this season. What do you make of his dominance of the final, him on this season and of him coming back for this one go and becoming top dog?
KAITLYN: "Jordan is an absolute badass and I hope he continues to come back and kill It"
DC: There was something that was added was the VIP section where they had those from the MTV fam as well as Tony's girlfriend Alyssa sit there and TJ asking them for additional insight. Your thoughts on that addition?
KAITLYN: "I mean I don’t think it really mattered. The cast is always allowed guests and this time they just sat in the audience instead of back stage. It was cool tj was there tho and I got to talk to Melanie and jenn who i was a fan of. And Morgan took his shirt off so that was hot "
DC: After watching both versions of this reunion, did you enjoy the live or the edited version more? And what do you make of this being a 2-part reunion?
KAITLYN: "the edited version SUCKS. It was extremely choppy and jumped around too much and I didn’t like It. There was no point to it being two parts I don’t think, but I get why sorta "
DC: It's clear from seeing your name a lot in the liked photos that you adore all of these MTV people. Has your perception of some of the Dirty 30 cast changed, both from watching this season & being at the reunion?
KAITLYN: "i still like and dislike the same people. "
DC: Unlike what we've had in previous reunions, for this one they rolled out the gold carpet where everyone got to walk that before. Who were the best dressed?
KAITLYN: "Marie looked hot as fuck. Britni has a fantastic body and her dress showed It off. And Jenna still managed to look stunning with the boot. Also ammo killed it"
DC: There's that pic that was posted on Twitter of you meeting Jemmye during a break in the reunion. How was it meeting her and did you get to meet other castmates there?
KAITLYN: "28 I was so nervous meeting jemmye bc I’ve been a fan so long but she was so sweet and brought me on the stage so a producer could take our pic and I loved it. I met Marie Darrell Bananas hunter and Shane as well "
DC: Off topic for these last few questions: I wrote about this earlier this year, but you had the chance to meet Johnny Bananas. What was it like meeting the 6-time champ, and then getting a signed jersey from him?
KAITLYN: "Bananas is a cool dude. I love having his jersey. I wear It to the gym often lol "
DC: Looking ahead, I wrote here last week about the new U.S. version of the MTV U.K. show Ex on the Beach, and it'll have some of your MTV & non-MTV favorites. I know you voiced your excitement for one of them coming on... Your initial thoughts on Ex U.S.?
KAITLYN: "after seeing the entire rumored cast it’s cool they have someone I like from the bachelor and some from MTV but overal I think the concept of the show is kinda dumb and they’re all looking to add to their 5 seconds of fame. I honestly don’t know if I’ll watch. Seems like a bad version of bachelor in paradise."
DC: And lastly, I know from Twitter that you took a Buzzfeed poll on MTV shows and dressed up as a Bachelor contestant on Halloween. Of these three shows, which one would you rather be on: Are You The One, Real World or The Bachelor?
KAITLYN: "100% are you the one. I need help in the relationship department desperately and then I’d have a chance to be on the challenge too."
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
As was mentioned at the end above, Kaitlyn got to meet Johnny Bananas at a club event earlier this year, and along with that being in the ExtraTime section of the Pulse diary for the Real World Bad Blood finale, that bit has just been posted on DC@TUMBLR at dc408dxtr.tumblr.com. Plus, check out our original chat on the Real World Portland reunion from back in July 2013 before Rivals II, and a piece she did for Odyssey Online on if reality TV is making people stupid.
And on the topic of her meeting the six-time champ, below is a vlog he posted a few days ago of his experience at the Dirty XXX Reunion and the After Party that we saw on the Final Dirt special.
REALITY DEBRIEF 2017
CALLING ALL FANS...
Now, this is a one-time Reunion Revealed post -- there are no plans for us to cover future ones, unless one of my friends gets a chance to go to there and we'll bring back this again should that happen. But the next time DCBLOG does a FORUM discussion, it'll be for our traditional year-end Reality Debrief covering the year in reality TV, or at least the summer and fall cycles of 2017.
After the finale of Survivor: Heroes, Healers & Hustlers in a few weeks, Andrew Kirk and I will again plan to join up and offer this site's annual recap and discussion of the year's most-talked about moments, biggest shows and brightest personalities as we'll review this year of The Challenge and Season 6 of Are You The One? that ended 48 hours ago. We'll also delve into the year on Survivor and Big Brother, hand out our year-end awards and look ahead to 2018 including our preview of Vendettas. And once again, we are giving you the chance to take part in our multi-part recap of the year in this genre as you prepare to open those Christmas presents and say farewell to 2017.
When you can, send us -- your two best friends covering the reality TV world -- questions in relation to those five shows or others that might be of our interest to #AskDCBLOG on Twitter and to us @DC408Dxtr or @CSUGradAKirk, by DM'ing us if you prefer to keep the questions secret until they're asked, or just dropping an email to dc408dxtr@icloud.com. Of course, any questions you send us there, we'll be sure to ask and answer them, and if they are so good, we'll even give you a shoutout and follow on our Twitter pages.
As you know since this past fall, I've been anticipating the chance for the both of us to discuss this year in The Challenge and everything else in this year of reality TV. And now that the holidays are here and so has the time of reminiscing on the year that's about to end, Andrew and I, at last, will finally have the chance to discuss all of these shows with all of you, our loyal readers. We hope you be with us and bring us the questions as we recap 2017 in reality TV later on this month on the 4th annual DCBLOG Reality Debrief.
As for right now, tomorrow - or later today for you East Coast friends - we'll have Episode 3 of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars, where the rosters for both teams which were stacked to begin with may have big changes by night's end. Plus, as the countdown to Vendettas begins, we'll introduce you to a member of the cast whose series will make the jump to Challenge Land in 24 days from tonight. And later, the AYTO Season 6 finale... for a teaser, don't count anyone out until the Fat Lady sings.
Meanwhile, if you enjoyed this Forum post, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG for our unique look at the MTV Trifecta which includes not only weekly episode coverage and these occasional chats, but also social reaction to the big moments from the cast and fans, and compelling original stories on the people of the shows you love. And also help this site out by sharing these links on social media and bringing both the diehards and new fans to our distinctive, exceptional and acclaimed coverage.
Again, thanks to Kaitlyn and to you for checking us out, and hope this was worth staying up for on this cold late Friday night. See you in a bit as our look Inside the MTV Trifecta continues, and have a great weekend everyone.
- I AM DC
Meanwhile, if you enjoyed this Forum post, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG for our unique look at the MTV Trifecta which includes not only weekly episode coverage and these occasional chats, but also social reaction to the big moments from the cast and fans, and compelling original stories on the people of the shows you love. And also help this site out by sharing these links on social media and bringing both the diehards and new fans to our distinctive, exceptional and acclaimed coverage.
Again, thanks to Kaitlyn and to you for checking us out, and hope this was worth staying up for on this cold late Friday night. See you in a bit as our look Inside the MTV Trifecta continues, and have a great weekend everyone.
- I AM DC
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